From AI to IQ: Harnessing the Power of ChatGPT Using the CLIF Framework
The latest trend emerging from Silicon Valley is biohacking, which is loosely defined as the augmentation or enhancement of human biology aimed at optimizing productivity and improving health outcomes (Marr, 2021). Many people associate this term with a nutrient-rich diet, wearable technology, and cold plunges, but the concept extends far beyond magazine listicles and fitness tips (What is Biohacking?, 2023). Biohacking also encompasses stem-cell therapy, nootropic supplementation, and gene-editing technology, like CRISPR, all in the name of longevity. (Klee, 2023).
Although reversing the effects of aging altogether may be something best left to the legend of El Dorado, the rapidity, alacrity, and earnestness with which this “Billionaire Biohacker Club” has pursued and invested in anti-aging technologies has started to influence forecasts regarding a rise in life expectancy for all humans (Lanz, 2023).
Although predicting the precise age to which humans will live remains imprecise, there is a belief within the scientific community that as the clusters of genes correlated to centenarians' lifespan are pinpointed, harnessed, and broadly disseminated, humans could regularly live to be 115 years old (Barzilai, 2020).
This eyebrow-raising rise in life expectancy isn't merely speculative fiction or distant science. Thanks to technological strides and hefty financial investments, the prospect of Generation Alpha—today's youth, from preschool to middle school—reaching 115 years old is not just possible; it's plausible. Consider that in 1900, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. Fast forward to 2000, it had surged by 64%. With another similar leap, humans living to 115 within Generation Alpha’s lifetime becomes conceivable.
In many respects, an increase in life expectancy feels like progress; however, asking people to save for what could be 35 additional years of retirement will not be an option for many. In all likelihood, a majority of these additional 35 years of life will be spent working. If we conservatively estimate that 20 of these additional 35 years are spent in the workforce, students who are in middle school in 2024 will still be part of the workforce come the 22nd Century.
Let that sink in: The students sitting in front of us today will still be productive members of the workforce in the year 2100. Can you grasp the implications this has for the world of education? In the short term, it requires us, at a minimum, to think about how we can better prepare students for the workforce of tomorrow. Fortunately, there is no shortage of studies and reports addressing this exact topic.
To stay relevant, our students will need the ability to constantly learn and reinvent themselves, to learn and unlearn new skills, and to do so without being overly reliant on traditional educational models (The Future of Education and Skills, 2018). They will need to adapt to rapidly changing environments, embrace flexibility, and cultivate a mindset that welcomes continuous professional growth (Defining Education 4.0: A Taxonomy for the Future of Learning, 2023). This ability will involve not just acquiring technical knowledge, but also developing emotional intelligence, resilience, and a capacity for critical thinking and problem-solving. They'll need to navigate complex information landscapes, discern reliable sources, and apply their knowledge creatively in diverse situations (Harari et al., 2018). In essence, the future will demand individuals who are not just knowledgeable, but also agile, adaptable, and lifelong learners (2018 Workplace Learning Report: The Rise and Responsibility of Talent Development in the New Labor Market, 2018).
I don’t know about you, but this preceding paragraph doesn’t bring me clarity so much as it activates my anxiety. It’s a list so extensive that it would make a Cheesecake Factory menu blush. So, can we distill it? Can we extract from this list a singular takeaway that we can prioritize in our classrooms and schools? Is there one skill which stands out as the true difference-maker? Well, if we synthesize all these prognostications and distill all these predictions about what our students today will need to navigate the world of tomorrow, we arrive at one idea: "Self-directed learning.”
Self-directed learning involves individuals taking initiative in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes (Knowles, 1975). The importance of self-directed learning in preparing students for the future of work lies in the flexibility and autonomy it allows, nurturing and fostering essential competencies such as adaptability, motivation, and engagement. Of course, a classroom environment conducive to developing the self-directed learners of the future isn’t going to rely on textbooks.
Nowadays, our classrooms are characterized by integrated, on-demand information, with the level of information available outside the classroom far surpassing that within it (Selwyn, 2018). Therefore, to equip students to become self-directed learners, we need to foster their autonomy within a framework designed to enhance their proficiency in navigating and utilizing digital tools.
ChatGPT is the ideal digital tool to accomplish this. With appropriate and purposeful guidance, ChatGPT’s transformational potential can transcend its novelty, allowing for its effective integration into classrooms in a manner that fosters the development of self-directed learners. So, how can ChatGPT be purposefully integrated into classrooms? This is precisely where the CLIF Framework comes in.
Kurt Vonnegut once said, “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down” (Vonnegut & Wakefield, 2014). This quotation serves as the inspiration for the CLIF Framework because it underscores the reality that we cannot wait for complete certainty before acting; such delays would ultimately disadvantage our students. Therefore, we must embrace the courage to leap, confident in our ability to adapt and learn in the midst of the journey.
Introduction to the CLIF Framework
The ChatGPT Learning Integration Framework (CLIF) represents a shift from traditional technology integration models such as SAMR, LoTI, and TPACK, which mainly guide teachers in using technology for instructional purposes. With the advent of tools like ChatGPT, the locus of control has shifted. The role of educators has evolved to facilitate how students use technology, rather than dictating its usage. The CLIF Framework encapsulates this shift, moving from teacher-led integration to student-driven exploration. It recognizes that in today's world, the use of AI tools like ChatGPT isn't merely about determining the appropriate times for teachers to incorporate them. Instead, it focuses on how students interact with these technologies—as companions, tutors, guides, or instructors—in ways that are constantly present, available, and accessible, from initial inquiry and research to the creation and critique of their own ideas.
Of course, just because something is ubiquitous and universally accessible doesn’t mean that we should abandon all guardrails. As Erich Fromm once wrote, “Freedom is not the absence of structure, but rather a clear structure that enables people to work within established boundaries in an autonomous and creative way” (Fromm, 2013).CLIF provides teachers with that clear structure and established boundaries, so they can steer students to autonomously leverage the vast and transformational capabilities of ChatGPT.
The CLIF Framework is designed as a reference guide for educators to integrate ChatGPT into various stages of their teaching. It’s structured around three pivotal stages of unit development—Preparation, Practice, and Production—and mirrors the three critical stages of knowledge acquisition—Input, Process, and Output (Parkhurst et al., 1922). This framework serves as both a compass and a sextant for teachers. It assists them in identifying where students are in their learning, where they’re heading, and how ChatGPT can help students become increasingly self-directed.
To illustrate the CLIF Framework's application, consider a scenario where a teacher is at the front of the classroom, introducing a new unit to their students. This moment, naturally, marks the start of the "Preparation" stage. As the teacher wraps up their introductory spiel and students get to work, students are entering into the "Input" stage. It is at this juncture—where preparation and input intersect—that teachers can incorporate ChatGPT by having Chat act as an additional resource for students seeking information. This shift lessens the need for the teacher to be the primary source of knowledge in the room, and frees them up to focus more on guiding and curating their students’ learning experiences.
Now, compare this with the scenario where the unit is coming to a close. In this later phase — at the crossroads of production and output — the integrative potential of ChatGPT differs dramatically. As the unit wraps up, students are busy consolidating and applying what they've learned, and creatively demonstrating their understanding. Here, they would use ChatGPT to create, review, and polish their end-of-unit projects to showcase their mastery of the subject matter.
The CLIF Framework’s versatility and application from the start to the end of a unit—and at every point in between — is attributable to its core function as an instrument to enable teachers to leverage ChatGPT to foster self-directed learners in ways that simply wouldn't be possible without the integration of such technology. To understand the CLIF Framework in action and see how teachers across the country are creatively using it, let's take a look at four examples.
Language Arts Example
As a veteran 7th grade language arts teacher, Mr. Johnson firmly believed in the need to explicitly teach his students grammar, but he also appreciated the sometimes inescapable mundanity of grammar lessons. Over the course of his career, he has tried it all, but it always felt to him like he was just dressing up content that his students didn’t connect to. As such, Mr. Johnson was always on the lookout for new and novel ways to engage students in this important, but, at times, pedantic learning. This past school year, Mr. Johnson came across the CLIF Framework, and, in his words, “It changed everything.”
Mr. Johnson first used CLIF to integrate ChatGPT into the stage of his grammar unit where practice and output meet. At this point, students possess more than a cursory understanding of the topic at hand and they are now demonstrating their understanding in a formative, non-evaluatory manner. Mr. Johnson referenced the CLIF framework for ideas, and proceeded as follows:
Mr. Johnson began by providing his students with a piece of writing that contained numerous grammatical errors. This writing served as the basis for the lesson.
He encouraged students to collaboratively edit the piece of writing as a class. This editing process was conducted through a Socratic seminar. Students worked together to identify and correct grammatical errors in the text.
Mr. Johnson then took the original piece of writing and input it into ChatGPT. ChatGPT provided its own corrections.
Students were then divided into small groups. In these groups, students critically reviewed, evaluated, and cross-referenced the corrections provided by ChatGPT to their own, noting points of divergence and alignment.
Following these pockets of student-led discussions, Mr. Johnson brought the entire class back together for a period of corrective instruction. During this time, he focused on comparing and contrasting the edits made by students with those suggested by ChatGPT.
Following this period of class-wide instruction, students worked independently to write their own passages intentionally riddled with grammatical errors.
Students then created answer keys for their passages, indicating where errors were present.
Students input their passages into ChatGPT to compare its responses to their own answer keys, evaluating how well ChatGPT performed.
Students then graded ChatGPT's performance based on its ability to identify and explain the errors in their passages.
Finally, the evaluation sheets, including students' passages, answer keys, and assessment of ChatGPT's performance, were collected and handed to Mr. Johnson for formative evaluation. This allowed Mr. Johnson to provide feedback to students based on their independent work and their assessment of AI performance.
World Language Example
For world language teachers, dialogic exchanges are integral to the learning process. However, challenges arise when dealing with uneven numbers, large class sizes, and varying ability levels, making it difficult for teachers to develop valuable dialogues that cater to each student. This is where ChatGPT can step in and provide students with an appropriate level of instruction in a responsive and adaptable manner.
In Sra. Martinez's case, she first attempted to use the CLIF Framework in the preparation phase of her mini-unit on Día de los Muertos. Her goal was to add a new dimension of personalization to her Día de los Muertos small-group dialogues. To achieve this, Sra. Martinez consulted the CLIF framework and proceeded as follows:
Sra. Martinez prepared a list of key vocabulary words and phrases related to Día de los Muertos, focusing on terms related to the customs, traditions, and associated activities.
The class was then divided into small groups. Each group was assigned a specific scenario within the context of Día de los Muertos. For example, one group focused on recreating a family gathering, while another group simulated an altar decoration.
ChatGPT was introduced as part of these Día de los Muertos-themed role-play scenarios. In each group, ChatGPT took on roles relevant to the celebration, such as a family member, an altar creator, or a participant in the festivities. Students interacted with ChatGPT by applying the vocabulary and expressions related to the celebration. This interaction allowed students to practice their speaking, writing, and listening skills while engaging with ChatGPT as if it were an additional group member.
From here, students were tasked with writing scripts for other groups to then practice. Students used ChatGPT to generate culturally appropriate dialogues from the vocabulary list. Students then swapped finished dialogues with another group. With this new script in hand, groups practiced performing them, with ChatGPT once again playing one of the roles. This way, students received multiple passthroughs of similar but distinctly different practice rounds of dialogue that they generated. Even at such a novice phase of their language learning, students were writing, reading, speaking, and collaborating thanks to ChatGPT. Of course, this also freed up Sra. Martinez.
During these lessons, Sra. Martinez didn’t just sit at her desk. Far from it. She was now able to meet with each group individually to observe and share feedback on their role-playing scenarios, touching on those things that Chat can’t, such as pronunciation. Suddenly, Sra. Martinez could offer multiple rounds of personalized, small-group formative feedback and also dive more deeply into language learning by focusing on pronunciation, which as anyone who has learned another language knows is crucial but in classrooms tends to be subordinated in favor of reading, writing, and listening.
Math Example
We know that math is about more than just number-sense and computation. To think and act like a mathematician, communication is a core element. Mathematicians not only solve problems and prove theorems, but they also convey their ideas, methods, and findings to others, which involves clear explanations, logical reasoning, and precise, technical language. Mrs. Walker knew this but found this to be especially challenging. For a long time, it was something that she actively avoided. However, with her school's shift towards Project-Based Learning, she recognized that it was time to address this challenge head-on. This is when Mrs. Walker turned to the CLIF Framework and ChatGPT for assistance.
Mrs. Walker's 8th grade geometry class had been studying the properties of various types of triangles. For the final project, Mrs. Walker assigned each student to present a comprehensive study on a specific type of triangle. This study encompassed an exploration of the triangle's properties and its real-world applications, which could include applications in construction, design, or any industry where an understanding of triangle properties is fundamental. Mrs. Walker consulted the CLIF framework, noted that she was squarely in the production phase of the unit, and proceeded by empowering her students in the following ways:
Mrs. Walker’s student Kevin began his project by brainstorming project ideas. Chat prompted him to share some of his passions and ambitions in life. Given Kevin’s passion for structural engineering, Chat steered Kevin to explore how isosceles triangles are fundamental to the construction of suspension bridges.
Kevin then went about developing the outline for his project. Guided by the idea of linking isosceles triangles to suspension bridges, he structured his presentation to tell a story - starting from the basic mathematical properties of isosceles triangles to their practical application in engineering feats. He divided his outline into sections: an introduction to the geometry of isosceles triangles, their significance in structural design, and a case study of a famous suspension bridge that utilized these principles.
As he refined his presentation, Kevin returned to ChatGPT for feedback. He would share sections of his work, seeking suggestions to make complex engineering concepts more understandable for his classmates. He also had Chat generate a step-by-step guide, including a 3-D rendering of the final product to guide him in creating a model of a bridge constructed entirely of isosceles triangles that he could build and include along with his presentation. To ensure he was on the right track while building, he would take photos of his progress, upload them to chat, and request feedback and direction.
As the presentation date approached, Kevin turned to ChatGPT to rehearse, treating Chat as a virtual audience. He’d record himself, upload the audio file, and request feedback. These rehearsals sharpened his presentation skills and boosted his readiness and confidence before presenting his project in front of his teacher and peers.
Passion Project Example
As any middle school teacher knows, our classrooms are teeming with precocious students who, when presented with the possibilities of a passion project, reliably push themselves by selecting challenging topics. In my experience, these topics are ones that students are emotionally and cognitively mature enough to understand, but they begin to encounter difficulties when they begin their research. This isn’t a reflection of their abilities, but rather due to the fact that articles and videos on challenging topics aren’t typically tailored for middle schoolers. This was the case for Jane, a 7th grader, who wanted to tackle a project on adolescent anxiety in the post-pandemic era. However, her Google searches only resulted in journal articles and graduate-level papers.
Ordinarily and understandably, Jane’s teacher would have steered her to the safe ground – to a version of the topic that was simplified and made more accessible. Fortunately, this past year, Jane’s teacher set a goal for herself to do more to integrate ChatGPT, and she found a valuable tool in the CLIF Framework to do so:
Jane began her project by selecting several academic abstracts related to her topic. These abstracts were filled with complex terminology and concepts, quite challenging for any 7th grader to grasp. To make sense of these, Jane input the abstracts into ChatGPT, seeking assistance in simplifying the language for a middle schooler and prompting Chat to present the concept most likely to be challenging in the form of a basketball analogy – she’s an avid basketball player.
Jane continued to interact with ChatGPT, asking more detailed questions about specific concepts she came across. For example, she inquired about certain psychological terms or research methodologies mentioned in the abstracts. ChatGPT broke down these complex psychological concepts and research methods into smaller, more digestible explanations, providing step-by-step guidance.
Jane created mini-presentations and written summaries of each concept she learned. The teacher facilitated discussions and activities where Jane could share her findings and insights with her peers, as a means of collecting her peers' anecdotal and personal experiences with post-pandemic anxiety.
Jane presented ChatGPT with her notes from these conversations with her peers, and prompted Chat to note points of congruence and incongruence between the studies’ findings and her peers’ lived experiences. From here, she pulled out meta-trends and began work on her presentation.
Essentially, Jane was undertaking a form of basic doctoral-level research, facilitated by ChatGPT's capability to match her enthusiasm with content that was comprehensible. This is a prime example of how ChatGPT can make complex academic content accessible to younger learners, presenting it in a way that is neither oversimplified nor condescending, but rather appropriately challenging.
Conclusion
The integration of ChatGPT in the classroom by these four teachers marks a significant shift towards a more flexible and student-driven learning environment. By leveraging the CLIF Framework, these teachers were able to integrate ChatGPT into their curriculums in a manner that was appropriately scaffolded, secure, and learner-centric. In this way, ChatGPT did not just serve as a novel tool or another tech-based distraction, but as a means to truly enhance students’ educational experience.
The utilization of ChatGPT under the guidance of the CLIF Framework underscores the potential of AI in education to go beyond mere supplementation of traditional teaching methods. It demonstrates how, when thoughtfully integrated, technology can revolutionize the learning experience, making it more personalized, engaging, and self-directed.