Description
“Ethical Exploration of ChatGPT in the Modern K-14 Economics Classroom”
As you read the case study, it addresses the challenge of ethically integrating ChatGPT, a sophisticated AI language model, into K-14 economics education. Be attentive and answer the questions below based on the case study. Your answers should fit in the lines below each question. Be sure to include all the elements mentioned in the article as well as your own knowledge about the financial and banking industry.
Question 1: What ethical concerns are raised in the case study regarding the biases exhibited by ChatGPT and their potential impact on critical skill development in students?
Question 2: According to the case study, in what ways can ChatGPT be beneficial for students, such as providing individualized learning experiences and interactive learning?
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4637359Links to an external site.
The usage and rise of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence large language model by OpenAI, has sparked a new age of concern in impacts to student performance and outcomes in a modern educational classroom. Artificial intelligence often challenges human capabilities, thereby leading to rising conversations on leveraging such technologies to enhance educational outcomes, while navigating the shortcomings and ethical concerns, particularly in the economics classroom. This research can be found important to economics educators, education practitioners, and policymakers
aiming to navigate the evolving technological landscape in the K-14 education settings. The approach of this work aims to address both fallacies and benefits of utilizing the ChatGPT technology in the classroom, however, also assuring balance in preserving educational outcomes and teaching performances. By examining the documented usages of ChatGPT and other literature, the ethical lens of normative and virtue ethics will be addressed in this paper.
The scope of the paper provides a unique outlook of the educational and instructional application of using the ChatGPT technology. Economics educators are interested in understanding how best to advance their classroom material and student learning outcomes within the K-14 classrooms. Student outcomes in educational environments provide practitioners, students, parents, administrators, and outside agencies the ability to review grades as an indicator of measurable knowledge, skills, and abilities. Often times, this is seen in reflection of individual grades or overall student performance in the classroom via assignments or assessments, individually or collectively (Stock et al., 2013). Historically, economics
educators have shown comfortability of utilizing modern technology within the classroom to expand diversity efforts, introducing real-world applications of the field (Al-Bahrani, 2022; Al-Bahrani et al., 2016; Geerling, 2012; Wooten et al., 2020).
This has inspired the creation of a repository with everyday popular culture items to showcase economics lessons that benefit the teachings of economics (Hobbs & Wooten, 2021). Popular culture within the economics classrooms has taken on music selections (Ben Abdesslem, 2022; Geerling et al., 2020; Scott & Bloodworth, 2023), Broadway (Rousu, 2016), Netflix (Ben Abdesslem & Picault, 2023), and TikTok1. These varying growth-related technologies support a welcoming embrace from economics educators in pursuit of maintaining relevance in the classroom (Wooten
et al., 2020). These methods and approaches to teaching within the classroom are considered pedagogical and andragogical techniques, that support teaching performances. Once artificial intelligence (AI), such as the free version of ChatGPT, was introduced for mass consumption by the
public, educators became concerned about the potential misusages such as plagiarism (Can & Honca, 2023; Lo, 2023), altering classwork dynamics (Hill, 2023), and broader impacts of AI’s role in educational environments (Mhlanga, 2023; Ray, 2023). The field of economics embraces decision-making strategies by supporting optimal choices when faced with conditions brought from constraints. Economics educators must consider the dilemma of enhanced classroom exercises and increased productivity, while also understanding potential misuses of the technology can
diminish academic rigor and student authenticity. The scope of normative ethics can be seen in the teachings of an economist, as the field utilizes normative approaches, known as normative economics (Berg, 2003; Colander, 2016; Northrop, 2000). It is the work of Ray (2023) that showcases ChatGPT can perform a variety of tasks from supporting college essay writing to also exhibiting major concerns in prejudice biases and ethical concerns.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore ChatGPT usage in the K-14 economics classroom from an ethical perspective. This leads to the research question, is it ethical to use ChatGPT in the K-14 economics classroom? At the time of this writing, ChatGPT 4.0 can access and search the worldwide web. Furthermore, ChatGPT versions hold a disclosure statement indicating the technology could get important information wrong.2 Throughout the rise of ChatGPT, educators have expressed interest and caution to integrating the application within the classroom (Geerling
et al., 2023). Researchers have been actively evaluating the modern classroom with generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) technology, raising concerns of diminishing student achievement, yet also supporting educational exploration and composition (Steele, 2023). However, the biases that were shown by the GPT has educators expressing doubt that tolerance of the bot would erode critical skill development in primary and upper primary school-age children (Yu, 2023).
While much of the conversation has been around academic integrity standards and evaluation of issues from a learning standpoint, there are other practical implications to consider, such as social disparities. ChatGPT has several versions, with older versions being provided as a free tool. However, the most updated ChatGPT model is hidden behind a pay wall. Additionally, to monetary constraints, individuals who would be interested in using this would need a computer or smartphone that has cellular data and web service capabilities. While this does not particularly answer the research question, it would be a dilemma for economics educators to not consider the social disparity that arises due to the barrier of the service. In addition to paywall, research work has advocated for ethical considerations of using advanced technological tools (Scott, 2023). These truths also hold concern for students who may not have access to the basic fundaments that would be required to enhance skills with the GPT technology.
Furthermore, broadening concerns in education classrooms may acknowledge that students unfamiliar with this technology or lack of access could
exacerbate social status. From an ethical perspective, the concerns of addressed around ChatGPT usage can align with normative ethics, which has embraced justice and individual rights (Ackerly & Attanasi, 2010). Students benefit from the opportunity to gain experience with GPT technology and receive personalized learning (Ray, 2023; Steele, 2023; Yu, 2023). The ability to utilize GPT within the economics classroom can benefit students in receiving individualized learning experiences that support closing knowledge gaps. Furthermore, this can be further
achieved by utilizing the GPT as interactive learning, allowing students to ask questions, without fear of peer critique, and receive instant feedback (Steele, 2023). The concerns from Yu (2023) expresses that students could lean on the GPT as a crutch for guidance and not as an aid. In economics education, it is heavily important for students to achieve a learning outcome that allows applicable theories to real-world scenarios. The usage of GPT could be the tail of two stories – one that supports economic exploration and the other that significantly diminishes critical thinking. However,
the virtue ethics approach embraces that educators hold an intention of strengthening academic performance, outcomes, and teaching performance. Therefore, utilizing the scope of normative ethics and virtue ethics, this paper recognizes the role of the educator is to build and enhance classroom experiences and outcomes.
The economics educator must consider the ethical approach of using ChatGPT within the classroom. In addition to, the approach must be within reason to enhance classroom experiences and outcomes, not for relevancy only. While the first part of this paper has focused on bringing forth introductory components of the research question and ethical framework, the next section will use literature to justify the decision framework in supporting educator decision-making.
