Questões Militares de Inglês - Vocabulário | Vocabulary

      “It’s a very nice book and very lively, but in the section on ‘Processes’ for example all the exercises are about unusual things for our country. We are a hot country and also have many Muslims. The exercises are about snow, ice, cold mornings, and making wine. I can tell you I can’t do making wine and smoking pot in my country!” (Experienced school teacher from the Ivory Coast, Africa)

      “Previous materials were not based on life in Brazil which is why I don’t think they worked very well …” (Brazilian teacher of English in school)

      “Sir … what is opera?” (Iraqi student in mixed nationality class using materials designed to practise reading narrative)

     The implications of these three quotations are not simply linguistic; rather, they address the problem of appropriate contextual realisation for materials. For the teacher in the Ivory Coast, the materials offered would be outside the cultural experience of his students (possibly even threatening) and thus effectively useless; conversely, for the Brazilian teacher, the choice of Brazilian settings and familiar mores would have clear advantages over distant foreign contexts as they are essentially more motivating. The quote from the Iraqi student suggests that complete unfamiliarity with the notion of opera may reduce the efficacy of the reading exercises, but in this case the student is curious and likely to regard the material as exotic rather than merely alien.

      Since ChatGPT can engage in conversation and generate essays and graphs that closely resemble those created by humans, educators worry students may use it to cheat. The main reason students cheat is their academic motivation. Sometimes they are just motivated to get a high grade, whereas other times they wish to learn all that they can about a topic. The decision to cheat or not often relates to how academic assignments and tests are constructed and assessed, not on the availability of technological shortcuts.

       Research demonstrates that students are more likely to cheat when assignments are designed in ways that encourage them to outperform their classmates. There is less cheating when teachers assign academic tasks that prompt them to work collaboratively and to focus on mastering content instead of getting a good grade.

      An important way to boost students’ confidence is to provide them with opportunities to experience success. For example, suppose students are asked to attempt to design a hypothetical vehicle that can use gasoline more efficiently than a traditional car. Students who struggle with the project can use ChatGPT to break down the larger problem into smaller challenges or tasks. ChatGPT might suggest they first develop an overall concept for the vehicle before determining the size and weight of the vehicle and deciding what type of fuel will be used. Teachers could also ask students to compare the steps suggested by ChatGPT with steps that are recommended by other sources. 

(Kui Xie e Eric M. Anderman. http://www.theconversation.com. 06.06.2023. Adaptado)