How ChatGPT Helps Teachers and School Administrators, Part 2: Instructional, Curricular Initiatives
- Cris
- Feb 16, 2023
- 10 min read
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The Mindful Tech Initiative can help.
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Amid all of the hyperbolic discourse centered on ChatGPT and its role in K-12 education, one important truth is consistently left out of the discussion: as much of a game-changer as it is for students, it is as-if-not-more pivotal for teachers. Often, when I talk to school districts, the conversation begins with teachers’ concerns about academic integrity: cheating, originality, plagiarism, falsifying one’s prose, et al.
“What can we do,” I’m asked, “about the rampant cheating?”
What’s strange is that, to date, I’ve never been asked “how can we use ChatGPT to our advantage?”
The answers to this question are nearly limitless, but I’ve decided to break down a few scenarios in which ChatGPT either:
saves teachers a tremendous amount of time, or
offers teachers a usable starting point for instructional tasks, or
offers administrators a usable starting point for administrative tasks.
In today’s blog post, we’re going to focus on #2: How ChatGPT offers teachers a usable starting point for instructional tasks.
As far as “instructional tasks” go, few are bigger and more daunting than writing a new curriculum. What’s even harder than writing a new curriculum is writing a new curriculum for a brand new, rigorous, tested, highly publicized AP course. So, because teachers around the United States are engaged in these exact efforts right this moment in the context of AP African American Studies, today we’re going to examine how ChatGPT can help to write a new curriculum for this class.
As I noted in my previous post, I taught AP English classes (both AP Language and Composition as well as AP Literature and Composition) for many years. For those who hear the term “AP” thrown around without context, I’ll offer a brief explanation:
AP (“Advanced Placement”) courses are college-level courses taught to high school students.
These courses are offered in specific subject areas by the College Board (the nonprofit that also makes the PSAT, SAT, and ACCUPLACER exams).
Each AP Course Description offers guiding principles, understandings, skills, and knowledge domains that AP courses should include, and each year, high school teachers of AP courses must submit or resubmit their syllabi to the College Board to make sure that the courses are meeting a collegiate standard of rigor.
At the end of each year, AP students take the corresponding exam for each course. The exam is administered by the College Board and scored on a 1 to 5 scale, with a “3” being the minimum passing score.
Many colleges have credit policies for AP courses, offering high-scoring students preferential placement into higher level classes, completed credits on students’ transcripts, or both. Many colleges’ policies change from year to year, and the policies vary widely from school to school. For instance (as of this writing), Yale University offers students who score a 5 on the AP Lang exam one credit upon entry. On the other hand, Rowan University will issue three credits to students earning a 3 or higher on the AP Lang Exam.
I absolutely loved teaching these classes. Really, they revitalized my career and gave me a new sense of purpose as I became convinced—especially in the case of AP Lang, the course I primarily taught—that teaching my students to analyze and compose nonfiction rhetoric was nothing less than vital for these students’ postsecondary prospects. I loved pulling the great essays I’d read in The New Yorker or The Atlantic and challenging my students to weigh in on these pieces’ rhetorical merits.
However, every now and then, AP classes actually make the news in publications like these. Most of the time, AP classes’ newsworthiness concerns the veracity of the links (or lack thereof?) between students’ AP exam scores and their collegiate performance. Today, The College Board’s latest addition to the AP canon is the forthcoming (albeit long overdue) AP African American Studies course, which has made the news cycle largely and unfortunately because of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s very public gripes about its content.
Now, let’s say you’re a high school teacher who will be implementing your first iteration of AP African American Studies next school year. You’ve gone to the course website for guidance, you’ve checked out the pilot syllabus, you’ve done your due diligence. Now, all you have to do is write your syllabus. Also, considering the magnitude of the course and its focus on a historically marginalized group of US people, you want this syllabus to be good. Really good.
Well, AP syllabi (i.e., “curricula,” “courses of study,”) can easily run 20+ pages. It’s no small effort to start from scratch. There are tons of sample syllabi readily available online for other AP courses that have run for 20+ years, but in the case of a brand new class? That’s a big responsibility. It would be great to have a start, a model, or a baseline.
Okay, ChatGPT. Let’s see what you can do.
I asked ChatGPT:
I am teaching the new AP African American Studies course to high school seniors for the first time next year. Can you write me a syllabus/course of study that follows the UbD format?
Here’s ChatGPT’s response:
Sure, I'd be happy to help! Here is a possible syllabus/course of study that follows the Understanding by Design (UbD) format for AP African American Studies:
Unit 1: Introduction to African American Studies
Enduring Understanding: African American Studies is a multidisciplinary field that examines the experiences, contributions, and challenges of people of African descent in the United States.
Essential Questions:
What is African American Studies, and why is it important?
How has the African American experience in the United States been shaped by history, culture, and social structures?
What are some of the key themes, issues, and debates in African American Studies?
Assessment:
Unit quiz on key concepts, theories, and themes in African American Studies
Essay on the relevance and significance of African American Studies in contemporary society
Unit 2: The African American Experience in Slavery and Freedom
Enduring Understanding: The experiences of African Americans in slavery and freedom have had a profound impact on the history, culture, and identity of the United States.
Essential Questions:
What were the key features of the transatlantic slave trade, and how did they shape the lives of enslaved Africans?
How did enslaved Africans resist and challenge their enslavement, and what were the consequences of their actions?
What were the achievements and challenges of African Americans during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras?
Assessment:
Debate on the question of whether slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War
Research paper on the history and legacy of African American resistance to slavery
Unit 3: African American Culture and Identity
Enduring Understanding: African American culture and identity are dynamic and multifaceted, reflecting a rich and diverse array of historical, social, and cultural influences.
Essential Questions:
What are the key components of African American culture, and how have they evolved over time?
How have African Americans expressed and asserted their identities through music, literature, and the arts?
How have African Americans navigated the complexities of racial, gender, and sexual identity in American society?
Assessment:
Group presentation on an aspect of African American culture or identity
Personal essay on the role of identity in one's own life and experiences
Unit 4: African American Politics and Social Movements
Enduring Understanding: African Americans have played a crucial role in shaping the political and social landscape of the United States, often in the face of resistance and oppression.
Essential Questions:
What were the key political and social movements that African Americans have been involved in, and what were their goals and strategies?
How have African American activists and leaders challenged and transformed American society and politics?
What are the ongoing challenges and opportunities for African American political and social engagement today?
Assessment:
Mock trial on a historical or contemporary legal case related to African American civil rights
Research project on a contemporary African American social or political movement
Unit 5: Contemporary Issues and Debates in African American Studies
Enduring Understanding: African American Studies continues to evolve and address new challenges and questions in the contemporary world.
Essential Questions:
What are some of the key issues and debates in African American Studies today, and how are they being addressed?
How do intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality shape the experiences of African Americans today?
How can the insights and approaches of African American Studies contribute to broader social and political discussions and movements?
Assessment:
Symposium on a current issue or debate in African American Studies
Final project synthesizing key themes and concepts from the course, and reflecting on their personal and academic growth throughout the semester
I hope this helps, and feel free to adjust it to best fit your teaching style and the needs of your students!
Now, of course, one is not done. This is a baseline, not the finished product. Heck, you might not actually use any of this in its current guise. The point is—as I noted in my previous post—that where before you had nothing, now you have something. This saves a TREMENDOUS amount of time. Let’s stick with this example:
I asked ChatGPT: I'd like my AP African American Studies course to reflect authors and texts of diverse identities that span a wide geographic and historical scope. Who or what should I include?
Here is ChatGPT’s response:
Including authors and texts of diverse identities from a wide geographic and historical scope is a great way to create an inclusive and comprehensive AP African American Studies course. Here are some suggestions for authors and texts that you could include:
James Baldwin: "The Fire Next Time" (1963) and "Notes of a Native Son" (1955)
Toni Morrison: "Beloved" (1987) and "The Bluest Eye" (1970)
Zora Neale Hurston: "Their Eyes Were Watching God" (1937)
Ta-Nehisi Coates: "Between the World and Me" (2015) and "We Were Eight Years in Power" (2017)
Langston Hughes: "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" (1921) and "Harlem" (1951)
Octavia Butler: "Kindred" (1979) and "Parable of the Sower" (1993)
Alice Walker: "The Color Purple" (1982) and "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens" (1983)
Chinua Achebe: "Things Fall Apart" (1958)
Angela Davis: "Women, Race and Class" (1981) and "Are Prisons Obsolete?" (2003)
Frederick Douglass: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" (1845)
These authors and texts offer a range of perspectives on the African American experience, spanning different historical periods and geographic locations. You may also consider incorporating lesser-known authors and texts that are specific to certain regions or cultural traditions. Some other resources that may help you in creating a diverse syllabus are the African American Literature Book Club, the African American Intellectual History Society, and the Zinn Education Project. It's also important to be open to feedback from your students and to continue to learn about new authors and perspectives throughout the course.
I was stunned: I’ve taught—or at the very least, read—nearly all of these, and if someone asked me to list off the top of my head some of the most pivotal authors to include in an AP African American Studies course, I’d have immediately noted Baldwin, Morrison, Hurston, Coates, Davis, and…well, pretty much all of these, actually. How about those concluding suggestions, too? For “lesser-known authors” and further resources? Wow.
Okay, so for those of you keeping score at home, I asked ChatGPT two questions. I now have:
A baseline format for my AP African American Studies class,
A list of pivotal texts and authors,
Several suggestions for conceptual foci and resources to find more textual sources.
To all readers who have written a curriculum from scratch—in any course, at any level, in any subject area—you know: listing those SWBAT statements (i.e., “Students will be able to…”), those enduring understandings, those essential questions, can be a tedious process. Even when I wrote curricula with a colleague, this effort could take months.
Again: this does not replace the teacher’s role. Not by a long shot. We can’t reduce the scope of this course to an algorithm’s whims. The teacher, of course, should be deeply familiar with the authors, texts, and course sequence. I highlight ChatGPT’s utility in this context only because many well-meaning teachers around the country are likely engaged in this task right now: they are building next year’s syllabus for AP African American Studies and trying to do a good job.
So, in the interest of helping these teachers to create great syllabi for their upcoming AP African American Studies courses, let’s see how far we can take this:
I asked ChatGPT: Can you come up with some essential questions that would serve as a foundation for this AP African American Studies syllabus?
Here is ChatGPT’s response:
Certainly! Essential questions are an important aspect of any course, and they help guide students to think more deeply and critically about the subject matter. Here are some essential questions that could serve as a foundation for an AP African American Studies syllabus:
Unit 1: Introduction to African American Studies
What is African American Studies, and why is it important?
How has the African American experience in the United States been shaped by history, culture, and social structures?
What are some of the key themes, issues, and debates in African American Studies?
Unit 2: The African American Experience in Slavery and Freedom
What were the key features of the transatlantic slave trade, and how did they shape the lives of enslaved Africans?
How did enslaved Africans resist and challenge their enslavement, and what were the consequences of their actions?
What were the achievements and challenges of African Americans during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras?
Unit 3: African American Culture and Identity
What are the key components of African American culture, and how have they evolved over time?
How have African Americans expressed and asserted their identities through music, literature, and the arts?
How have African Americans navigated the complexities of racial, gender, and sexual identity in American society?
Unit 4: African American Politics and Social Movements
What were the key political and social movements that African Americans have been involved in, and what were their goals and strategies?
How have African American activists and leaders challenged and transformed American society and politics?
What are the ongoing challenges and opportunities for African American political and social engagement today?
Unit 5: Contemporary Issues and Debates in African American Studies
What are some of the key issues and debates in African American Studies today, and how are they being addressed?
How do intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality shape the experiences of African Americans today?
How can the insights and approaches of African American Studies contribute to broader social and political discussions and movements?
These essential questions are broad enough to encourage students to engage in inquiry and research, while also specific enough to help them connect the material to the larger themes and concepts of the course.
One final time: ChatGPT cannot and should not replace the deeply necessary scholarship that teachers must undertake to write a great curriculum, for AP African American Studies or any other course.
I am not trying to devalue the substantive importance of this class by suggesting a computer can sufficiently arrange and present its foundational tenets.
I’m actually saying the opposite: if ChatGPT can do what it has done here so quickly and efficiently, I can’t think of any reasonable excuse to avoid implementing AP African American Studies.
Anyone with an internet connection can ask ChatGPT the three questions that I have asked it within my post. So, it’s official: any attempt to put off the creation or implementation of an AP African American Studies curriculum due to a “lack of resources” is simply bogus.
In a broader sense, and to the point of this series of posts:
What I’m trying to demonstrate is that, with just a few minutes and with equally few targeted questions, teachers can give themselves usable frameworks for massive instructional initiatives.
That's it for now! Thanks for reading. Please continue to check in for more posts focused on how schools can take advantage of AI.
Is your district, school, or team interested in learning how ChatGPT can help to solve educational issues? The Mindful Tech Initiative can help. Book time with us today to find out how MTI can meet your needs.
PS: If you’ve used ChatGPT to help you with your school’s or district’s curricular initiatives, I’d love to hear about your efforts. Feel free to reach out to me (cris@mindfultechinitiative.com) to describe these efforts.
- Cris | 02-16-2023 | cris@mindfultechinitiative.com
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