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  The last of the Major Educational Challenges Facing Teachers today according to ChatGPT was how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on virtual learning and the education system. This is the advice the software provided for teachers:  1. Be prepared Be prepared to adapt to virtual and online learning, and be familiar with the technology platforms and tools that will be used for remote instruction.  2. Communicate with students and families Communicate regularly with students and families to keep them informed of changes and updates to the virtual learning experience.  3. Set clear expectations and boundaries Clearly communicate expectations and boundaries for virtual learning, such as attendance, participation, and deadlines.  4. Use a variety of teaching methods Incorporate different teaching styles, such as visual, auditory, and hands-on activities, to engage students and cater to different learning styles.  5. Provide support for students Provide support for students who may be strugglin

  When asked about how to keep up with new research and best practices, as part of the Major Challenges Facing Teachers today, ChatGPT suggested the following:  Teachers can first read educational journals and publications: Read educational journals and publications such as Education Week, The Journal of Educational Research, and The Educational Forum to stay up-to-date on new research and best practices in education.  Then, I recommend Attending professional development workshops, conferences, and webinars to learn about new research and best practices in education.  Also important is to join professional organizations: Join professional organisations such as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) to stay informed about new research and best practices in education.  You can also utilise online resources such as the EdTech Review, EdSurge and EdTech Times to stay informed about new research and best pra

  I've recently seen a lot of posts on social media criticising ChatGPT : warning that it delivers factually incorrect responses, showing how you can trick it into giving the wrong answers to maths problems, complaining it makes up references to sources that don't exist. All these posts really show is the author's misunderstanding of what ChatGPT is and what it isn't. The graphic above (by HFS Research ) is useful. In another article, HFS Research write : "Let’s not forget the platform is limited to the input the algorithm was trained on... it's a large language model, GPT-3 (Generative Pretrained Transformer 3)..."  What does ChatGPT say about itself? It says: it was:- …trained using a machine learning technique called unsupervised learning, which means that it is trained to generate text by predicting the next words in a sequence based on the ones that come before it, without the need for human-provided labels or annotations. This allows GPT-3 to generat

Challenge number 5 of The Most Important Educational Challenges facing teachers today , according to ChatGPT was 'Balancing workload and finding time for lesson planning and preparation'. This is the advice ChatGPT gave when asked to help with this: 1. Create a schedule. Create a schedule for your workday and week that includes time for lesson planning, preparation, and other tasks.  2. Prioritise tasks Prioritise tasks based on their importance and urgency, and focus on the most important tasks first.  3. Set realistic goals.  Set realistic goals for what you can accomplish in a day or week and don't overburden yourself.  4. Use technology to your advantage. Utilize technology such as online calendars, to-do lists, and productivity apps to help you manage your workload and stay organized.  5. Collaborate with colleagues.  Collaborate with other teachers to share resources and ideas, and divide tasks amongst each other.  6. Take breaks.  Take regular breaks throughout the

The next of the challenges ChatGPT suggested were the most important facing teachers today was 'Ensure student engagement and motivation'. How best to do that? Well, ChatGPT suggested the following:  The first thing you should do is to use a variety of teaching methods:  Incorporate different teaching styles, such as visual, auditory, and hands-on activities, to engage students and cater to different learning styles.  Next, Make learning relevant. Connect the material you are teaching to real-life experiences and students' interests to make it more relevant and engaging. I’m not the only one to suggest this, but use technology. Utilize technology such as educational apps, videos, and interactive games to engage students and provide multiple ways for them to learn.  It’s also important to encourage student choice. Allow students to make choices in their learning, such as choosing the topic of a group project or the way they want to present their work.  You should also prov

When asking ChatGPT to tell me the most important challenges faced by today's teachers , challenge number four was 'Keep up with changes in curriculum and educational policies'. What advice does the tool offer when it comes to this challenge? To begin with, keep informed of changes in curriculum and educational policies by regularly checking government websites, attending professional development workshops and conferences, and reading educational journals and publications.  Next, collaborate with colleagues: Collaborate with other teachers and share resources and ideas for implementing new curriculum and policies. It’ important to be flexible.  Be open to new ideas and be willing to adapt your teaching strategies to align with new curriculum and policies.  Attend professional development opportunities to learn more about new curriculum and policies and how to implement them in your classroom.  Use technology to your advantage. Utilize online resources and educational techn

  Following on from asking ChatGPT to provide advice for teachers on the major educational challenges they face , I asked the following questions after the software suggested a teacher should reflect on practice:  How can a teacher effectively reflect on their practice? What do you suggest they do? How should a teacher start? Reflecting on one's practice is an essential step in becoming an effective teacher. Here are some suggestions on how a teacher can effectively reflect on their practice. 1. Keep a reflective journal. Keep a reflective journal where you can record your thoughts and observations on your teaching practice. Reflect on what worked well and what didn't, what challenges you faced, and what you learned from the experience.  2. Seek feedback.  Seek feedback from students, colleagues, and supervisors on your teaching practice. This can provide valuable insights into areas for improvement and strengths.  3. Reflect on your goals. Reflect on your goals for the class

  Continuing the series on  ChatGPT and Assessment (Part 1) , this blog post looks at the impact the tool is starting to have on this area of language education and what teachers can do about it.  Already, educators are starting to question whether the emergence of ChatGPT means the end of assessment as we know it.  How can the integrity of assessments when students are able to use nefarious means to complete them?   asks learning elearning , stressing the importance of adding context to any assignment that is set and ensuring students take responsibility for their learning (easier said than done?).  The blog links to a number of other posts that discuss the topic:   FE News  proposes using a variety of question types, different types of tests (e.g. oral presentations or practice-based assessments with students being observed) and more effective proctoring systems. The Conversation thinks the emergence of the tool is an opportunity to rethink assessment altogether. They warn teachers

  The game 20 questions is a popular game for students. You can use ChatGPT  to play this game with students. Either play the game online with the students with them using the software live, or use ChatGPT to generate the texts for you to use with students in class. They can either test each other in pairs or groups using the texts or you can do it with all of the students in class together.  Here' s the prompt I used and what ChatGPT came up with when I tried it: Let's play a game of 20 questions. Write me a short description of a place in the world without revealing the name of the place. I have twenty opportunities to ask yes/no questions to guess the name of the place. If I answer correctly, award me 5 points and then think of another place to continue playing. Sure, let's play! Here's your first description: This place is a city located on the banks of a river, known for its iconic tower and Gothic cathedral. It is also famous for its art museums, cuisine, and roma

 We are currently in the middle of the 2023 #BBELT (the Best and Brightest of English Language Teaching) conference an Americas focused international conference for teachers. It's now an online event that the British Council has organised since the 1990s - #BBELT2023 is hte 20th time it's been organised, and the third time it's been held entirely online. Prior to that it was a face-to-face conference organised in Mexico City. This time round, in order to add a different dimension to the event, we've asked Emily Bryson to document the proceedings by creating sketch notes. Emily is also encouraging all of the participants at BBELT to document the talks they attend. Creating sketch notes is a fabulous way to document conference sessions. Emily has talked about graphic facilitation before in a fascinating webinar for the British Council Americas (below). Here are the sketch notes Emily has produced for the first day's plenary of  #BBELT2023

  Continuing the series of asking ChatGPT to provide advice for teachers... ChatGPT, can you give practical advice to teachers to help them manage and address student behavior and disciplinary issues? 1. Establish clear expectations and rules.  Clearly communicate and consistently enforce expectations and rules for behavior in your classroom. Use positive reinforcement: Reinforce positive behavior by praising and rewarding students when they exhibit appropriate behavior.  2. Address issues immediately.  Address problematic behavior as soon as it occurs and intervene promptly to prevent it from escalating. Use a consistent disciplinary process: Use a consistent process for addressing disciplinary issues and ensure that consequences are fair and appropriate.  3. Communicate with parents.  Communicate with parents and guardians about their child's behavior and involve them in finding solutions to any issues.  4. Build relationships with students.  Building positive relationships wit

  As part of the Teachers Talk Radio show about the major Educational Challenges for teachers , I asked the AI software about the second challenge it mentioned, then challenged its suggestion to take into account the learning styles of the learners. I'd heard that ChatGPT tries to give you the answer it thinks you want, and if you argue against its response, it will change accordingly. This appears to be the case below. Once challenged about learning styles, it seems to agree with me that caution needs to be taken, despite having originallly suggested using this.  Moving onto the second of your eight challenges, you mentioned catering to students with different learning styles and backgrounds as a major challenge. Can you give some practical advice to teachers to help them with this?   In order to meet the diverse needs of students with different learning styles and backgrounds, teachers can…  1. Use a variety of teaching methods. Incorporate different teaching styles, such as visu

  What does ChatGPT have to say about gamification? As part of the Teachers Talk Radio show about the major Educational Challenges for teachers , I asked the AI software for advice about gamification, following up on its suggestion to make use of it.  What is gamification and why should teachers be interested in it? Is gamification just using points and leader boards with students? Or are there more sophisticated ways of using it in class? Gamification is the process of using game design elements in non-game contexts, such as education, to engage and motivate people to learn. It involves using elements such as points, badges, leaderboards, and competition to make learning more interactive and engaging. It also has the potential to increase motivation, engagement, and retention of information. There are different ways that teachers can use gamification in the classroom, and it's not limited to just using points and leaderboards.  Some examples include:    1. Quizzes and quizzes. Te