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ChatGPT: A Trending and Emerging Technology

Actually, this is an interesting opportunity and complex challenge in the perspectives of didactic education and authentic pedagogy, applied to education. Indeed, both of these educational paradigms represent different approaches toward teaching and learning and are impacted by the involvement of ChatGPT in the classroom. While it may be able to generate efficiency in learning, it questions the drastic reduction of critical thinking and creativity. In order to obtain the most profits from the delivery of education, it is important to strike a balance that honors the strengths and limitations of each pedagogical approach.

ChatGPT best fits the traditional, teacher-centered didactic education model because it emphasizes direct knowledge delivery. In structured content delivery approaches, students absorb information from an authoritative figure or source. ChatGPT is an accessible virtual tutor, capable of providing quick, clear explanations of concepts, reinforcement of lesson content, and additional practice opportunities. For instance, a student who cannot understand why a particular mathematical theorem or an event from history works will be able to immediately seek clarification using ChatGPT. This efficiency supports the acquisition of foundational knowledge, which students would otherwise struggle to maintain with a structured curriculum. However, overuse of ChatGPT may lead to overreliance and passive learning in students, where answers are sought before understanding the processes. It mirrors an often-voiced criticism of didactic education: the tendency sometimes to emphasize rote memory over active engagement.

Authentic pedagogy, on the other hand, makes a point of moving beyond pure rote learning to critical thinking in real-world applications and student-centered engagement. Here, chatbots can act as a facilitator for inquiry and exploration with this tool. Let's say in the context of real-world projects where students might be building a sustainable energy solution or working to analyze some present-day social issue. With ChatGPT, they can pool diverse perspectives, brainstorm creative ideas, or draft initial frameworks. In this regard, by acting as a scaffold, chatbots, like ChatGPT, assist their students in moving through complex problems while at the same time encouraging them to engage deeper with the material. Authentic pedagogy relies heavily on its students actively engaging in the learning process. However, if they use ChatGPT for shortcuts, like generating a complete solution or essay, they risk undermining the authentic goals of learning, including collaboration, innovation, and critical analysis.

To integrate these approaches into a fair and reasonable strategy, educators can adopt a blended strategy that incorporates the strengths of both didactic education and authentic pedagogy to address their limitations. ChatGPT can be used as a supplement, building on basic knowledge and facilitating engagement with complex and real-world tasks following authentic pedagogy. For example, a teacher might have ChatGPT explain the topic in a formal fashion and then ask students to utilize such knowledge in a team-driven project or case study. Students also should be challenged to critically evaluate the output of ChatGPT, thinking about its credibility and utility. Such a process fosters critical analytical abilities in order that the technology does not cheapen intellectual scholarship but instead serves to deepen it.

Additionally, reflective practice as part of the learning activities can facilitate students' insight into how ChatGPT assisted them in their understanding, and what part of the process was left to them entirely. In this way, educators set the tool as a supporting tool rather than a crutch, empowering students to recognize its role in augmenting rather than replacing their thoughts.

Thus, the emergence of ChatGPT requires a very careful and intentional effort to understand what it might mean to include in education. More responsibly utilized, it can enhance both didactic education and authentic pedagogy, creating efficiency and creativity without sacrificing critical engagement