How AI Could Impact Creativity in Education
By Movieguide® Contributor
While the use of AI tools in education has been controversial from the start, a new study revealed AI’s impact on creativity, something that may inform its future use in the classroom.
“Increasingly, students are using AI for help with their schoolwork. Whether it’s for drafting essays, learning new languages or studying history and science, AI tools are becoming a staple in students’ academic toolkit,” StudyFinds reported.
Researchers from across the country came together to investigate the impact AI chatbots have on the creative process. College students were asked to write down as many uses for a paperclip as they could think of. They were then asked to repeat the process four weeks later, but this time, they could use ChatGPT to help the process. Students were then asked to reflect on the process.
While 100% of the students admitted that the AI tool made the brainstorming process easier, many said they would not want to use it for this purpose in their daily lives. The mixed results revealed that it is a nice place for the brainstorming process to start, but students were unhappy if it did not launch original thinking of their own.
“I felt like with the help of AI, brainstorming processes will be more quick and creative,” one student told researchers. “However, this is kind of the computer literally [doing] everything for you. I would not want to use AI on its own.”
“It was both easier and harder to come up with ideas when assisted by the AI. It was easier to use the things listed by the AI, however it then felt more difficult to brainstorm other uses beyond those created or taken by the AI,” added another student.
The question of originality is especially important when using AI tools, as they are created by combining a set of preexisting data that they are given. Thus, they cannot produce truly new ideas and are repetitive with the ideas they offer.
“The study results indicate that allowing students to practice creativity independently first will strengthen their belief in themselves and their abilities. Once they accomplish this, AI can be useful in furthering their learning, much like teaching long division to students before introducing a calculator,” Sabrina Habib said of the study.
With AI’s recent emergence, it appears that its use in the classroom is all but inevitable. It will, therefore, be important for researchers to continue to identify ways the technology is beneficial for education so it can have a positive impact on the classroom rather than inhibiting students’ success in the future.
Movieguide® previously reported on AI in the classroom:
As AI program ChatGPT becomes more mainstream and powerful, teachers consider this technology’s place in the classroom.
The release of this revolutionary technology at the end of last year gave students access to some of the most powerful cheating technology ever created and caused problems for teachers across all levels of education.
It wasn’t long before students were caught trying to pass off ChatGPT’s work as their own, and syllabuses and policies needed to be updated to outline the consequences of using said technology.
“We need to say, full stop, that any attempt to pass off work of someone or something else’s as your own is deceptive,” Jason Thacker, professor of philosophy and ethics at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky, said.
“In certain situations, it would be beneficial to ban a technology like this, but [the] reality is you’re never going to ever truly ban it,” he continued. “You’re never going to be able to keep students from using it because if you banned it on school computers, the next thing you know, they’re using their smartphone tablets, or they’re using it at home.”
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +2