ChatGPT: What parents need to know

SINGAPORE – Chemistry teacher Leung Yulun uses ChatGPT in his lessons to reinforce his students’ learning by getting them to assess if the information provided by the text generator is accurate.

This has made learning more fun and relevant for his students, he said.

“When an answer ChatGPT provided was inaccurate, I showed them that asking the question in smaller parts gave the correct answer. So they also learnt how to ask questions skilfully,” he added.

He is one of the early adopters of the artificial intelligence (AI) tool in Yuan Ching Secondary School, but more educators may soon use it in their lessons.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has encouraged teachers to be open to using AI tools such as ChatGPT to support their work, and provided some guidance in March on how to use them effectively to enhance teaching and learning.

For instance, teachers should check the answers provided by the text generator against other reliable sources. They should also advise students on how and when to use these tools, and regularly remind them of the importance of academic integrity, such as by stating when they have used AI tools and to cite sources accurately.

Replying to queries from The Straits Times, MOE said that generative AI tools such as ChatGPT present opportunities and challenges for teaching and learning, as with any technology.

“It is important to harness its potential to benefit students, while managing its related risks,” said a ministry spokesman.

The spokesman added that teachers should continue to apply their professional judgment in using suitable pedagogies, while still emphasising foundational skills and concepts.

Another avenue for teachers to get tips on using AI tools is an online learning community called the Singapore Learning Designers Circle.

On this Facebook group, teachers from Fuchun Secondary School, for instance, shared how they used ChatGPT to scaffold students’ learning in essay writing in English and to provide differentiated support to students.

Mr Kenneth Yee, who teaches English and literature at the school, used ChatGPT for a lesson on descriptive writing in which students had to tackle the question, “Describe the sights and sounds of a festival in Singapore or another country”.

Students used ChatGPT to generate relevant descriptive language and details, before coming up with their own examples to make their writing more personal.

For literature, Mr Yee gets his students to use ChatGPT to create their own chapter summaries and character analyses.

“I emphasise that they need to check the accuracy of the notes generated. Students can build on these to make the notes personalised to their needs,” he said.

Ms Pearlyn Lim, head of department for English and literature, said ChatGPT is like an all-in-one tool encompassing the dictionary, calculator and Internet, that can help students with different abilities.

“It can work like a teaching assistant addressing questions, ranging from basic to challenging, posed by the students. Now instead of having to wait for me to go over and answer their questions, students can ask ChatGPT first,” she said.

Should parents let their kids use ChatGPT at home?

While there are guidelines for teachers to use ChatGPT in school, parents should also provide guidance if their young children want to use ChatGPT at home, said Dr Wong Lung Hsiang, a senior education research scientist from the National Institute of Education.

Dr Wong, who has done extensive research on artificial intelligence tools in teaching and learning, said the over-reliance on such tools, which are powerful but with limitations, can be detrimental to young children’s learning.

He noted that ChatGPT’s terms of use states that users must be 18 years or older, but it does not ask users to verify their age when creating an account.

He said the tool is not meant for pre-school and primary school pupils, as they need to develop basic literacy and numeracy skills with little or no tool support before they move on to developing higher-order skills.

“Early access to ChatGPT could lead to an over-reliance on the AI tool in writing and maths tasks as ChatGPT can generate compositions on a par with middle- to high-performing secondary school students,” he said.

Furthermore, ChatGPT could be a hindrance to learning as its responses may not be up-to-date, unless an adult sits next to the child to provide clarifications, he said.

While the tool is not meant for younger children, students in secondary school and above could find it useful for collating notes or data tracking, so they can concentrate on tasks that the tools cannot do, said Dr Wong.

Parents who have used ChatGPT with their children said they have learnt useful tips.

Mr Patrick Sim and his wife Michelle Koh, co-founders of a software development firm, said they introduced their children Sophie, 14, and Ethan, 11, to ChatGPT at the end of 2022.

They played around with it as a family, using it to create poems. The kids were impressed with what the tool could produce and were excited to explore it. But upon further use, they realised it was not always logical and they needed to be discerning if they were to use it.

Madam Koh, 46, said: “We learnt that we can’t take all the answers at face value.”

Mr Sim, 47, added that ChatGPT is an efficient way to do research as it pulls information together, unlike Google which lists sources one by one.

“It helps to gather information quickly, but it may not be complete information. The user still has to figure out whether it makes sense,” he said.

How to use ChatGPT for learning

ChatGPT can give children instant access to “vast knowledge, instant answers and guidance, opportunities for self-learning and practice, 24/7”, said Dr Wong.

With proper guidance, he believes ChatGPT may become a more useful and fun alternative to an Internet search to support kids’ learning in languages like English.

One way is for ChatGPT to be a conversation partner, giving users the opportunity to practise reading and writing.

For subjects such as science, maths, geography and history, ChatGPT can provide basic explanations for students’ doubts, he added.

ChatGPT is useful in motivating kids to learn as it is interactive and engaging, said Dr Wong.

“If the kids figure out the ‘right’ questions to ask, it could enhance their critical thinking and creativity,” he added. “Students could develop information literacy by fact-checking or judging the appropriateness, relevance and value of the content.”

However, he cautioned that the limitations of ChatGPT include the lack of understanding of context and human touch, as well as limited ability in providing feedback on students’ work. There are also security and privacy concerns, as any information entered can appear in future searches on the same topic.

Still, he feels there is a need to learn to use AI in this information age.

“Ultimately, it is probably not AI, but people who know how to use AI, that can replace certain jobs,” he said.

Tips for parents

• Familiarise yourself with ChatGPT before guiding your children to use it.
• Younger children should not be encouraged to use ChatGPT as it may affect the development of skills for learning. If they do access it, do not use it as a babysitter. Instead, use the tool with them.
• Use ChatGPT to support family bonding or creative tasks for kids. For example, children can prompt ChatGPT for ideas on arts and crafts or outdoor activities.
• Explain to your children the risks of using ChatGPT. For instance, they need to be aware about what constitutes academic cheating. Older children will also need to be guided in developing their information literacy skills, such as in critiquing and fact-checking the content generated.