ChatGPT as an Educational Tool: Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations for Communication, Business Writing, and Composition Courses

Abstract

This empirical study examines ChatGPT as an educational and learning tool. It investigates the opportunities and chal-lenges that ChatGPT provides to the students and instruc-tors of communication, business writing, and composition courses. It also strives to provide recommendations. After conducting 30 theory-based and application-based ChatGPT tests, it is found that ChatGPT has the potential of replacing search engines as it provides accurate and relia-ble input to students. For opportunities, the study found that ChatGPT provides a platform for students to seek an-swers to theory-based questions and generate ideas for ap-plication-based questions. It also provides a platform for in-structors to integrate technology in classrooms and conduct workshops to discuss and evaluate generated responses. For challenges, the study found that ChatGPT, if unethically used by students, may lead to human unintelligence and un-learning. This may also present a challenge to instructors as the use of ChatGPT negatively affects their ability to dif-ferentiate between meticulous and automaton-dependent students, on the one hand, and measure the achievement of learning outcomes, on the other hand. Based on the out-come of the analysis, this study recommends communica-tion, business writing, and composition instructors to (1) re-frain from making theory-based questions as take-home as-sessments, (2) provide communication and business writing students with detailed case-based and scenario-based as-sessment tasks that call for personalized answers utilizing critical, creative, and imaginative thinking incorporating lec-tures and textbook material, (3) enforce submitting all take-home assessments on plagiarism detection software, espe-cially for composition courses, and (4) integrate ChatGPT generated responses in classes as examples to be discussed in workshops. Remarkably, this study found that ChatGPT skillfully paraphrases regenerated responses in a way that is not detected by similarity detection software. To maintain their effectiveness, similarity detection software providers need to upgrade their software to avoid such incidents from slipping unnoticed.

How understanding large language models can inform the use of ChatGPT in physics education

“…In the months following the release of ChatGPT, scholars in different subfields of education research began reflecting on the opportunities and challenges arising from LLMs' application in education [77][78][79][80][81]. Some recurring ideas in this literature include the impact of LLMs on assessment practices on one side [52,82,83], as well as LLMs' potential to enable interactive and personalised learning assistance for students [84,85], and lesson planning and assessment assistance for teachers [84][85][86][87][88].…”

An overview of the capabilities of ChatGPT for medical writing and its implications for academic integrity

“…According to AlAfnan et al (2023), ChatGPT has the potential to replace search engines and can transform learning from theory‐based to application‐based ideas and contents. Recent studies indicate that the users are more likely to use Al‐powered tools over search engines in the future for searching information on the Internet.…”

The Utilization of ChatGPT in Reshaping Future Medical Education and Learning Perspectives: A Curse or a Blessing?

“…17 A recent study by the American University of the Middle East assessed the composition of various texts created by ChatGPT and concluded that it was not competent at writing well-structured essays, supporting the idea that the program must be prompted with a highly organized outline in order to produce an organized response. 18 In another study, Kung et al pointed out that the accuracy of the reasoning of ChatGPT will continue to improve through the maturing of language learning models and the fine-tuning of the prompts. 19 Our study provided a prompt to ChatGPT based on the existing organizational structure of a medical textbook, allowing for organized responses, which likely contributed to the high ranking of organization for the ChatGPT.…”