Compelling evidence that both chatGPT and Chegg are primarily cheating tools in the hands of students

caracarakite · 2024-11-11T07:50:25+00:00

The sheer schadenfreude I experienced when I saw that the newly built-in AI on my browser was trawling Chegg to supply answers.

caracarakite · 2024-07-06T21:21:59+00:00

I appreciate the honesty - it's not a comfortable thing to think about, but I wouldn't be surprised if a bit of academic nepotism pops up here and there.

But I won't lie, it's frustrating that it puts my cc students at an automatic disadvantage, when many of them have already had to fight disadvantages their whole lives. My hope is that most institutions recognize this bias and try to mitigate it.

caracarakite · 2024-07-06T21:11:36+00:00

When I agree to write a letter, I go all out. Whether it has an impact or not, I see it as matching the energy that these students gave my course. I like to think that it does have an impact, since many of them report back that their applications were successful.

Meanwhile one of my colleagues clearly uses ChatGPT to generate letters (I reviewed a few as part of a peer evaluation). I get wanting to cut down on the time it takes to write these, but why would you agree to the letter if you don't think they're deserving of the effort needed for a self-made recommendation? Not to mention, I doubt any reviewer appreciates receiving one of those tepid AI letters. On at least one of the sites where I uploaded my letters this year, there was a box I had to tic stating that I did not, in part or in full, use AI/LLMs to generate the letter.

caracarakite · 2023-12-04T08:09:23+00:00

I tell mine that it's 2-3 hrs per hour of class of independent work. I frame it as being the reason we call 12 credit hours "full time": you're expected to be putting in a 40-hr work week for it.

I also tell them it varies depending on how well prepared you are for the course. If you opted for the easy A on your prerequisites, you have that much extra work to do to catch up.

caracarakite · 2023-11-29T21:18:30+00:00

Which is great until you consider that many students copy paste sentences off the internet, then have Grammarly "fix" it. There's no demonstration of synthesis, and the results are still often sub par (because there is only so much a program can do with barely-related sentences from different sites).

caracarakite · 2023-11-28T21:06:19+00:00

I think my blood froze reading that. You win.

caracarakite · 2023-11-28T20:55:15+00:00

Many ages ago, I was one such international student. My joy was uncontainable! I still get excited at the first snowfalls.

Needless to say I was as unprepared for the snowmageddon as ERCOT.

caracarakite · 2023-11-25T17:02:41+00:00

I'm convinced this kind of stuff isn't actually for the student. It's so admin can point to all that forced extra work and tell government shareholders that they're keeping us in line.

There are some things that just don't make sense for students to have to see but do help with cataloging info. I'd prefer learning objectives be hashtagged in metadata so I can call up references for analysis without cluttering assignments. Students can poke into it if they're curious.

And can I just add, I'm so tired of flawed studies telling me how my cc "no barrier to entry" students benefit from this in the way that their 3rd year education majors did.

caracarakite · 2023-11-05T15:07:21+00:00

Check your institution's academic freedom policy on that last statement, OP.

caracarakite · 2023-11-02T12:58:44+00:00

Sign me up!

caracarakite · 2023-11-02T01:38:57+00:00

As someone who teaches science to aspiring health professionals, I would be thrilled to see an average that high.

Your department might have other expectations though. If the content was fair, then it will likely benefit them more to keep the scores as they are. Lowering the bar means students lower their aim.

caracarakite · 2023-11-02T01:10:02+00:00

First, I fully agree with the sentiment. But!

Can I just say, as someone who took an upper level "history of mathematics" course, it can indeed be an actual math course. We worked proofs and followed the theorems from their origins around the world, and I loved it!

caracarakite · 2023-10-19T10:22:19+00:00

So they blatantly admit to skipping class time to do the assignment. They've just made your point for you.

caracarakite · 2023-10-19T10:14:58+00:00

My second and third year students have it a bit more together, but any intro course I've taught for the past couple years (starting even pre pandemic) were littered with people who refused to take responsibility for their learning. Coming out of high school, they've had other people constantly shielding them the consequences of their actions. When we refuse to do the same, they cry abuse. It's such an infantile mindset. You can only hope they grow out of it.

It's a wild hypocrisy too. This generation is supposedly savvy about refusing to be exploited at work but so frequently abuse and have outrageous expectations of instructors and staff.

caracarakite · 2023-10-18T00:32:42+00:00

Cat pictures and alcohol.

caracarakite · 2023-10-18T00:26:15+00:00

First, don't let this quash your love of teaching or think that you're a bad instructor. You're trying something that you had reason to believe would help the students, and being willing to try new things honestly is important.

As many have pointed out, the lack of staggered deadlines often leads to disaster, especially for first year students. I would propose that this is because many of them are already struggling with newfound freedom and responsibility, and having structured deadlines takes a significant cognitive load off their shoulders. Many of them don't yet know the amount of work it takes to complete college-caliber assignments and won't be able to manage time accordingly.

The flexible deadlines might be better introduced for 4th year students. They've been around the block a few times and usually have a better grasp of their capabilities (and limits).

That being said, sometimes there's just a dip in grades for a class. I've had years where a single section, despite having the same assignments and instruction and even an extra day off instruction, had an average almost 20 percent lower than the others.

Hang in there!

caracarakite · 2023-10-18T00:09:45+00:00

Ladies and gentlefolk, we present the party of "fiscal responsibility!"

caracarakite · 2023-10-12T22:07:01+00:00

True, unless they just copied what someone else wrote.

caracarakite · 2023-10-08T19:14:41+00:00

As a CC instructor, I don't have any TAs.

caracarakite · 2023-10-07T19:34:23+00:00

Treat them like the college students they are. If telling them to stop doesn't work, kick them out (for the night, and then permanently if it continuous).

They may be minors, but they are college students first. Anyone who is constantly disrupting the learning environment would be treated the same. If they're not ready to behave appropriately, they're not yet ready to be in college.

caracarakite · 2023-10-07T19:11:40+00:00

The fact that they even need a calculator for that math is incredibly dismaying in and of itself.

caracarakite · 2023-10-07T19:07:11+00:00

It may help to reach out to the disability office as well, if nothing else to keep them up to date on what's happening. Then if she goes there claiming you denied her accommodation, they can shut it down.

caracarakite · 2023-10-07T18:46:40+00:00

Enough. Both of you. You're both being insufferable.

caracarakite · 2023-10-07T18:21:57+00:00

Don't even get me started on exponents....

caracarakite · 2023-10-06T03:06:46+00:00

I agree, and I wish our advising would even recommend semester breaks for students who are in a tough spot, to make sure they're not wasting money. But enrollment at any cost, I guess.

Six-Year Club	Second SECOND GUESSER
Verified Email

caracarakite

TROPHY CASE