Monthly Archives: January 2023

01.27.23
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Guest Blog: ChatGBT on How Artificial Intelligence Can Affect Education!

I know, so meta, right? A blog about artificial intelligence (AI) is written by a chatbot! Welcome to 2023.

But at The New Century School, education is all about embracing possibility and exploration. So, let’s see what ChatGPT has to say . . . about itself.

This image was also created by an AI bot!

TNCS Blogger: Explain how AI can help elementary and middle school students.

ChatGBT: AI can help elementary and middle school students in a variety of ways. One way is through personalized learning, where AI algorithms can analyze a student’s performance and adapt the curriculum to their individual needs. This can help students learn at their own pace and improve their understanding of the material. Another way is through educational games and interactive simulations, which can make learning more engaging and fun for students. Additionally, AI can assist teachers with tasks such as grading assignments, providing feedback, and identifying students who may need extra help. Overall, AI can help students learn more effectively and efficiently, and can also help teachers manage their workload.

TNCS Blogger: How can ChatGBT, specifically, help elementary and middle school students?

ChatGBT: ChatGPT can help elementary and middle school students by providing a natural language interface to various educational resources and tools. For example, students can ask ChatGPT for explanations of concepts they are learning in class, and ChatGPT can provide clear and concise explanations in a way that is easy for students to understand. ChatGPT can also help students with homework and other assignments by answering questions, providing examples, and giving feedback. Additionally, ChatGPT can be used to create interactive educational games and simulations that engage students and make learning more fun. Overall, ChatGPT can serve as a valuable learning tool for students by providing them with instant access to information and guidance in a way that is easy for them to understand and use.

Sidebar: What is ChatGPT? Who is OpenAI? ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence bot that dialogues with users. It comes to us from OpenAI, a research and deployment company, whose  “mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.”

TNCS Blogger: Can ChatGPT do students’ homework for them?

ChatGBT: While ChatGPT can certainly provide students with answers and explanations to help them with their homework, it should not be used as a tool for completing homework assignments or taking the place of a student’s own learning and understanding. The purpose of homework is to practice and reinforce what was learned in class, to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. If a student uses ChatGPT to simply copy answers or complete their assignments without understanding the material, they will not be able to develop those skills and may have difficulties when they have to apply the knowledge in real-world scenarios or in more complex problems. It is important for students to use ChatGPT as a learning aid and not as a replacement for their own work and understanding of the material.

***Editorial Note: Great response, ChatGPT!

TNCS Blogger: How can instructors differentiate ChatGPT-generated work from a student’s work?

ChatGBT: Instructors can differentiate ChatGPT-generated work from a student’s work in several ways:

  1. Checking for understanding: Instructors can ask follow-up questions or request additional explanations to ensure that the student has a full understanding of the material, rather than just being able to repeat information provided by ChatGPT.
  2. Comparing to previous work: Instructors can compare the student’s work with their previous assignments or quizzes to check for consistency in style, level of understanding, and progress.
  3. Plagiarism detection tools: Instructors can use plagiarism detection tools to check if the work submitted by a student matches any other sources, such as websites, books, or other students’ work.
  4. Assessing critical thinking and problem solving skills: Instructors can design assignments that require students to apply the knowledge they have learned, rather than just repeating facts and figures, this way they can evaluate the student’s understanding and critical thinking skills.
  5. Using multiple assessments: Instead of relying on one type of assessment, instructors can use a variety of assessments such as exams, projects, presentation, and essays, which can provide a more holistic understanding of a student’s understanding of the material.

It’s important to keep in mind that ChatGPT is a powerful tool, but it can’t replace the human touch in assessing students work.

***Editorial Note: Another great response, ChatGPT!

TNCS Blogger: Explain how students can use ChatGPT to enhance their work.

ChatGBT: Students can use ChatGPT to enhance their work in several ways:

  1. Research assistance: ChatGPT can help students find and organize relevant information for their assignments and projects by answering questions, providing sources, and summarizing key points.
  2. Proofreading and editing: ChatGPT can assist students with proofreading and editing their work by identifying grammar and spelling errors, and suggesting improvements to the overall structure and clarity of their writing.
  3. Enhancing vocabulary: ChatGPT can help students expand their vocabulary by providing synonyms and antonyms for words they are using, and helping them find more sophisticated words to use in their writing.
  4. Enhancing critical thinking and problem solving skills: ChatGPT can assist students with solving problems and answering questions by providing explanations and examples that can help them understand the material better and develop their critical thinking skills.
  5. Improving communication skills: ChatGPT can help students improve their communication skills by providing them with an easy-to-use and natural language interface for expressing themselves and communicating their ideas.

It’s important to note that ChatGPT is a tool and it can’t replace the student’s own understanding and creativity. It can be used as a resource for students to enhance their work and improve their knowledge, but it should never be used to replace their own work or creativity.

TNCS Blogger: Are there any disadvantages to using ChatGBT in an educational environment?

ChatGBT: While ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for students and teachers, there are some potential disadvantages to keep in mind:

  1. Reliance on technology: Overreliance on ChatGPT can prevent students from developing their own critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and make them dependent on technology for answers and explanations.
  2. Limited understanding: ChatGPT can provide answers and explanations, but it does not have the ability to understand the context and nuances of a question or problem like a human can, which could lead to incorrect or incomplete answers.
  3. Bias: ChatGPT is trained on a large dataset of text, and it may contain biases that are present in the training data. It’s important to be aware of this and to critically evaluate the information provided by the model.
  4. Privacy concerns: ChatGPT may store and process personal information of students, which could raise privacy concerns. It’s important to ensure that any personal information is handled in compliance with data protection laws and regulations.
  5. Limited to language-based tasks: ChatGPT is designed to understand and respond to natural language, so it’s limited to language-based tasks such as answering questions, summarizing text, or writing. It is not able to perform other types of tasks such as image or voice recognition.

Overall, ChatGPT can be a useful tool for students and teachers, but it’s important to use it in a way that complements and enhances their learning and understanding, rather than replacing it.

For more on how ChatGPT can be a friend to the classroom, see these articles written by humans (or so we think 🤔):

01.13.23
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Honoring a Visionary: TNCS Celebrates MLK, Jr. Day with Service … and Books!

“The time is always right to do what is right.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Service is one of the four Core Values at The New Century School. Honoring the great man who famously said, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve” on the day set aside to serve in his name is an annual observance at TNCS.

On the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service, we step up to make communities more equitable, to fight for systemic change, and to take action to create the Beloved Community of Dr. King’s dream. Together, we can strengthen ties to our communities and one other while we address critical issues that divide us.

At TNCS, this type of service happens all year long, with the TNCS Community participating in food, clothing, and hygiene kit drives (scroll to the end for more service posts), for example, and by actively participating in antiracism. But on January 16th, that service becomes transcendent, merging with the service of others and, temporarily, at least, actualizing the Beloved Community.

Day of Service

Baltimore has a special connection with Dr. King, who visited in 1964. Events will take place all around Charm City leading up to and on January 16th, the day set aside to serve the community in his honor. And, YES! The parade is happening (Monday, beginning at noon)! Other wonderful events like the annual Dare to Dream day at American Visionary Art Museum (free museum admission!) as well as opportunities to volunteer and serve are included in these links:

Whether you are able to serve on January 16th or not, you can inspire your children to stand up for equality. Start with this biographical video on Dr. King made for kids.

Books are another extremely effective way to teach children about the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. So, with the help of Colours of Us and Encompass, here are reading lists for preschool, and elementary, and middle school children, grouped by age.

Preschool Reading List

  • I Am Martin Luther King, Jr., by Brad Meltzer
  • The Story of Martin Luther King Jr., by Johnny Ray Moore
  • My Uncle Martin’s Big Heart, by Angela Farris Watkins
  • My First Biography: Martin Luther King, Jr., by Marion Dane Bauer
  • A Sweet Smell of Roses, by Angela Johnson

Elementary Reading List

  • Be a King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You, by Carole Boston Weatherford
  • As Good as Anybody, by Richard Michelson
  • The Story of Martin Luther King Jr., by Christine Platt
  • Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by Doreen Rappaport
  • National Geographic Readers: Martin Luther King, Jr., by Kitson Jazynka
  • I Have a Dream, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  • A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation, by Barry Wittenstein
  • My Brother Martin, by Christine King Farris
  • Martin’s Dream, by Jane Kurtz
  • I Am #4: Martin Luther King Jr., by Grace Norwich
  • My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by Martin Luther King III
  • My Dream of Martin Luther King, by Faith Ringgold
  • The March on Washington (American Girl: Real Stories From My Time), by Bonnie Bader

Middle School Reading List

  • Martin Rising: Requiem For a King, by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?, by Bonnie Bader
  • Free At Last: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr., by Angela Bull
  • Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank, by Nancy Churnin
  • Portraits of African-American Heroes, by Tonya Bolden
  • Martin Luther King Jr.: A Graphic History of America’s Great Civil Rights Leaders, by Rachel Ruiz
  • Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968, by Alice Faye Duncan

However you choose to observe, Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, TNCS Community!

More service blogs from Immersed:

01.06.23
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New Year’s Resolutions at TNCS: Speak Up (in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese)!

Multilingualism is a cornerstone of The New Century School‘s academic approach and a key part of TNCS’s commitment to the whole child. Immersed has reported on the importance of multilingualism several times (and is even named in its honor), but ongoing research continues to reveal fresh advantages of this practice, so we’re resolving to speak up about this rich topic in the New Year!

Multilingualism at TNCS

We live in an interconnected world more so now than ever before. This interconnectedness can bring us together when we welcome and embrace diversity. Thus, being able to communicate with people of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds is vital to thriving in our global society and is among the many well-established advantages of multilingual education (listed below for your convenience).

At TNCS, students learn English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, both inside the classroom and out. We’ll get more fully into what this means below, but first, let’s look at how it all starts. Students start at age 2 in either a Spanish or Mandarin Chinese immersion classroom. As they progress through the divisions, formal instruction in both languages is layered in as they are ready.

Although targeted instruction in the grammar and mechanics of a language is always going to be necessary, for true proficiency, the learner must be able to use the language—to speak it, to read it, even to learn in it. This is why multilingual education intersects so naturally with the Montessori approach, the next division a TNCS student will enter. Maria Montessori advocated for an educational style that fosters independent learning and absorption of language while engaged in “work.” The Spanish and Mandarin Chinese language programs at TNCS flow naturally into this scheme.

While the Montessori classrooms at TNCS are part of the preschool division, Montessori not only lays the foundation for students’ future academic career, but it also continues to inform the educational approach right up through middle school at TNCS with its emphasis on self-directed learning. In elementary and middle school, TNCS students study Spanish and Mandarin Chinese daily, in addition to having many opportunities to use their languages in authentic contexts, as you’ll see below.

Multilingualism Inside and Outside the Classroom

At TNCS, language immersion means being so proficient with language that students can study, for example, Global Studies in that language. Or read a book about China in Spanish. Let that resonate for a moment, and imagine how synergistic that kind of learning is . . . how many kinds of learning are taking place simultaneously within the child’s brain and how they each unlock further potential and space for yet more learning. It’s like a learning wormhole! A learning kaleidoscope!

Back to the inside and outside the classroom part—being an authentic multilingual global citizen (one of the pillars of a TNCS graduate) informs every aspect of learning at TNCS. Here are just some of the ways this happens:

  • Learning from teachers who are native speakers of the language being taught
  • Attending summer immersion camps in either Spanish or Mandarin Chinese
  • Hosting exchange students, interns, and teachers
  • Conversing with students in other countries via Skype
  • Participating in annual celebrations of the Lunar New Year and Spanish Heritage Month
  • Making art, learning songs and dances, and cooking foods that are part of the culture
  • Taking field trips to restaurants and other cultural centers

Individual stories detailing these wonderful adventures are listed at the end of this post. (Hint: and they include oodles of adorable photos of TNCS students past and present!)

Proven Benefits of Multilingualism

For a refresher on the science, here are demonstrated advantages that multilingualism confers.

Also be sure to check out our refreshed Resources page with published articles and studies on the benefits of multiculturalism.)