“Students Critique a ChatGPT Essay: A Classroom Experiment,”?Perspectives Daily, American Historical Association, September 7, 2023

Historians today find ourselves on the bleeding edge of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. It feels like generative AI is everywhere these days, even in places where it’s not welcome. Chatbots like Open AI’s ChatGPT have made disruptive appearances in law, real estate, Hollywood, and of course the classroom, offering up simultaneous promise and peril. While Bill Gates described AI as the “most important tech advance in decades,” many tech visionaries (including Gates), AI developers, and even the White House have called urgently for guardrails on AI’s breakneck development.

? ? ? ? ? 歷史學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正處于人工智能（AI）革命的最前沿。如今，生成式人工智能似乎無處不在，甚至在一些不受關(guān)注的領(lǐng)域也是如此。像 Open AI 的 ChatGPT 這樣的聊天機(jī)器人已經(jīng)顛覆性地出現(xiàn)在法律、房地產(chǎn)、好萊塢，當(dāng)然還有課堂上，這同時(shí)帶來了希望和危險(xiǎn)。雖然比爾·蓋茨將人工智能描述為“這幾十年來最重要的技術(shù)進(jìn)步”，但許多技術(shù)遠(yuǎn)見者（包括蓋茨）、人工智能開發(fā)者，甚至白宮都緊急呼吁對(duì)人工智能的飛速發(fā)展采取防護(hù)措施。

The meteoric rise of chatbots raises questions that, if left unanswered, put history educators in a bind. How can we meaningfully teach historical skills like writing and argumentation if our students can have ChatGPT draft an essay for them in seconds? And how can we assess our students’ understanding of course content if ChatGPT can conjure up instant answers to essay prompts with no learning required? Unsurprisingly, universities, departments, and individual instructors are in a mad scramble to formulate AI policies addressing these urgent questions.

? ? ?When I first encountered ChatGPT shortly after its November 2022 launch, I admittedly felt a knee-jerk impulse to ban it and forget about it. Like many of my colleagues, I was deeply worried about its potential for academic dishonesty (and I still am). But it was obvious that AI is here to stay. More importantly, as I practiced using ChatGPT, I realized that effective AI use is a learned skill, one today’s students desperately need to learn as chatbots proliferate. If we envision history courses as opportunities to teach the historian’s skill set, we would do well to incorporate new technology like AI into our courses. So, I decided to figure out how I could effectively use ChatGPT in the classroom for my students’ benefit.

? ? ? ? ?聊天機(jī)器人的迅速崛起引發(fā)了一些問題，如果這些問題得不到解答，歷史教育工作者將會(huì)陷入困境。如果我們的學(xué)生能讓 ChatGPT 在幾秒鐘內(nèi)為他們起草一篇論文，我們又如何能有意義地教授寫作和論證等歷史技能呢？如果 ChatGPT 可以在不需要學(xué)習(xí)的情況下立即給出論文提示的答案，我們又該如何評(píng)估學(xué)生對(duì)課程內(nèi)容的理解呢？毫不奇怪，大學(xué)、院系和教師個(gè)人都在瘋狂地爭相制定人工智能政策，以解決這些緊迫的問題。

? ? ? ? ? 當(dāng)我在 ChatGPT 于 2022 年 11 月發(fā)布后不久第一次接觸到它時(shí)，我承認(rèn)自己當(dāng)時(shí)有一種沖動(dòng)，那就是禁止它并忘掉它。和我的許多同事一樣，我對(duì)它可能造成的學(xué)術(shù)不誠實(shí)深感憂慮（現(xiàn)在依然如此）。但很明顯，人工智能將繼續(xù)存在。更重要的是，當(dāng)我練習(xí)使用 ChatGPT 時(shí)，我意識(shí)到有效使用人工智能是一門學(xué)問，隨著聊天機(jī)器人的普及，當(dāng)今的學(xué)生迫切需要學(xué)習(xí)這門技能。如果我們將歷史課程視為教授歷史學(xué)家技能的機(jī)會(huì)，那么我們就應(yīng)該將人工智能等新技術(shù)融入我們的課程中。因此，我決定弄清楚如何在課堂上有效使用 ChatGPT，讓我的學(xué)生受益。

Conversations with my students about the chatbot revealed their curiosity about both its uses and limitations. So, I created a classroom experiment to test ChatGPT’s ability to generate authentic, accurate historical essays. I chose to do this experiment live and in person in a spring 2023 upper-level undergraduate history course, but the exercise could also work as a take-home assignment. This particular class, Frederick Douglass’s America, familiarizes students with the life and times of the famous 19th-century abolitionist and introduces the historical research skills that students will need to complete an undergraduate capstone. As we were approaching the semester’s midpoint, I also designed the exercise as an opportunity for students to reflect on what they had learned about Douglass’s life thus far.

? ? ? ? ? 在與學(xué)生討論聊天機(jī)器人時(shí)，我發(fā)現(xiàn)他們對(duì)聊天機(jī)器人的用途和局限性都很好奇。因此，我創(chuàng)建了一個(gè)課堂實(shí)驗(yàn)來測試 ChatGPT 生成真實(shí)、準(zhǔn)確的歷史文章的能力。我選擇在 2023 年春季的一門高年級(jí)本科歷史課上進(jìn)行現(xiàn)場實(shí)驗(yàn)，但這項(xiàng)練習(xí)也可以作為帶回家的作業(yè)。這門名為《弗雷德里克·道格拉斯的美國》（Frederick Douglass's America）的課程，將會(huì)讓學(xué)生熟悉這位 19 世紀(jì)著名廢奴主義者的生平和時(shí)代，并介紹學(xué)生完成本科畢業(yè)論文所需的歷史研究技能。由于學(xué)期即將過半，我還設(shè)計(jì)了這個(gè)練習(xí)，讓學(xué)生有機(jī)會(huì)反思迄今為止所學(xué)到的有關(guān)道格拉斯生平的知識(shí)。

有效使用人工智能是一門學(xué)問，也是當(dāng)今學(xué)生迫切需要的技能

To that end, I asked ChatGPT to “write me an essay about Frederick Douglass and the Civil War.” The program generated a relevant, if basic, biographical sketch of Douglass without “hallucinating” any fake information, a notorious shortcoming of ChatGPT. The essay lacked an argument or references, but I didn’t ask for either, so no harm done. Then I graded the essay, which earned a D by my rubric.

? ? ? ? ? 為此，我要求 ChatGPT“給我寫一篇關(guān)于弗雷德里克·道格拉斯和內(nèi)戰(zhàn)（南北戰(zhàn)爭）的文章”。程序生成了一篇相關(guān)的道格拉斯基本傳記，沒有“幻化”任何虛假信息，這是 ChatGPT 眾所周知的缺點(diǎn)。這篇文章缺乏論據(jù)或參考文獻(xiàn)，但我并沒有要求提供這兩樣?xùn)|西，所以無傷大雅。然后我給作文打了分，按照我的評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，這篇作文得了 D。

Next, I shared the essay with students via Google Docs. (It can be read in full here, along with the lesson plan.) In groups, I asked them to read the essay and identify any sections that needed editing—additions, deletions, or revisions. For 20 minutes, students tackled this assignment in groups and focused on a theme of their choice: Douglass’s life under slavery, his wartime experiences, or his Reconstruction-era activism. Students added their responses in the document using comment bubbles.

? ? ? ? ? 接下來，我通過谷歌文檔(Google Docs)與學(xué)生們分享了這篇文章（文章地址：https://docs.google.com/document/d/110KzVV9GVfUYoOBUCAXJTjb6ZgGRfEWc/edit?pli=1）。我要求他們以小組為單位閱讀文章，并找出需要編輯的部分進(jìn)行添加、刪除或修改。在 20 分鐘的時(shí)間里，學(xué)生們以小組為單位完成了這項(xiàng)作業(yè)，并集中討論了自己選擇的主題：道格拉斯在奴隸制下的生活、他的戰(zhàn)爭經(jīng)歷或他在重建時(shí)期的活動(dòng)。學(xué)生們?cè)谖臋n中使用注釋功能添加他們的回答。

Finally, we debriefed. I asked students to describe a factual error they identified and an edit they made to correct or contextualize the essay. Then I asked students to reflect on their biggest takeaway.

? ? ? ? ? 最后，我們進(jìn)行了匯報(bào)。我讓學(xué)生描述他們發(fā)現(xiàn)的一個(gè)事實(shí)錯(cuò)誤，以及他們?yōu)榧m正或綜合文章脈絡(luò)所做的修改。然后，我讓學(xué)生思考他們最大的收獲。

This exercise was a smash hit, with terrific student engagement and clear payoffs. Students jumped at the chance to showcase the knowledge they had learned in class to fact-check the essay. Ultimately, they made a few deletions, some additions, and, most importantly, used their higher-order thinking skills to evaluate the essay and add much-needed context to its key points. For example, where ChatGPT matter-of-factly stated that Douglass was born in 1818, students observed that, like many enslaved African Americans, Douglass spent most of his life without knowing his birthdate. This and other legacies of slavery are all too often overlooked by chatbots, which lack contextualization and fine-tuned historical research skills.

? ? ? ? ? 這項(xiàng)練習(xí)大受歡迎，學(xué)生參與度極高，收獲明顯。學(xué)生們抓住機(jī)會(huì)，展示他們?cè)谡n堂上學(xué)到的知識(shí)，對(duì)文章進(jìn)行事實(shí)核查。最終，他們刪除了一些內(nèi)容，增加了一些內(nèi)容，更重要的是，他們運(yùn)用高階思維技能對(duì)文章進(jìn)行了評(píng)估，并為文章的關(guān)鍵點(diǎn)添加了亟需的背景信息。例如，在 ChatGPT 實(shí)事求是地指出道格拉斯出生于 1818 年時(shí)，學(xué)生們注意到，與許多被奴役的非裔美國人一樣，道格拉斯一生中的大部分時(shí)間都不知道自己的出生日期。聊天機(jī)器人往往忽略了這一點(diǎn)以及奴隸制的其他變量，因?yàn)樗狈η榫郴臀⒄{(diào)的歷史研究技能。

學(xué)生們抓住機(jī)會(huì)，展示他們?cè)谡n堂上學(xué)到的知識(shí)，對(duì)文章進(jìn)行事實(shí)核查

Instead of merely regurgitating information on a midterm exam, students enjoyed probing the limits of what ChatGPT can realistically do—and not do—hopefully disincentivizing future academic misconduct. In their reflections during the debrief, students described how ChatGPT generates essays that seem human-produced and authoritative, but the significant factual errors and lack of analysis in its text often make a poor substitute for how students themselves have learned to write. They also sharpened their writing and editing skills in an engaging activity that felt more pragmatic than a midterm exam.?

? ? ? ? ? 學(xué)生們不再只是在期中考試中反省信息，而是樂于探究 ChatGPT 實(shí)際可以做什么和不可以做什么的限制，希望能抑制未來的學(xué)術(shù)不端行為。在匯報(bào)反思中，學(xué)生們描述了 ChatGPT 如何生成看似人為制作且具有權(quán)威性的文章，但其文本中的重大事實(shí)錯(cuò)誤和缺乏分析往往無法取代學(xué)生自己學(xué)習(xí)寫作的方式。他們還在這一引人入勝的活動(dòng)中磨練了寫作和編輯技能，感覺比期中考試更實(shí)用。

I learned a lot from this exercise too, which can be adapted readily for a variety of course formats. I came away recognizing that if I had given into the initial impulse to ban ChatGPT, my students would have been robbed of a crucial learning experience to prepare for a world that is rapidly embracing AI. Instead, by incorporating the chatbot into the classroom, my students gained a better understanding of what AI can (and can’t) do, while also sharpening their historical skills and applying their content knowledge.

? ? ? ? ? 我也從這個(gè)練習(xí)中學(xué)到了很多，它可以很容易地適用于各種課程形式。我認(rèn)識(shí)到，如果我一開始沖動(dòng)地禁止 ChatGPT，我的學(xué)生們就會(huì)失去一次重要的學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)歷，無法為迎接人工智能快速發(fā)展的世界做好準(zhǔn)備。相反，通過將聊天機(jī)器人融入課堂，我的學(xué)生們更好地理解了人工智能能做什么（不能做什么），同時(shí)也磨練了他們的歷史技能，并整合其所學(xué)的內(nèi)容。

After all, AI is not disappearing anytime soon, and our students are already using it. Many historians likewise have embraced digital literacy as one of the most essential skills we can teach students, but if educators bury our heads in the sand and attempt to ban AI from the classroom, crucial learning opportunities are lost. So why not bring AI into the classroom and harness its potential to reinforce historical skills and content?

? ? ? ? ? 畢竟，人工智能不會(huì)很快消失，我們的學(xué)生已經(jīng)在使用它了。許多歷史學(xué)家同樣將數(shù)字素養(yǎng)視為我們可以教授學(xué)生的最基本技能之一，但如果教育工作者將頭埋在沙子里，試圖禁止人工智能進(jìn)入課堂，就會(huì)失去重要的學(xué)習(xí)機(jī)會(huì)。那么，為什么不將人工智能引入課堂，利用其潛力來強(qiáng)化歷史技能和內(nèi)容呢？

原文作者：喬納森·S·瓊斯（Jonathan S. Jones），詹姆斯·麥迪遜大學(xué)的助理教授

您在這里可以找到他：X (formerly Twitter) @_jonathansjones

詳細(xì)了解：https://jonathansjones.net/portfolio/publications/（個(gè)人簡介）