Creative Learning Solutions in a ChatGPT World
I leaned over the shoulder of a student in the library. She was quietly working with headphones in, and completely focused. What caught my attention is that she would continually lift her phone up over the textbook, and then jot something down on the paper to her left. It was a motion and process that she repeated at least seven times before I headed over to see what was going on.
As I got closer I could see that it was a math textbook, and her paper was filled with equations, problems, and steps. I thought to myself, that sure doesn’t look like my math homework, which was always a mess of numbers and lines and eraser marks from messing up!
What happened next caught me by surprise. Not because I couldn’t believe it, but because it changed the way I viewed math forever.
She would pick up her iPhone (or maybe it was an Android) and open up an app. Then flicking over to a clear screen, she would hover the phone over a specific problem in her textbook.
What happened next was nothing short of magic. If, per chance, someone had been transported here from even 20 years ago they might not have believed it was possible.
The phone immediately (I mean it was quick!) overlayed the problem, multiple steps, and a solution all in a row on her screen. She jotted down the answers on her piece of paper and went on to the next problem.
Me, on the other hand, had to first close my mouth from dropping and then I tapped her on the shoulder.
She was startled, and took out one headphone.
“What is that?” I questioned.
“Oh, it’s PhotoMath. It’s an app.”
“Are you allowed to use that? Is it something your teacher uses in class?”
“Um, I don’t think Ms. Carter knows about it…but no one ever said we couldn’t use it. Am I in trouble?”
I told her she wasn’t in trouble at all, and continued to ask a few more questions about how the app worked. But there wasn’t much to learn. It worked just as I saw it work. I quickly googled the app on my phone and found this video (which is eerily similar to what I saw in the library that day):
We tend to hear stories all the time of computers doing “human things” and impacting productivity but this time it was different. This time I saw a direct connection between a technology, and how it could eliminate the need to learn something (more on that later).
In 1997 it was Deep Blue taking down Gary Kasparov in a chess match where computers finally ascended to the level of a human and beyond. By 2005 there were no more chess champions that could even try and compete with the chess-playing computers.
Now computers can learn to play and master video games like Atari’s Pong with no guidance from a human. And we’ve seen Artificial Intelligence grow to new levels.
But still, none of those impacted or affected learning on a student level. It was stuff we would only hear about in the news.
In my last article, I wrote this thread on Twitter about the new AI tool ChatGPT . It's very cool and freaky. It's no longer a tool that is for chess and pong. It's now a tool that can fundamentally impact teaching and learning as we know it.
Here are some of my early thoughts on the implications , and some questions we should be asking:
Creative Solutions to New Problems
When I came back to our Math teachers to show them PhotoMath, they took a long hard look at their instructional practice, and what they could do to change things up in order to give kids a better learning experience.
It was not about what would be easy to do on their end.
It was not about using the latest and greatest technology to combat PhotoMath.
It was not about taking the focus away from mathematical concepts.
It was about the learning.
The teachers quickly made up their mind. There was no reason to continue giving the same homework each night to students who could answer every question with PhotoMath.
Were there times they would still give problems and practice them in class? Of course.
Were there times students would take problems home to work on and study? Of course.
Yet, in the long run, something needed to change in order for the students to be successful.
They brainstormed a number of options which included three viable solutions:
Give no homework and only optional problems they could solve and work on at night
Flip the classroom (watch instructional videos for homework)
Have students create their own video tutorial (screencasts) explaining how they solve problems
Although options 1 and 2 were still going to be used, our teachers selected the video tutorials as the main focus for homework moving forward in most math classes.
We were already making the shift as a district towards authentic PBL across subject areas, and our teachers believed this was the perfect opportunity to give PBL a shot at tackling the math homework issues.
For each unit, our teachers would now define a math project that would last the entire unit but would be worked on nightly by each student (or group of students depending on the class, subject, and age).
Each project had three phases.
Phase 1
First, students would create their own video tutorials (screencasts) solving math problems that were relevant to the concepts being taught during the unit.
This would include math problems that were teacher provided, problems they found online, and in a textbook or resource.
The screencasts would be created using tools such as Screencast-o-matic or Screencastify , and they would have the students’ voice overlay the writing of a problem and solution on a whiteboard.
The teachers would have students share their screencasts with other students during the class and reflect on the steps they took to solve each problem, pointing out teachable moments throughout the video.
Phase 2
The second part of the project involved choice. The student (or group) had to create their own word problem or puzzle that represented the mathematical concepts. The goal was to create a problem that was challenging for others students to solve, and would be one they would have to work through.
In order to do this, the students had to go through a sustained inquiry process in which they tested different problems and ways to display the problem (as a puzzle or word problem). This involved having test groups to answer their problem and developing ways to make sure it was “PhotoMath” proof.
Phase 3
The last part was all about problem-solving with time constraints. The students had a chance to solve each other’s word problems or puzzles and time how long it took them to solve it correctly (if they could). The result would be in one group winning the prize for difficulty and clarity.
By far the most important piece of this last phase is what happened after the challenges were solved and completed. The students would get together in roundtable reflections and talk about what went well, what didn’t, and what they learned about this concept throughout the process. The final project created opportunities for more learning and students mastered the skill of not only solving these problems but also creating them.
HOW ARE WE SOLVING OUR PROBLEMS?
These teachers took a creative approach to solving the problem of the world changing rapidly and their practice being impacted at its very core.
They could have easily tried to continue giving the same type of math homework knowing that programs like PhotoMath existed.
They could have balked at PBL in math class and focused on a more traditional I do, We do, You do approach.
But they worked together to solve a problem with a better way of doing things.
Not an easier way.
A better way.
Project-based learning takes a lot of work to plan and put together on the teacher end. It takes time to tweak and iterate and make better during and after the project is complete. Yet, that is what we are here for.
We are here to provide students with learning opportunities that they could not get somewhere online. We are here to give kids the support and challenge they need to be successful in any type of environment.
When we see challenges, do we treat them like opportunities to do things better, or hope for a solution that can get us back to an old way of doing things?
I’d love to hear in the comments how you are doing new things in new ways in your classroom and school. We all need to hear each other’s stories and strategies to give kids awesome experiences that they could only have with an adult who understands how to engage and empower on a daily basis.
Thanks for all you do - keep the conversation going in our Learning Facilitators community!
