Homework in the ChatGPT era: What should learning look like now?

Homework is no longer restricted to hard bound notebooks. In today’s time, everything has become online submission. No longer, sitting with pen and paper. Doing homework is now just typing away.

But that too, has become easily accessible. No research, no waste of time, traditional homework has been replaced by just a prompt.With tools like ChatGPT, homework is now a prompt away. All answers, explanations and full essays are now generated within seconds. Here the question that arises is how the traditional method of homework can be meaningful in the age of AI?

A slow shift to find answers

In the era of ChatGPT, the biggest shift that educators are noticing is now students are outsourcing their thinking instead of developing it.

They are moving away from homework and assignments are losing their value. While assignments ask students to explain their reasoning on how they arrived at the answers by applying real-life concepts. On other hand, there are also oral presentations, in class assignments and projects where teachers assess students’ grasp on the topic.

Many educators feel that students should be taught responsible use of these learning aids rather than banning these tools outright.

While ChatGPT help students come up with new ideas and clarify difficult concepts and get explanations in simpler language. In short, these tools become digital tutors. While doing homework, children should be encouraged to question the outputs and verify facts rather than blindly copying AI answers.

Here, digital literacy comes into play, skills that are essential for the future workforce.

In this era, homework needs to become lighter and more meaningful. It has also become very personalized. Rather than focusing on ‘finishing homework’, the goal should be to nurture curiosity, creativity and independent thinking. Here, quality matters more than quantity. With the help of ChatGPT, one might get done with homework quickly but one should also remember that the response would be generative throughout with other students working on the same topic.

Here, concentration should be given on finessing the assessment with research, real-life examples and personal creativity.