The use of ChatGPT in higher education is making a huge impact in assessment and evaluation. This generative artificial intelligence tool released in November 2022 has changed the classroom evaluation game and created opportunities for students, educators and institutions alike. As technology advances, higher education is also feeling the effects. This Pandemic has put many of these institutions to the test, as they had to adapt to distance learning. ChatGPT provides another chance for stakeholders in the industry to explore how they approach assessment and evaluation at the tertiary level.
ChatGPT has been described as being capable of understanding and generating accurate results across multiple topics and contexts. Leveraging its AI capabilities, educators are now able to ‘level up’ their exam items as well as help in constructing more comprehensive alternative assessments. This noteworthy advancement offers sophisticated simulations that mimic real world scenarios, even providing plausible responses that require higher order thinking and analysis. This helps in relating knowledge acquisition to the evaluation of the competencies required for a particular task and increases reliability and validity of the evaluations.
Perhaps the most significant advantage of ChatGPT is that it augmented’s self-directedness and makes learning more engaging and stimulating, both for educators and learners. Some institutions have started using ChatGPT to help develop and improve student’s critical and creative thinking skills. While ChatGPT can be beneficial in these respects, there is a need for caution when it comes to academic integrity. Educators should enforce initiatives to identify and punish plagiarism and improper use of the tool.
Jenny Arledge, an educator, said “Technology can become the wings that will allow the educational world to fly farther and faster than ever before – if we allow it”. It is our responsibility to use it in the right way, allowing it to become the pathway to development and improvement. ChatGPT presents an opportunity to take assessments and evaluation at the tertiary level to the next level, freeing us up to think of more creative and engaging ways to evaluate learning. If we can foster collaboration between humans and AI then we can in turn create a platform that can benefit the higher education system both locally and internationally.
