Charles Ungerleider, Professor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia
[permission to reproduce granted if authorship is acknowledged]
Last week I reported the results of using AI as a foundation for planning lessons. In general, I thought the bot I used produced a workable framework and, if thoroughly reviewed, some useful content and examples for a first draft plan. That experience prompted me to want to explore the bot’s contribution to unit planning and classroom assessments of various types.
I asked the bot to prepare an outline for a teaching unit about the French Revolution. Here’s the output:
I. Introduction
A. Definition and overview of the
French Revolution
B. Historical context of the
Revolution
C. Significance of the Revolution for
France and the world
A. Economic crisis and poverty
B. Political corruption and abuse of
power
C. Enlightenment ideas and the
influence of philosophers
D. International events and wars
A. The fall of the Bastille
B. The Reign of Terror
C. The rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
D. The abolition of the monarchy and
the establishment of the First Republic
A. Political and social changes in
France
B. The spread of revolutionary ideals
to other countries
C. The influence on later political
and social movements
D. Legacy of the Revolution in France
and the world
A. Summary of key points
B. Reflection on the significance of
the French Revolution
C. Final thoughts and open
discussion.
A. Written tests or essays
B. Group projects or presentations
C. Class discussions or debates
D. Quizzes or exams.
Like the lesson plans, the unit outline is a useful starting point upon which a teacher might build a detailed unit plan. In developing my plan, I would want to place greater emphasis on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the contradiction between advocacy of those rights and slavery and religious intolerance. Nonetheless, the outline is a starting point. It, as is the case with everything produced by the bot or even one’s colleagues, needs to be carefully reviewed.
My next experiment was to ask the bot to produce a ten-item multiple choice test on the French Revolution. I stipulated that each successive item should be more difficult than the preceding item. I asked the bot to mark the correct answer with an asterisk. Here’s the output:
What was the main cause of the French Revolution?
a. The Enlightenment
b. The American Revolution
c. The Industrial Revolution
d. Economic crisis and poverty *
a. King Louis XVI *
b. Napoleon Bonaparte
c. Maximilien
Robespierre
d. Charles De Gaulle
What was the fall of the Bastille symbolize for the French people?
a. The end of the Revolution
b. The end of the monarchy
c. The start of the Reign of Terror
d. The start of their freedom *
What was the Reign of Terror?
a. A period of intense violence during the Revolution *
b. A period of peace and prosperity
c. The name of Napoleon's army
d. A period of intellectual enlightenment
Who was Maximilien Robespierre?
a. A philosopher of the Enlightenment
b. A military leader during the Revolution
c. The leader of the Reign of Terror *
d. A supporter of the monarchy
What did the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen do?
a. Established the First Republic
b. Granted citizenship to all men *
c. Abolished the monarchy
d. Established a dictatorship
Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?
a. A philosopher of the Enlightenment
b. A military leader during the Revolution
c. The leader of the Reign of Terror
d. The first ruler of the First Republic *
What was the impact of the French Revolution on other
countries?
a. It led to the spread of revolutionary ideals *
b. It had no impact on other countries
c. It led to the decline of revolutionary ideals
d. It led to increased political corruption
What was the long-term legacy of the French Revolution?
a. The decline of revolutionary ideals
b. The end of the monarchy
c. The establishment of the First Republic *
d. The rise of dictatorship
What was the significance of the French Revolution?
a. It changed the course of European history *
b. It had no significant impact
c. It led to the decline of revolutionary ideals
d. It led to increased political corruption.
Over my career I’ve read many multiple-choice items. I’d put the items produced by the bot somewhere near the 80th percentile among all the items I’ve read. Without a prompt, the bot avoided items that asked “NOT-type” items, ones in which the respondent is to pick out the one item that is NOT an instance of the phenomenon addressed by the question. The bot also avoided tipping off the answer by keeping all plausible answers the same length.
I am not happy with all items. The item about Louis XVI is confusing at best (Louis XVI was the last king before the revolution). I wouldn’t use it as written by the bot. The item that asks what was the fall of the Bastille symbolize for the French people? is worded awkwardly. It should read what did the fall of the Bastille symbolize for the French people? I wouldn’t use the one asking, “who was Maximilien Robespierre?” because it places greater emphasis on his part in the reign of terror than it does on his advocacy of universal male suffrage. Nor is it evident to me that the questions become progressively difficult. Notwithstanding those shortcomings,, the output is a useful, time-saving starting point for the construction of a quiz.
To my previous caution about scrutinizing the bot’s output for accuracy I would add nuance is not a feature of the bot’s output. Yet, when judged against the output produced by novice item-writers – and I would put most teachers in that category – the bot scored about 80% in my mental calculus.
In a future blog, I will report on the bot’s production of marking
rubrics, group project ideas, and discussion questions. In the meantime, you
might want to evaluate the bot’s production
of multiple-choice items on other topics and in other fields.