The racism in chatGPT we are not talking about....
This year, I learned that students use chatGPT because they believe it helps them sound more respectable. And I learned that it absolutely does not work. A thread.
A few weeks ago, I was working on a paper with one of my RAs. I have permission from them to share this story. They had done the research and the draft. I was to come in and make minor edits, clarify the method, add some background literature, and we were to refine the discussion together.
The draft was incomprehensible. Whole paragraphs were vague, repetitive, and bewildering. It was like listening to a politician. I could not edit it. I had to rewrite nearly every section. We were on a tight deadline, and I was struggling to articulate what was wrong and how the student could fix it, so I sent them on to further sections while I cleaned up ... this.
As I edited, I had to keep my mind from wandering. I had written with this student before, and this was not normal. I usually did some light edits for phrasing, though sometimes with major restructuring.
I was worried about my student. They had been going through some complicated domestic issues. They were disabled. They'd had a prior head injury. They had done excellent on their prelims, which of course I couldn't edit for them. What was going on!?
We were co-writing the day before the deadline. I could tell they were struggling with how much I had to rewrite. I tried to be encouraging and remind them that this was their research project and they had done all of the interviews and analysis. And they were doing great.
In fact, the qualitative write-up they had done the night before was better, and I was back to just adjusting minor grammar and structure. I complimented their new work and noted it was different from the other parts of the draft that I had struggled to edit.
Quietly, they asked, "is it okay to use chatGPT to fix sentences to make you sound more white?"
"... is... is that what you did with the earlier draft?"
They had, a few sentences at a time, completely ruined their own work, and they couldnt tell, because they believed that the chatGPT output had to be better writing. Because it sounded smarter. It sounded fluent. It seemed fluent. But it was nonsense!
I nearly cried with relief. I told them I had been so worried. I was going to check in with them when we were done, because I could not figure out what was wrong. I showed them the clear differences between their raw drafting and their "corrected" draft.
I told them that I believed in them. They do great work. When I asked them why they felt they had to do that, they told me that another faculty member had told the class that they should use it to make their papers better, and that he and his RAs were doing it.
The student also told me that in therapy, their therapist had been misunderstanding them, blaming them, and denying that these misunderstandings were because of a language barrier.
They felt that they were so bad at communicating, because of their language, and their culture, and their head injury, that they would never be a good scholar. They thought they had to use chatGPT to make them sound like an American, or they would never get a job.
They also told me that when they used chatGPT to help them write emails, they got more responses, which helped them with research recruitment.
I've heard this from other students too. That faculty only respond to their emails when they use chatGPT. The great irony of my viral autistic email thread was always that had I actually used AI to write it, I would have sounded decidedly less robotic.
ChatGPT is probably pretty good at spitting out the meaningless pleasantries that people associate with respectability. But it's terrible at making coherent, complex, academic arguments!
Last semester, I gave my graduate students an assignment. They were to read some reports on labor exploitation and environmental impact of chatGPT and other language models. Then they were to write a reflection on why they have used chatGPT in the past, and how they might chose to use it in the future.
I told them I would not be policing their LLM use. But I wanted them to know things about it they were unlikely to know, and I warned them about the ways that using an LLM could cause them to submit inadequate work (incoherent methods and fake references, for example).
In their reflections, many international students reported that they used chatGPT to help them correct grammar, and to make their writing "more polished".
I was sad that so many students seemed to be relying on chatGPT to make them feel more confident in their writing, because I felt that the real problem was faculty attitudes toward multilingual scholars.
I have worked with a number of graduate international students who are told by other faculty that their writing is "bad", or are given bad grades for writing that is reflective of English as a second language, but still clearly demonstrates comprehension of the subject matter.
I believe that written communication is important. However, I also believe in focused feedback. As a professor of design, I am grading people's ability to demonstrate that they understand concepts and can apply them in design research and then communicate that process to me.
I do not require that communication to read like a first language student, when I am perfectly capable of understanding the intent. When I am confused about meaning, I suggest clarifying edits.
I can speak and write in one language with competence. How dare I punish international students for their bravery? Fixation on normative communication chronically suppresses their grades and their confidence. And, most importantly, it doesn't improve their language skills!
If I were teaching rhetoric and comp it might be different. But not THAT different. I'm a scholar of neurodivergent and Mad rhetorics. I can't in good conscious support Divergent rhetorics while supressing transnational rhetoric!
Anyway, if you want your students to stop using chatGPT then stop being racist and ableist when you grade.
Trolling and doxxing: Graduate students sharing their research online speak out about hate
“This research suggests faculty supervisors and university staff responsible for students’ development and well-being are often ill-prepared to support students through online harassment experiences. This means graduate students are left frightened, discouraged and with nowhere to turn for help.” #Academia#AcademicChatter#GraduateStudents#HigherEd#SocialMedia
Hello Fediverse! We're the Student Research Journal out of San Jose State's iSchool, and our whole team is excited to join the interoperable web!
We are a double-blind, peer-reviewed journal developed and led by current graduate students at San Jose State University's School of information. Our goal is threefold: to empower budding researchers, to publish relevant content of the highest quality, and to build an international community of student researchers.
The peer review process is rigorous, but it's also an amazing opportunity to get feedback on your work from experienced editors. We'll work with you to polish your manuscript into its best possible form.
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Apple News includes an article: “The Thing My Therapist Said That Changed My Life—Fifteen Examples” by Amanda Robb.
Here are some excerpts:
We’re all for doing the work, showing up and sitting in that chair (or lying on that well-worn Mies van der Rohe couch) and digging into our psyches to unearth our emotionally healthiest selves.
But sometimes a single statement or question pierces right through your onion layers and serves as a touchstone for the rest of your life.
<snip>
When you don’t know what to do, do nothing
“This has helped me from saying or doing the wrong thing in difficult or emergency circumstances. Simply waiting a beat until I’ve had enough time to think and process a situation allows me to make better choices.” —Tiffany M, 48, New Rochelle, New York
You get to choose the type of relationship you have with ____ (fill in the blank)
“My parents divorced when I was about 18. When I was in my early 20s, I found out why. My father is gay. This was nearly 40 years ago, and I didn’t know how to react to my dad and his new partner. I knew I wasn’t comfortable with my siblings’ reactions, but I [still] loved them. And I realized that I loved my dad and I was happy for him. We’re close to this day. It seems like simple advice, but it was a powerful realization for me at the time.” —Kathryn R., 59, Burlingame, California
Get outside and walk
“I was a depressed teen, and my therapist told me I had to walk to and from her office from my house, which was 15 to 20 minutes away on foot. On the way there, it allowed me to focus on what I wanted to talk about in the session. On the way back, it helped me process and release what had happened in the session. It was just good for my overall mental health, and I am still exercising for my mental health.” —Victoria V., 53, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
And what was the crime?
“I do a fair amount of Monday-morning quarterbacking, telling myself, I should’ve done this, not that, and then beating myself up. And my therapist would say this in her lovely English accent, and I’d realize there really was no catastrophe.” —Pilar G., 53
Just do it tired
“I was in group therapy, and the therapist gave someone else this advice. But it resonated with me because you can come up with a million excuses for not investing in yourself because of where you are. ‘I’m too tired’ is a common one, an easy one. And sometimes you really are exhausted and need to rest. But most of the time, you’re not that wiped out. So just go do whatever it is. Be out there. Be a part of things and see what that brings.” —Sue K., 61, New York City
Don’t get on the roller coaster, but always be waiting for them on the platform
“Advice for raising four daughters, including a set of twins. Of course, I did get caught up in their drama sometimes, but remembering this often helped me take a step back from it.” —Kathy I., 60, Charlotte, North Carolina
Okay, but at what cost to you?
“This is what my longtime therapist, Ruth, asks when I tell her I’ve taken on too much or I’m tolerating something difficult because it’s easier than confronting someone or admitting that I’m diminishing myself. It instantly re-centers me (I picture myself as that dot in Google Maps) and reminds me that my emotions and energy are worth protecting.” —Jennie T., 52
Not my circus, not my monkeys
“My life coach gave me this advice. I was learning to say no to people, but some didn’t accept it! They would give me a whole backstory and reasons I should change my answer to yes. This quote reminds me that I can’t change anyone’s reaction to my responses to things, but I can stick to my responses.” —Karon G., 47, Bayonne, New Jersey
With a good book, you’ll never be lonely
“This advice from my therapist after I got divorced resulted in my starting a book-related media company.” —Zibby O., 46, New York City
Aren’t you curious about what is around the corner for you?
“I had just experienced a serious traumatic event and was contemplating suicide. I still turn to this thought in dark times.” —Katherine K., 57, Las Vegas
You can hold two things at once
“I tend to think about things in categoricals—a career hazard, if you will. We are on time, or we’re late. We are on budget, or we’re not. It’s great for deadlines but bad for feelings. Over the past few years, I’ve had to figure out how to live alongside immense grief, and I remember telling my therapist how guilty I felt about being excited for an upcoming event. ‘You can hold two things at once,’ she said, and it sounds so simple, but it gave me a way to wrap my brain around feeling two diametrically opposed emotions. I can be sad about what isn’t while being excited for what is. It’s useful all the time. Two things can be true, and we can acknowledge both of them.” —Paulie D., 36,
Don’t compare your insides to other people’s outsides
“I use this constantly and repeat it to my children. It’s especially useful when I’m with someone who is incredibly intimidating and I’m feeling like a complete loser.” —Lisa C., 64, New York City
No one else is going to fight your fight
“My husband had left me. Immediately, I started seeing myself only as a victim. All I felt was self-pity about how badly I’d been betrayed; all I did in therapy was whine and complain. After about six months, my therapist said this to me, and a light bulb went off in my head. If I didn’t stand up for myself, I would be immobilized forever. I would be stuck not being able to trust anyone. Most importantly, I wouldn’t be able to make a new life for myself.” —Mary S., 63, Bozeman, Montana
Always follow the advice flight attendants give: Put on your own oxygen mask first, then help others around you
“My brother-in-law is a therapist, and he says this is among the most common advice he gives. I can overextend myself trying to help other people and wind up neglecting to take care of myself and my stuff, which can make me useless all the way around. This helps me keep first things first.” —Jonna A., 52, Reno, Nevada
We all have something from our childhood that we had zero control over
“You couldn’t control anyone’s behavior—what they said or how they acted. What you do have control over as an adult is how you allow it to affect the rest of your life, how you act and react to things. This changed my whole way of thinking and allowed me to be in control of my life!” —Brenda S., 59, Nassau, The Bahamas
Ken Pope
Ken Pope, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, Hector Y. Adames, Janet L. Sonne, and Beverly A. Greene
Speaking the Unspoken: Breaking the Silence, Myths, and Taboos That Hurt Therapists and Patients (APA, 2023)
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Merely reposted by:
Michael Reeder LCPC
Baltimore, MD
We now have Lemmy & Mastodon instances up and operational for mental health professionals. Members are vetted by admin staff to be broadly employed in a mental health field. PSEUDONYMS ALLOWED IN PROFILES! Full name, credentials, and location encouraged in profiles. (For a fuller discussion on pseudonyms, vetting, and privacy please see https://lem.clinicians-exchange.org/post/24291 or email me off-list.)
The changes from our last announcement are an upgraded server, longer Mastodon post limits, broader membership criteria, and allowing pseudonyms -- which many professionals requested to feel safe participating online.
These are worldwide forums and do not replace local resources in any way. They lack the privacy of invite-only email lists so don't replace them either.
Lemmy is to Reddit as Mastodon is to Twitter. Lemmy is like a BBS (bulletin board system) that can also connect to other bulletin board systems world-wide (allowing communities and enduring threads of conversation). Mastodon works like Twitter -- and all the Mastodon server instances communicate too.
Be aware that Lemmy is being updated frequently and remains somewhat buggy!