Dr. Yossi Bar
Expert in teaching and learning in academia
Head of the Teaching and Learning Authority at the College of Management Academic Track, and the Janusz Korczak Chair of Academic Teaching in the Digital Age. Initiated innovative learning centers. Engaged in teaching rhetoric and argumentation
Dr. Yossi Bar, we are at the beginning of another testing period in institutions of higher education, and it seems that artificial intelligence, headed by GPT chat, is changing the rules of the game every semester. What will the upcoming testing period look like, and how different will it be from the previous ones?
"In the current semester, the implications will be mainly on various types of housework carried out with open material with GPT at the student's disposal. In providing housework, lecturers will be required to make an immediate and profound change in the nature of tasks and assessment methods.
"Among other things, we will evaluate the student according to new tasks that will be assigned to him outside the classroom: developing new initiatives and solving problems in the real world – in the community, in society, in industry, in the media and in education. In addition, in the future, we will continue to evaluate academic writing and argumentation skills, exercise solving and basic skills in each discipline – as learners will be required to evaluate AI products.
"I am also convinced that in the future academia will have to consider teaching and assessing social-emotional skills. For example, AI will give us information about empathy but it can't teach us, at this point, to be empathetic. It should be taken into account that these are only possible scenarios, and their implementation will depend on many factors. Institutions of higher education will have to reinvent academic teaching and assessment methods."
Photo by Getty Images,
From your words, I conclude that perhaps there is no point in trying to forcibly search for students who have used AI, in preparing papers, for example, but rather to join the trend.
"That's right. In my opinion, it is worthwhile to stop dealing with examining the originality of texts, but rather allow AI to be used as an auxiliary tool, and ask the learner to attach the AI link from which the material was taken. Today in the version of 4 GPT it is possible. I believe that there is no point in investing unnecessary energy that will make the student smarter. It is highly desirable to invest in education for academic integrity and new AI-enabled teaching and assessment methods."
What about the supervised frontal exams, which will also undergo a thorough revision?
"The student will still be required to demonstrate writing skills, mastery of the material and high-order thinking without the help of GPT. What is more, an interesting and innovative change will take place in the exams that will be held in the academic track of the College of Management. We recommended that lecturers combine at least one open-ended question with an answer given by GPT in the supervised test. The student will be required to think critically, evaluate the GPT's response, correct mistakes if necessary, and in some cases even grade the GPT."
Somewhat innovative. Do you see a situation where GPT chat will stand by the student during an exam?
"There may be groundbreaking lecturers who will allow students to take the exam with 'open GPT.' In this case, the questions will be based on the integration of approaches, critical analysis and the development of innovative approaches. The student will also attach the links of the dialogue with GPT. The lecturer is also supposed to evaluate the results according to the examinee's prompts."
At first, only brave professors are likely to incorporate AI into tests. But in the future, it is possible that more and more lecturers will do so, leading to the disappearance of the tests.
"Supervised exams will not disappear. In my estimation, tests that test mastery of academic writing skills, argument writing, and basic skills in each discipline will continue to be monitored. These skills can only be developed through independent thinking and experimentation. If a student immediately skips to a text written by the AI, we will not develop necessary thinking skills and basic skills.
"The AI revolution will force faculty to rethink the tasks and tests they impose on students, and convince students of the value of intensive learning without receiving quick and immediate assistance from AI. At the same time, in the future we will see more tests through simulations, field studies and presentations. Even if there is no substantial change in supervised exams in the coming semester, there is already a profound positive change in students' options to prepare for the test."
Photo: Dudu Greenspan,
How do students really use artificial intelligence during the exam period?
"Artificial intelligence can help students by answering questions that were not understood in class, preparing for an exam with practice questions, and even having in-depth conversations with historical figures or theorists. The student can request an 'open-ended' answer test that includes correcting the answer and improving the writing style, so that they learn to phrase more accurately.
"In fact, the student can better understand complex study material using GPT. For example, you can ask for explanations at graded levels of thinking. If we try to ask GPT to explain what blockchain is at the level of doctoral studies, the chances of understanding the explanation are very low. But if we try to ask for an explanation that suits an elementary school student, we get a catchy and picturesque explanation. To me, it's amazing."
Have there been any interesting studies or experiments regarding the integration of artificial intelligence in the classroom?
"Last semester I piloted two identical courses of mine. One course was taught in the format of previous years combined with innovative pedagogies and the lessons took place in the classroom. In the second group, we met twice at the beginning of the course – and the group was asked to rely solely on GPT sources. Each group was asked to research a topic of their choice and present the learning outcomes at the end of the semester.
"A comparison between the groups shows that the information processing in the preparation of the GPT group's products was very loose to the point of 'copy-paste', while the connection between the sub-topics and sub-sections was completely associative, and very incomplete understanding of the study material stood out. The students submitted work they didn't fully understand. The main conclusion from the pilot at this stage is clear: the students need significant mediation from the lecturer and GPT can only be relied upon as an auxiliary tool."
Photo: Reuters,
The lecturers will not disappear
What do you think is the best pedagogy for teaching and learning with GPT chat?
"The new learning skills in the age of AI require us to go back 2,000 years. During the Talmudic period, the Havruta method was the most common method of study, in which a pair of learners read and discuss the text together. In this method, each learner presents his method sharply against the method of his friend, each learner concentrates on sharpening his position. This pedagogy is characterized by the learner's freedom to ask questions of substantive and profound understanding, to present difficulties, to deal with contradictions, to locate the sources of the position, to analyze logical processes, to give new interpretations, to quibble, to investigate issues and to make decisions.
"It is fitting that in dialogue with GPT Chat we adopt the foundations of Talmudic pedagogy. We will learn to ask questions, especially good follow-up questions, read the AI answer and examine its sources, make it difficult for it with a series of questions and conduct an in-depth dialogue with it. The critical Talmudic thinking learned some 2,000 years ago is becoming highly relevant in the age of AI."
It is interesting to speculate what the Talmudic period would have thought about the idea of artificial intelligence. And in a sharp leap to today, recent surveys show that about half of students are already using artificial intelligence. Have you encountered anyone who opposes it, and if so, why?
"Fortunately, I did not encounter even the slightest resistance. Students are very satisfied with the integration of GPT and report its use in matters related to leisure culture and other pursuits. A group banned from relying solely on GPT chat in the pilot I described expressed frustration. Yes, there has been a slight frustration among GPT users due to receiving incorrect answers or made-up sources or in case of a deadlock in dialogue with GPT."
350,<> students opened the academic year on campuses // Archive: Yaniv Zohar
What about artificial intelligence that will replace lecturers, even partially, are we approaching that day?
"I'll summarize the bottom line: AI won't replace the lecturer, but it will replace the lecturer who won't incorporate AI."
In this regard, do you identify reactionary forces in academia, in Israel or abroad, that strive to reject and reject the use of artificial intelligence?
"Yes, absolutely. We see dozens of researchers and scientists trying to block AI development. Some have signed documents warning of the risks of further development. People like Elon Musk, Sam Altman and even here, Prof. Yuval Noah Harari, are calling for a temporary halt to the development of artificial intelligence and a new look at the process.
"I understand the concerns, risks and implications for humanity. In my opinion, the risks and dangers can be reduced through international policies, regulations and laws that set ethical standards and guidelines for the development and use of artificial intelligence. Recently, the European Union also introduced a bill known as the AI Act. The law classifies artificial intelligence according to risk levels, and is intended to reduce the dangers posed by artificial intelligence systems.
"But in my opinion, there is no turning back. AI is with us, will continue to accompany us all the time, and will only evolve. Today we are in the midst of the revolution – creative artificial intelligence. It is going to be much faster, and probably more revolutionary than all the revolutions that have occurred throughout history. We need to treat her warmly and sympathetically, and improve our quality of life while adhering to precautionary rules."
Financial reward and close guidance
How do the world's leading universities operate when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence in academia?
"All institutions of higher education in Israel and around the world are dealing with the challenge posed by the AI revolution, even though it is only just beginning. We at the College of Management have established a steering committee that deals with changing and adapting curricula and teaching methods to the AI era. We are in the midst of writing a policy document for integrating AI for lecturers and students.
"In general, the College of Management and academic institutions around the world operate on three levels: training lecturers for teaching and learning, including encouraging lecturers through financial compensation and close training to integrate innovative AI developments into their lessons. On the second level, the world and we are engaged in training students on the use of AI. Starting next year, first-year students will participate in AI workshops before the start of the school year. On the third level, academic institutions around the world and in Israel have established AI research centers and opened courses and study divisions focusing on AI. The historical and dramatic revolution has begun to change the face of teaching in the academic track, and I have no doubt that we will go hand in hand with the AI revolution and build success."
But not everyone thinks so. Science magazine, for example, recently announced a policy that GPT chat should not be used to write articles. Other journals allow AI to be used as a facilitator, but not as a writer or analyst of major tasks. Will they have no choice but to align themselves according to the order of the day?
"Science is an academic journal that is considered one of the most prestigious, and if it imposes the limitation, its editors are probably concerned about damage to the quality of research, the status of research, and perhaps also damage to the researcher's image. In my opinion, this is only the initial response to stop and re-examine the policy. Academic journals have proven in the past that they know how to adapt their policy to technological changes. At this point, no AI can write an academic paper that meets the world's standards, and it will probably only happen in a few years, but AI can certainly help produce a good quality article and help analyze data. Therefore, I see no reason to impose a limit on the use of AI. Ultimately, this cannot be controlled, and they will be forced to remove this restriction and establish a strict code of ethics for writing articles."
What is your forecast for the coming years regarding the use of artificial intelligence in academia, in Israel and around the world?
"The world of AI is too complex to predict what its implications will be for the future of academia. What I can say is that I predict that artificial intelligence will have a dramatic impact on higher education. Taking into account that in a year or two there will already be a virtual personal teaching assistant, who will adapt to the student's learning style and function as a private tutor, and build a personal curriculum, institutions of higher education will have to reinvent academic teaching and move from a light refresher to a vigorous revolutionary journey.
"With any development, the role of the lecturer will change. I believe that in the future there will be cooperation between AI and lecturers and they will work in a hybrid manner, and it seems that the connection between the academic world and industry will continue to tighten against the background of the new tasks in the AI era. For now, AI will not replace all the abilities of lecturers and we will continue to see them across campus and in classrooms."
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