The first week of 2023 has already passed, and the spring semester looms on the Monday horizon. I’m spending the weekend populating calendars and uploading syllabi. Conferences, curricula improvement, and major moves will make this a hectic semester. In the midst of it, I’ve resolved to blog more.
This year I will incorporate more pragmatics into my communication skills courses with a heavy focus on interactive competence. This will culminate in my TESOL presentation in March. Last year, I incorporated daily videos and impromptu role plays into my communication classes. This year I will add improved rubrics and analytical concepts from the field of conversation analysis. To that end, I’m busy reading this:
In addition to my presentation on interactive competence in EAP curricula, I will record a virtual presentation with my director for the TESOL 2023 conference. The topic of that presentation — AI-based writing tools — has been complicated by the advent of the ChatGPT software that has flustered the world of education this week.
Stephen Marche of The Atlantic wrote this:
The essay, in particular the undergraduate essay, has been the center of humanistic pedagogy for generations. It is the way we teach children how to research, think, and write. That entire tradition is about to be disrupted from the ground up. Kevin Bryan, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, tweeted in astonishment about OpenAI’s new chatbot last week: “You can no longer give take-home exams/homework … Even on specific questions that involve combining knowledge across domains, the OpenAI chat is frankly better than the average MBA at this point. It is frankly amazing.” Neither the engineers building the linguistic tech nor the educators who will encounter the resulting language are prepared for the fallout.
Will ChatGPT Kill the Student Essay? – The Atlantic
Not even a week into the year and more creeping dystopia has already stepped onto the stage.
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