Chat GPT has grown to be a keystone aspect of the lives of many Prep students and teachers. Launched in 2022, Chat GPT has grown exponentially in site traffic as well as in functionality.  

“It kind of just burst onto the scene. I was surprised how quickly it got adopted,” said Media Literacy teacher and member of the EdTech team Mr. Danielson when asked about his first impression of the growing website.  

Ms. Kramer, the assistant principle for teaching and learning, who discovered Chat GPT thanks to a heads-up from Mr. Danielson, said “I knew it was one of those things that could do a lot more than we could even imagine at that point in time.” 

Chat GPT was quick to enter the learning scene, making educators wonder how it could be used to improve the learning process of students rather than stunt it. Many teachers felt concerned in the early days of Chat GPT as they pondered this question.  

“I needed to figure it out in terms of education because these students who are headed out into their lives need to learn to use it in an ethical way that eventually helps them with their job,” said Danielson.  

It is easy to abuse Chat GPT due to its seemingly endless abilities, however, it is able to be used in proactive ways that help to grow the minds of students rather than restrict them. Kramer is adamant about using Chat GPT in ways that allow students to expand on what it produces. Her freshman theology class is currently working on an assignment in which they craft a prompt to put into Chat GPT that constructs a skit between three people with different perspectives on religion. The students then are able to analyze the skit and decide whether the result is accurate or not. Based on the results, students can then adjust their prompt in Chat GPT in order to create a more precise skit. “The point isn’t to teach them how to write a skit. The goal is to learn these three perspectives better,” said Kramer.  

This assignment is able to teach students about the content of the class while also encouraging them to think critically about how to use Chat GPT and how to feed it prompts that enhance the learning process.  

“I think the best way for students to use it is just as an introductory tool to help them brainstorm ideas. It’s not substituting their work, it is just making it a little bit easier,” Danielson claimed.  

“At Prep, we are interested in trying out new things and giving our students the tools that they need to understand how to use things like Chat GPT in the world.” Kramer pointed out.