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The survey results expose a significant transformation in students’ perspectives on educational assistance. A staggering 85% of high school and college students who used both ChatGPT and traditional tutoring sessions during the recent academic year say that ChatGPT outperforms traditional tutoring in terms of its effectiveness as a learning tool.
Similarly, 96% of parents with school-age children share this view, adamant that studying with ChatGPT generates superior results for their offspring.
That trust in ChatGPT has led to a remarkable change: 39% of students and 30% of parents have completely replaced their tutoring sessions with this AI-powered platform.
Parents surveyed say that ChatGPT’s ability to correct errors facilitates a more accurate learning experience for their children. They also report that their children prefer using the software for oral practice, with significantly better results.
“Students and their parents find ChatGPT to be a highly effective study tool that is more convenient and efficient than traditional tutoring, to the point where many have actually replaced tutoring sessions in favor of ChatGPT,” Diane Gayeski, Education Consultant superior at Intelligent.com and professor of strategic communications at Ithaca College, he told VentureBeat. “Parents find ChatGPT an attractive tutor because it’s free, always available, and responds quickly to questions. He’s quite good at providing basic concepts and even practicing questions on common topics like algebra, geography, and foreign languages.”
The study collects feedback from 3,017 high school and college students and 3,234 parents of younger students. Among these participants, 801 people were from the United States.
For the students surveyed, stringent demographic filters were applied to ensure that their ages were between 16 and 24 and that they identified as “students” with regards to employment status. As for parents, respondents underwent rigorous demographic filtering to confirm that they had at least one child, followed by a primary screening process to verify that at least one child was enrolled in elementary, middle, or high school.
Improve ratings and efficiency with ChatGPT
The report indicates that nearly all students have replaced some of their tutoring sessions with ChatGPT. As many as nine out of 10 students express a preference for studying with ChatGPT over studying with a tutor.
Furthermore, the survey results point out that by integrating ChatGPT into their study routine, 95% of the students and parents surveyed saw an improvement in their academic grades.
ChatGPT has predominantly replaced tutoring sessions in subjects such as mathematics and “hard” sciences such as chemistry and biology.
“This may be because these topics tend to be technical and concepts more difficult, and ChatGPT can present clear, distilled answers for these kinds of problems, which can help students understand complex concepts,” Intelligent’s Gayeski said. com at VentureBeat. “This, of course, assumes the student has enough background knowledge to give ChatGPT the right kind of request.”
Is ChatGPT really effective?
Gayeski noted that despite the clear indication of ChatGPT’s popularity survey, experts widely believe that it will not serve as a full, long-term replacement for tutors in the short term.
“ChatGPT can’t do what expert human tutors do because it depends on the user making good suggestions. For example, if I’m having trouble conjugating Italian verbs, I might ask for it to practice and practice. But human tutors are experts at teaching a topic,” Gayeski said. “They know what questions to ask to gauge a student’s understanding of the content, and they can diagnose student misconceptions and provide specific feedback.”
He emphasized that human tutors possess invaluable knowledge regarding the types of questions commonly encountered on standardized tests and an understanding of what specific teachers within their school district expect from assignments.
Gayeski explained: “A tutor can offer tailored examples that would suit a 15-year-old. However, while ChatGPT can provide such examples, the user must possess the skill to articulate the request effectively.
He doubted that a teenager who harbored a dislike for biology would excel at making suggestions that would produce engaging content and effectively gauge their understanding of the subject.
“Often, students struggle in class because they are unable to predict the kinds of questions their teachers might ask to assess their knowledge. That’s why we often hear from students that they’ve studied hard for a test, but still performed poorly. In some cases, teachers want terminology or rather straightforward lists from the texts they are using and ChatGPT may not know this,” added Gayeski.
She pointed out that while 95% of students and parents surveyed reported better grades since incorporating ChatGPT into their study routines, a human tutor plays a vital role in providing structure.
“That’s why many people use personal trainers at the gym. It’s not necessarily because they don’t know how to train or use the machines. It’s because having that appointment provides (for) people with positive feedback and encouragement from the trainer which can encourage persistence.” Gayeski said.”For effective results, ChatGPT is totally dependent on the user entering good prompts. The student must have enough background knowledge to give ChatGPT the right kind of prompt.
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