this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2024
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Kids who use ChatGPT as a study assistant do worse on tests (hechingerreport.org)
submitted 2 months ago by Stopthatgirl7@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Does AI actually help students learn? A recent experiment in a high school provides a cautionary tale. 

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that Turkish high school students who had access to ChatGPT while doing practice math problems did worse on a math test compared with students who didn’t have access to ChatGPT. Those with ChatGPT solved 48 percent more of the practice problems correctly, but they ultimately scored 17 percent worse on a test of the topic that the students were learning.

A third group of students had access to a revised version of ChatGPT that functioned more like a tutor. This chatbot was programmed to provide hints without directly divulging the answer. The students who used it did spectacularly better on the practice problems, solving 127 percent more of them correctly compared with students who did their practice work without any high-tech aids. But on a test afterwards, these AI-tutored students did no better. Students who just did their practice problems the old fashioned way — on their own — matched their test scores.

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[–] N0body@lemmy.dbzer0.com 205 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Traditional instruction gave the same result as a bleeding edge ChatGPT tutorial bot. Imagine what would happen if a tiny fraction of the billions spent to develop this technology went into funding improved traditional instruction.

Better paid teachers, better resources, studies geared at optimizing traditional instruction, etc.

Move fast and break things was always a stupid goal. Turbocharging it with all this money is killing the tried and true options that actually produce results, while straining the power grid and worsening global warming.

[–] TallonMetroid@lemmy.world 112 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Investing in actual education infrastructure won't get VC techbros their yachts, though.

[–] elvith@feddit.org 50 points 2 months ago

It’s the other way round: Education makes for less gullible people and for workers that demand more rights more freely and easily - and then those are coming for their yachts…

[–] Petter1@lemm.ee 15 points 2 months ago

Imagine all the money spent on war would be invested into education 🫣what a beautiful world we would live in.

[–] TheFriar@lemm.ee 5 points 2 months ago

And cracking open a book didn’t demolish the environment. Weird.

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Traditional instruction gave the same result as a bleeding edge ChatGPT tutorial bot.

Interesting way of looking at it. I disagree with your conclusion about the study, though.

It seems like the AI tool would be helpful for things like assignments rather than tests. I think it's intellectually dishonest to ignore the gains in some environments because it doesn't have gains in others.

You're also comparing a young technology to methods that have been adapted over hundreds of thousands of years. Was the first automobile entirely superior to every horse?

I get that some people just hate AI because it's AI. For the people interested in nuance, I think this study is interesting. I think other studies will seek to build on it.

[–] Kalysta@lemm.ee 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The point of assignments is to help study for your test.

Homework is forced study. If you’re just handed the answers, you will do shit on the test.

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

The point of assignments is to help study for your test.

To me, "assignment" is more of a project. Not rote practice. Applying knowledge to a bit of a longer term, multi-part project.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com -5 points 2 months ago

The education system is primarily about controlling bodies and minds. So any actual education is counter-productive.