ChatGPT - The Future of Feedback?
How will AI change how we design & deliver feedback? Plus, how you can experiment with AI-powered feedback, today.
Hey Folks! 👋
Welcome - it’s great to have you here.
Emerging technologies like AI and Web3 will fundamentally change how we think about, design & deliver learning experiences.
As an educator, I know first hand that it’s tough to keep on track of the technologies you should know about and - more important - how to use them for maximum impact is tough.
Over the last few weeks, my research has become increasingly focused on the intersection of learning science and emerging technologies.
For example, I’m currently exploring:
how the rise to prominence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT might impact how we design, deliver & evaluate learning experiences;
how AI could remove the learning platform from the online learning space;
how “earn to learn” pathways in Web3 might impact how we think about & design learning experiences over here in web 2.0.
The purpose of the Learning Futures Digest is to provide a monthly summary of cutting edge technologies for people who design learning experiences: educators, academics, teachers, learning designers, product folks and everyone in between.
Every month I will share:
a list of the most pertinent emerging technologies for educators - technologies which impact things like content creation, activity design & assessment design;
advice on how to use these technologies, based on what we know about how humans learn;
a summary of my ongoing research into how we can leverage new technology to deliver learner motivation, mastery & joy.
ChatGPT - The Future of Feedback?
Let’s start with what is often considered to be the end of the learning process: feedback.
I had a great discussion with fellow educators this week about how OpenAI’s ChatGPT might impact how we design & deliver feedback.
The ability to scale high quality, qualitative feedback is a wicked problem which has limited the success of education in many contexts: from higher ed, to corporate L&D and MOOCs.
One question which immediately sprang to mind when I started to experiment with ChatGPT was: is it capable of giving me high quality feedback which drives my learning?
So, I asked ChatGPT to give me some feedback on a few essays. Here's what happened.
🤖 I Got Feedback Immediately
Research shows that the impact of feedback is directly related to the speed at which it's delivered. Robots 1, humans 0.
🤖 My Feedback was Individualised
Research shows that the more that feedback is uniquely connected to individual performance, the more impact it has.
🤖 My Feedback was Evaluative & Motivational
Feedback has most impact when it is both evaluative (about how well I performed) and motivational (about how much I tried).
🤖 My Feedback was Succinct & Actionable
Research shows that the best feedback succinctly summarises achievement & describes what learners can do to correct or improve their learning.
Ways to Use AI to Deliver Feedback Today
I’ve been experimenting with ChatGPT as a feedback tool for a good couple of weeks or so now. Here are four interesting experiments I’ve tried, which you could try too:
Intentional metacognition drives learning. Use ChatGPT as a way for learners to self assess their work, both formatively (during the learning process) and summatively (at the end).
Comparative feedback drives learning. Use ChatGPT as a way for learners to peer-assess their work, both formatively (during the learning process) and summatively (at the end).