This teacher’s got his eye on AI

Mr Mathew Lim, a History teacher from National Junior College, is an AI enthusiast with a passion for responsible AI use. He shares how he imparts AI know-how to fellow teachers and guides his students in harnessing the technology responsibly.

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Since ChatGPT was made available to the public in November 2022, educators have been keeping a watchful eye on its evolution. ChatGPT is a generative AI tool built on Large Language Models (LLMs), that can whip up lengthy and smart responses at the drop of a prompt.

It can also engage in imaginary role-play, write poems and raps, create quizzes, evaluate students’ essays, and more. Since then, other LLM-based artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, such as Bingchat, Google Bard, and ChatGPT Plus, have expanded their capabilities to include tasks like generating and analysing images. We are witnessing the introduction of new AI tools each day, which is set to impact the way our students learn in the foreseeable future.

From my educator’s lens, AI tools come with a bundle of perks. AI chatbots have the potential to enable personalised, adaptable learning, doubling up as conversationalists to fuel group dialogues and critical thinking, stretching the limits beyond what a teacher alone can do.

Yet, as a history teacher, I am concerned that students might overly rely on AI chatbots to generate content without engaging in critically thinking or considering its relevance to historical contexts. AI can also produce incorrect or biased responses and may even make up non-existent authors and false historical sources. 

Setting a positive example of AI use through role-modelling

In Mr Lim’s “The 9Cs that Large Language Models Can’t Do or Can’t Do Very Well,” the initial ‘C’ reminds us that we won’t be relying on ChatGPT to calculate our lunchtime bulk order anytime soon.

Before putting ideas into action and allowing students to work with AI tools, I proactively gather their ideas on utilising AI tools in the classroom through surveys and classroom discussions. Next, I illustrate in uncomplicated terms how LLMs work.

To facilitate their understanding, I developed and presented a set of digital video cards titled “The 9Cs That Large Language Models Can’t Do or Can’t Do Very Well” to students and encouraged their feedback. These 9Cs represent aspects of human proficiency that LLMs sometimes struggle with: Calculate, Credit Sources, Contextual Awareness, Currency, Counterfactual Conjecture, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Connecting to Human Beings and Conscience.

How educators can support students in an AI-driven era

As generative AI tools are anticipated to become widespread in the upcoming years, it is crucial for us to prepare our students for a future where AI tools are easily accessible. 

Before we do that, we must first further our understanding and competencies. Numerous teachers, myself included, have engaged in both online and in-person group discussions, where we exchange ideas and viewpoints regarding AI. A hot hub for such conversations is the Singapore Learning Designers Circle (SgLDC) Facebook group, an initiative of the Educational Technology Division (ETD) of the Ministry of Education (MOE).  Within this space, teachers share their experiences with AI tools and ask questions related to generative AI.

During this year’s SgLDC Virtual Meet 1 held in March, my presentation focused on the techniques and ethical considerations of animating historical figures with AI.