In the world of training computer scientists, ChatGPT requires an educational shift. Between dependence and innovation, discover how this tool changes learning programming, confronting stakeholders with new challenges and opportunities. A testimony from Mario Ramalho, Professional Master in IT at the Friborg School of Trades.
I am a teacher at the Friborg School of Trades (EMF), an establishment which trains young CFC IT apprentices in full-time school training. IT career training is currently at the heart of a transformation in the way learners approach learning programming. The arrival of ChatGPT in the educational landscape marks a significant paradigm shift, profoundly influencing teaching methods and learning strategies.
The advent of ChatGPT marked a watershed in the way people approach their training. Once accustomed to looking for solutions in documentation or on forums such as “stack overflow,” trainees now turn to ChatGPT for immediate answers. They first experiment with the proposed solution and then reverse engineer the process to understand the underlying concepts. This represents a significant shift towards more interactive and experiential learning. This transition, while opening vast horizons of ease and efficiency, also raises questions about our relationship to learning and deep understanding.
Noé Henchoz, a 4th year apprentice at EMF, recently shared his experience with ChatGPT with me, highlighting the growing dependence on this tool. Faced with an outage of the OpenAI service, he found himself helpless, hesitating between returning to more traditional learning methods or waiting for the service to become available. He ultimately chose to wait for ChatGPT to become available while moving on to another task. This incident highlights how central ChatGPT has become to our quest for knowledge in just a year and a half of existence.
This new paradigm highlights more than ever the need to instill critical thinking in young developers. With answers at hand, the challenge now lies in the ability to assess the effectiveness, safety and appropriateness of proposed solutions. It is crucial to teach them not to accept information at face value, but to question and understand it in depth. As AI tools are increasingly established (or in the process of being established) in the world of IT companies in which they will continue their journey, it is appropriate for the training school to support them in making professional and thoughtful use of them.
We live in an age of instant gratification, where everything seems just a click away. This has significant impacts on computer science training. As trainers, our role is to support this transition, ensuring that rapid access to information does not hinder the development of analytical and problem-solving skills.
At the EMF, we have notably put in place a set of measures to promote judicious use of ChatGPT:
- a) we provide initial training on the tool, aiming to equip learners with the skills necessary to use it effectively. This brings together the understanding of the context, as well as its role,
- b) we provide tailored personalized instructions for each module, allowing ChatGPT to be personalized according to the context of the subject taught,
- c) an analysis of the prompts written by the learners is carried out, offering personalized advice to improve their mastery of the tool.
In conclusion, ChatGPT and similar tools are incredible catalysts for innovation and learning. However, they remind us of the importance of going back to basics and cultivating a deep understanding of the technology we use and create.
Author of this testimony, Mario Ramalho is a professional master in IT at the Friborg School of Trades.
