{"id":20601,"date":"2025-01-10T02:38:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T02:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/anthropology\/using-genai-to-think-critically-about-grading-in-a-cultural-anthropology-class-lorena-gibson\/"},"modified":"2025-01-10T02:38:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T02:38:13","slug":"using-genai-to-think-critically-about-grading-in-a-cultural-anthropology-class-lorena-gibson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=20601","title":{"rendered":"Using GenAI to think critically about grading in a Cultural Anthropology class \u2013 Lorena Gibson"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

In 2019, my friend and colleague Grant Otsuki<\/a> started experimenting with Generative AI (GenAI) \u2013 GPT-2 by OpenAI<\/a> \u2013 to see how well it did at writing an essay for a first year Cultural Anthropology class he taught. As he wrote in a 2020 article for The Conversation<\/a>, he trained GPT-2 on actual essays his students had written in response to the essay prompt, then worked with it to generate its own essay. I remember reading the work generated by GPT-2 and thinking that although I wouldn\u2019t have awarded it a passing grade (for reasons Grant writes about in his 2020 article), it had potential and that a student could have turned it into a C-grade essay in less than 10 minutes. I also remember thinking that if Grant hadn\u2019t told me it was generated by GPT-2, I probably wouldn\u2019t have been able to tell that it hadn\u2019t been written by a student. <\/p>\n

It is no exaggeration to say that GenAI technology and use has exploded since Grant wrote his article, where he argued that we should be teaching students how to work with<\/em> GenAI tools rather than ignore or try to ban them. Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, where I work, recently developed a policy on Student use of artificial intelligence tools<\/a> to help write assignments that directs students to check in with their instructors about whether they can use GenAI:<\/p>\n

\n

Take time to understand expectations around the use of AI<\/h3>\n

Expectations may vary from course to course or even from assignment to assignment. This may include rules around how you can or can\u2019t use AI, and what kinds of AI it is acceptable to use. For example, it might be ok to use translation software, but not generative AI like Chat GPT. Your course coordinators should make it clear when you can and cannot use AI and if there are any limitations on how you use it.\u00a0\u00a0If you\u2019re not sure, just ask.
(https:\/\/www.wgtn.ac.nz\/students\/study\/exams\/academic-integrity\/student-use-of-artificial-intelligence<\/a>, accessed 24 November 2024)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This policy offers teaching staff a lot of flexibility and accommodates people like me, who want to bring GenAI into our classrooms so students can learn how to use it while discussing some of the concerns around its use (including its environmental impact<\/a> and the looming issue of reliable information only being available to those who can afford it<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Class activity: Grade a mini-essay generated by ChatGPT<\/h3>\n

Earlier this year, I decided to adapt Grant\u2019s activity for my undergraduate course Anthropology, Education, and Social Change<\/a>. The first assignment for that course asked students to write two mini-essays of 500-600 words about different concepts and\/or theories that were discussed in lectures and assigned reading material. I asked ChatGPT<\/a> (version 2, by OpenAI<\/a>) to generate a 500-word mini-essay on the topic of \u201cgrades\u201d for a course on anthropology of education, that drew on and cited Susan Blum\u2019s book \u201cI Love Learning; I hate School\u201d An Anthropology of College<\/em><\/a>, which we read and discussed in class. I also asked ChatGPT to adhere to the assignment instructions (below) and spent a bit of time editing the mini-essay it generated.<\/p>\n

In Week 4 of our course, I brought printed copies of the mini-essay that ChatGPT generated to class and asked students to read it and assign it a grade using the marking guide for this assignment. I had two goals in mind with this activity: 1) to encourage students to think critically about GenAI use in the classroom; and 2) to encourage students to engage with the marking criteria that I was going to use to assess their work. <\/p>\n

We began the activity by discussing the following:<\/p>\n