The way we work is changing rapidly. It would be somewhat foolish to expect students to be unable to adapt to this age. In fact, it is beneficial for students to adopt the technology that the workplace and industry are currently using alongside their studies because they are more “ready to work.” So you could argue that the same idea applies if a student decides to use her ChatGPT to write an essay. With so many workplaces taking advantage of AI, why aren’t students?
Of course the answer is obvious. If students are using AI for assessment, are they really demonstrating what they have learned? Will they remain a talent for the job market after graduation? There are many concerns about using ChatGPT and we are well aware of its lack of emotional intelligence and lack of “human touch” in AI work. We must always hold people’s opinions. For example, ChatGPT may be trained enough to pass the bar exam, but how much can it appreciate the complexities of the human mind that affect the legal system and deep analysis of litigation?
Institutions must therefore focus on skills that are decoupled from automation: interpersonal or “human” skills. These tasks cannot be replaced by software and will become increasingly important in the future. The ChatGPT hype and AI moral panic call for a completely different approach. Education systems should really ask, “If AI can already spit back information, should we ask our students to do the same?” Especially the written test. Students are expected to extract large amounts of information from memory without actually testing the practical skills they will need in their careers.
The Estonian case study is a great example of how business needs are changing. Students can choose to study a traditional, academically-oriented bachelor’s program or choose applied higher education, which involves teaching the specific practical skills needed in post-graduation careers. Upon graduation, graduates of applied higher education courses earn almost 20% higher salaries and have a 6 percentage point higher employment rate. A degree is no longer enough. The transferable skills are in great demand and are quickly rewarded.
This transition includes offering assessments that are a step away from traditional exams. For example, Arden University offers a variety of hands-on challenges by assessing students on their ability to overcome real-world challenges. A police student assessment uses augmented reality to assess how well a crime scene investigation can be completed, and a business student assessment assesses how well the business model relates to operations, supply chain, and productivity issues. Tolerance is evaluated. These hands-on assessments prepare students for their post-graduation careers and equip them with “work-ready” skills.
As AI changes the way we work, so must the way we teach our students. Teachers were once afraid to let students use calculators in exams, but actually allowed students to solve more complicated problems. The same applies here. AI has the potential to create a arena for students to demonstrate their approach to more complex, nuanced, and “more human” problems. Institutions should therefore ask themselves whether their approach to assessment truly reflects the views of their students. Really capable.
Comment by Elizabeth Ellis, Dean of Digital Education, University of Arden
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