I’ve been teaching middle school science for eight years. I gravitated towards teaching because of the lack of joy I had felt as a student. I wanted to come in and create a classroom of joy and excitement for kids who see learning worthwhile. Then realizing quickly this profession gives you a myriad of remedial tasks that make planning for joy quite difficult.
Five years ago, frustrated by this lack of joy in my classroom, and from often feeling more like a drill sergeant than a facilitator of learning, I started experimenting with project-based learning. I immediately saw excitement from my students and I was hooked. There was just one problem: planning took way too long. I couldn’t keep spending this much of my evenings and weekends on planning, but I also couldn’t go back to my old curriculum. Something had to change.
In my projects, I have felt I have seen a consistently strong start where all students are engaged and excited, but about three quarters of the way through, we always seem to lose our momentum and we never accomplish everything we have set out for. This could be attributed to not having a fully fleshed out idea for what I wanted the students to accomplish, as well as the project not being as clearly organized as I would like. It was also stressing me out: I was constantly scrambling to figure out what to do next. Then in 2022, a new technology arrived and changed everything.
As you know if you read the title, I’m talking about ChatGPT. I first saw the words “Chat GPT” on Reddit. The basic theme of the thread I was reading was “teachers freaking out about cheating.” It made me wonder if this suddenly-famous AI bot would be any good at helping me plan my projects. So I gave it a shot. I was amazed at the ease this bot could have a planning conversation with me. I’ve now designed three projects with “assistance” from ChatGPT. Some have been completely new while others I have used to improve upon what I already have. To explain how it works, I’m going to share the process of designing my most recent project, “un-Powered Sustainable Living: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Affordable Housing.”
I normally start my project design by looking at the California state standards for my grade and subject, so that was the first thing I asked ChatGPT about:
Gilley: For solar energy what are the California science standards for 8th grade?
ChatGPT: The California Science Standards for 8th grade cover a range of topics related to solar energy. Here are a few relevant standards:
These are just a few examples of the California Science Standards related to solar energy that are covered in 8th grade. The full list of standards can be found on the California Department of Education website.
Gilley: From these standards build a PBL unit that deals with sustainable energy with a focus in San Diego
ChatGPT: Sure, here’s a possible PBL unit that incorporates the California Science Standards for 8th grade and focuses on sustainable energy in San Diego:
Project Title:1 Powering San Diego Sustainably
Project Overview: In this project, students will explore different types of sustainable energy sources and evaluate their potential for use in San Diego. They will work in teams to research and develop proposals for sustainable energy projects that could help power San Diego in the future.
Project Duration: 4-6 weeks
Essential Questions:
Project Tasks:
Assessment:
Possible Extension Activities:
Gilley: Construct a project based learning project that uses the sun’s energy to create a sustainable life. Focus on the history of indigenous people and how we can use their practices to design affordable and sustainable housing for all
ChatGPT:
Project Title: Sun-Powered Sustainable Living: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Affordable Housing
Project Description: This project aims to design an affordable and sustainable housing solution that uses the sun’s energy to create a sustainable life. The project will focus on learning from the practices of indigenous people and their relationship with the environment. The project will include research, design, and building a prototype sustainable housing unit.
Project Objectives:
Project Phases:
Expected Outcomes:
Gilley: What would a unit plan like this look like? What would be the standards met and what would the week by week learning be
ChatGPT: Here is an example unit plan for the project “Sun-Powered Sustainable Living: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Affordable Housing.” This is just an example, and the actual unit plan would depend on the specific needs and goals of the class or group undertaking the project.
Unit Title: Sun-Powered Sustainable Living: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Affordable Housing
Grade Level: 9-12
Subject Areas: Science, Social Studies, Engineering, Art
Duration: 8 weeks (40 hours)
Standards:
Week 1: Introduction to Indigenous Practices and Sustainable Living
Week 2: Solar Energy and Sustainable Housing
Week 3: Design Thinking and Ideation
Week 4: Researching Indigenous Practices and Building Techniques
Week 5: Design and Planning
Week 6: Building the Prototype
Week 7: Testing and Refining
Week 8: Outreach and Reflection
Assessment for the project would be based on a variety of factors, including participation in research and building, completion of project milestones, and the quality of the final prototype and outreach efforts. Additionally, students would be required to keep a reflective journal throughout the project, documenting their progress and reflecting on what they learned.
And that was that! ChatGPT didn’t “plan my project” but it took on a lot of the cognitive load of project planning. Previously in my class I had been doing a solar car project almost every year. I loved doing it, but it was not engaging my students as much as I knew it could. With so much high-level organization offloaded to ChatGPT, I was able to think creatively how to get the project centered around what students care about in their community.
Getting assistance from ChatGPT has saved me time and brain space. It has eased the load for me as a teacher and provided a resource that allows me to engage with my students more fully. Most of all, it’s made project-based learning sustainable for me as a teacher.
Other ways to use ChatGPT for Project-based LearningHere are some other ways that ChatGPT can be used in classrooms for project-based learning. For teachers:Idea generation and brainstorming One of the initial steps in project-based learning is idea generation and brainstorming. ChatGPT can be used to generate ideas and prompts related to a given project topic. Students can interact with the tool to generate a list of potential ideas, which can then be discussed and refined by the class. Project planning and organization Project-based learning often involves complex tasks that require careful planning and organization. ChatGPT can be used to create project outlines, timelines, and checklists. Students can interact with the tool to create a detailed plan for their project, which can help them stay on track and ensure that they meet project deadlines. For students:Research and information-gathering Once the project topic is selected, students need to conduct research to gather information about the topic. ChatGPT can help students find relevant sources of information and answer questions related to the topic. For example, students can ask ChatGPT about a specific concept or term, and the tool can provide relevant articles, videos, or other resources to aid in their research. Feedback and evaluation As students work on their projects, they need feedback to help them improve their work. ChatGPT can be used to provide feedback on student work, including written reports, presentations, and other project deliverables. The tool can also evaluate student work based on predefined criteria and provide feedback on areas that need improvement. Collaboration and communication Project-based learning often involves collaboration and communication among team members. ChatGPT can be used to facilitate communication and collaboration among students working on the same project. |
1. For the sake of clarity, I’ve added formatting such as this bold text. This did not appear in the actual ChatGPT text box.
I’ve been teaching middle school science for eight years. I gravitated towards teaching because of the lack of joy I had felt as a student. I wanted to come in and create a classroom of joy and excitement for kids who see learning worthwhile. Then realizing quickly this profession gives you a myriad of remedial tasks that make planning for joy quite difficult.
Five years ago, frustrated by this lack of joy in my classroom, and from often feeling more like a drill sergeant than a facilitator of learning, I started experimenting with project-based learning. I immediately saw excitement from my students and I was hooked. There was just one problem: planning took way too long. I couldn’t keep spending this much of my evenings and weekends on planning, but I also couldn’t go back to my old curriculum. Something had to change.
In my projects, I have felt I have seen a consistently strong start where all students are engaged and excited, but about three quarters of the way through, we always seem to lose our momentum and we never accomplish everything we have set out for. This could be attributed to not having a fully fleshed out idea for what I wanted the students to accomplish, as well as the project not being as clearly organized as I would like. It was also stressing me out: I was constantly scrambling to figure out what to do next. Then in 2022, a new technology arrived and changed everything.
As you know if you read the title, I’m talking about ChatGPT. I first saw the words “Chat GPT” on Reddit. The basic theme of the thread I was reading was “teachers freaking out about cheating.” It made me wonder if this suddenly-famous AI bot would be any good at helping me plan my projects. So I gave it a shot. I was amazed at the ease this bot could have a planning conversation with me. I’ve now designed three projects with “assistance” from ChatGPT. Some have been completely new while others I have used to improve upon what I already have. To explain how it works, I’m going to share the process of designing my most recent project, “un-Powered Sustainable Living: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Affordable Housing.”
I normally start my project design by looking at the California state standards for my grade and subject, so that was the first thing I asked ChatGPT about:
Gilley: For solar energy what are the California science standards for 8th grade?
ChatGPT: The California Science Standards for 8th grade cover a range of topics related to solar energy. Here are a few relevant standards:
These are just a few examples of the California Science Standards related to solar energy that are covered in 8th grade. The full list of standards can be found on the California Department of Education website.
Gilley: From these standards build a PBL unit that deals with sustainable energy with a focus in San Diego
ChatGPT: Sure, here’s a possible PBL unit that incorporates the California Science Standards for 8th grade and focuses on sustainable energy in San Diego:
Project Title:1 Powering San Diego Sustainably
Project Overview: In this project, students will explore different types of sustainable energy sources and evaluate their potential for use in San Diego. They will work in teams to research and develop proposals for sustainable energy projects that could help power San Diego in the future.
Project Duration: 4-6 weeks
Essential Questions:
Project Tasks:
Assessment:
Possible Extension Activities:
Gilley: Construct a project based learning project that uses the sun’s energy to create a sustainable life. Focus on the history of indigenous people and how we can use their practices to design affordable and sustainable housing for all
ChatGPT:
Project Title: Sun-Powered Sustainable Living: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Affordable Housing
Project Description: This project aims to design an affordable and sustainable housing solution that uses the sun’s energy to create a sustainable life. The project will focus on learning from the practices of indigenous people and their relationship with the environment. The project will include research, design, and building a prototype sustainable housing unit.
Project Objectives:
Project Phases:
Expected Outcomes:
Gilley: What would a unit plan like this look like? What would be the standards met and what would the week by week learning be
ChatGPT: Here is an example unit plan for the project “Sun-Powered Sustainable Living: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Affordable Housing.” This is just an example, and the actual unit plan would depend on the specific needs and goals of the class or group undertaking the project.
Unit Title: Sun-Powered Sustainable Living: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Affordable Housing
Grade Level: 9-12
Subject Areas: Science, Social Studies, Engineering, Art
Duration: 8 weeks (40 hours)
Standards:
Week 1: Introduction to Indigenous Practices and Sustainable Living
Week 2: Solar Energy and Sustainable Housing
Week 3: Design Thinking and Ideation
Week 4: Researching Indigenous Practices and Building Techniques
Week 5: Design and Planning
Week 6: Building the Prototype
Week 7: Testing and Refining
Week 8: Outreach and Reflection
Assessment for the project would be based on a variety of factors, including participation in research and building, completion of project milestones, and the quality of the final prototype and outreach efforts. Additionally, students would be required to keep a reflective journal throughout the project, documenting their progress and reflecting on what they learned.
And that was that! ChatGPT didn’t “plan my project” but it took on a lot of the cognitive load of project planning. Previously in my class I had been doing a solar car project almost every year. I loved doing it, but it was not engaging my students as much as I knew it could. With so much high-level organization offloaded to ChatGPT, I was able to think creatively how to get the project centered around what students care about in their community.
Getting assistance from ChatGPT has saved me time and brain space. It has eased the load for me as a teacher and provided a resource that allows me to engage with my students more fully. Most of all, it’s made project-based learning sustainable for me as a teacher.
Other ways to use ChatGPT for Project-based LearningHere are some other ways that ChatGPT can be used in classrooms for project-based learning. For teachers:Idea generation and brainstorming One of the initial steps in project-based learning is idea generation and brainstorming. ChatGPT can be used to generate ideas and prompts related to a given project topic. Students can interact with the tool to generate a list of potential ideas, which can then be discussed and refined by the class. Project planning and organization Project-based learning often involves complex tasks that require careful planning and organization. ChatGPT can be used to create project outlines, timelines, and checklists. Students can interact with the tool to create a detailed plan for their project, which can help them stay on track and ensure that they meet project deadlines. For students:Research and information-gathering Once the project topic is selected, students need to conduct research to gather information about the topic. ChatGPT can help students find relevant sources of information and answer questions related to the topic. For example, students can ask ChatGPT about a specific concept or term, and the tool can provide relevant articles, videos, or other resources to aid in their research. Feedback and evaluation As students work on their projects, they need feedback to help them improve their work. ChatGPT can be used to provide feedback on student work, including written reports, presentations, and other project deliverables. The tool can also evaluate student work based on predefined criteria and provide feedback on areas that need improvement. Collaboration and communication Project-based learning often involves collaboration and communication among team members. ChatGPT can be used to facilitate communication and collaboration among students working on the same project. |
1. For the sake of clarity, I’ve added formatting such as this bold text. This did not appear in the actual ChatGPT text box.