Teacher Tech blog with Alice Keeler

Paperless Is Not a Pedagogy

Alice Keeler

The ChatGPT Effect: Art Projects as the Key to Student Adaptation

How will schools handle the rapid shifts necessary to adapt to AI chatbots like ChatGPT? Adapt to ChatGPT with Art! Art makes learning more meaningful and personal. School should focus more on making great well balanced human being rather than competitors of technology.
The ChatGPT Effect: Art Projects as the Key to Student Adaptation

I saw yesterday that a school is going to intentionally install ChatGPT on student devices for 6th grade and above. Pretty much every product on the planet right now is trying to integrate ChatGPT or a rival. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can not be avoided. It will be disruptive. As the adage goes “Adapt or Die.” Just as during the pandemic schools had to overnight adapt to a new style of teaching and learning, ChatGPT will force this as well.

How will our lessons change when we embrace ChatGPT?

More Art!!!

Art Connects Students to Their Learning

This week is spring break for my children. We came to Colonial Williamsburg which provides history tours around life in the 1700’s. My kids were moaning a little that walking around a colonial town with some drizzly rain wasn’t that exciting. Taking the tour of the capital building my son zoned in on the royal crest on the wall. He had done an art project at school learning about family crests and had made one. Suddenly he was SO INTERESTED in the tour. He was asking a bunch of questions about the crest, wanting the tour guide to break down all the parts of it. This spilled over into him being really interested in learning more about everything on the tour.

Colonial Williamsburg tour guide and my son asking lots of questions

Tour guide at Colonial Williamsburg at the colonial state capital.

Art is personal. Art is humanizing. Art Connects Us

Adapt to ChatGPT with Art

More art projects!! Students crave to be creative. They want to express themselves. Be proud of what they create.

As a parent two things come out of my sons backpack. Art he did at school and worksheets. Only one of the two makes it to the fridge. Proudly displayed and celebrated. The latter goes straight to the fire. We don’t save those.

Can’t ChatGPT Do This For Me?

Prior to ChatGPT students had Google Search. Ask them a question they know they could just Google and their interest wanes. It’s harder to care about learning something when it seems inauthentic. “Why am I having to learn this, I can just Google it.” Lacking relevance makes it harder for learning to stick longterm.

This problem is now exacerbated by ChatGPT. It does much more than just search up websites with information. It actually synthesizes the information across sources and extracts a useable output. “Why do I have to write this? ChatGPT will do it better.” They are not wrong.

Continuing to truck along with the same assignments that don’t adapt to the new culture of AI won’t work. Schools will have no choice but to adapt. Adapt to ChatGPT with art.

All Subjects Can Be Taught Through Art

At least to some extent, art can be incorporated into all subjects.

🤖Write a list of 10 classroom assignments that can incorporate art

  1. Visual Note-Taking: Encourage students to take visual notes during lectures or while reading. They can use different colors, fonts, and shapes to represent concepts and ideas.
  2. Storyboarding: Students can create storyboards to plan out their own short films, animations, or presentations. This assignment combines visual storytelling with critical thinking and planning skills.
  3. Collage-making: Assign students to create collages that visually represent concepts or themes from literature, history, or science. They can use cut-out images, text, and other materials to create a visual representation of their ideas.
  4. Infographics: Assign students to create infographics that visually represent information, data, or concepts. This assignment requires research, critical thinking, and design skills.
  5. Comic Strips: Students can create comic strips that retell a scene from a novel or historical event. They can use dialogue, speech bubbles, and visual cues to communicate their ideas.
  6. Kinetic Sculptures: Assign students to create kinetic sculptures that represent a scientific concept or an abstract idea. They can use motors, gears, and other materials to bring their creations to life.
  7. Graffiti Art: Encourage students to create graffiti-style art that represents their identity or a social issue. This assignment can be a way to explore social justice issues and encourage self-expression.
  8. Portrait Painting: Assign students to create portraits of historical figures or literary characters. This assignment can help students practice observation skills and develop an understanding of character.
  9. Map Making: Students can create maps that represent historical events or fictional worlds. This assignment requires research, critical thinking, and design skills.
  10. Digital Art: Encourage students to create digital art using software like Photoshop or Procreate. This assignment can help students develop technical skills while exploring their creativity.

Ask ChatGPT for Art Integration

Here is the good news! You’re not alone. You have a sidekick. It is ChatGPT. I asked ChatGPT

Write a lesson plan, using the 5 E’s lesson plan model where students look at Art on Google Arts and Culture and then create their own art in order to learn linear equations.

Chat with ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a chatbot. Start a new chat. Ask it to create a sample lesson plan where students create art. Then just as if you were talking to a teacher friend, ask it to modify the output.

Create a lesson for 9th graders on the geography of shorelines and how it impacts colonization

My Follow Up Questions

Include class discussion questions
Write a 5 question multiple choice quiz
Rewrite the lesson in the style of the 5 E’s
Incorporate Google MyMaps
Integrate students looking at Art on Google Arts and Culture website
Include students completing an art project
Make the lesson more student centered

I pasted my conversation with the ChatGPT chatbot. You can see how it knows that my follow up question is in reference to the previous output. Keep asking ChatGPT prompts to modify and refine the lesson plan.

Move to Adapt to ChatGPT with Art

An easy first step to adapting our lessons to an age of ChatGPT is to incorporate more art. It’s win win all around. ChatGPT isn’t making school obsolete, it is shifting it to being more about creativity and critical thinking. I’m excited about it.

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