no manager is waiting for a new recruit to produce a 60-page report with old referencing. “It’s not that anyone will ever write a thesis again [after graduation], but the skillset that the student has acquired in that time works – the analysis, critical thinking, discussion and feeling that he or she was really mastering the knowledge gives them the self-confidence to play a role in a new team. “I don’t think we need to start having assessments that are copies of what is done in the first year of a new job. In conversations with my advisory boards, I might ask ‘Do you need more soft skills?’ or ‘Do you need students to learn programming?’ In reply, they often say, ‘I don’t care if you teach them Greek – as long as they have a positive mindset, critical thinking skills and can collaborate with others, send me your talent.’” Javier Yanez-Arenas “The point about the thesis is so important because it’s about the process and not just the end-result. Employers are looking for the skills that were developed through the process.”
Diana Limburg “It [AI and the use of ChatGPT] forces us to be more explicit about what we want students to learn. We also need to explain why they need to learn that – for example, if you don’t know what your sources are, then you don’t know if what you’re telling us is true.” Nicolas Forsans “Over time, we moved away from exams because we wanted to assess skills. We went for a science-based type of assessment, whether that’s individual or group-based, but if there is a strong rationale to assess knowledge, then there is a case for bringing the exam back to see what students can provide without the support.” “Simulations are also a good way of assessing that takes students away from a pure memorisation of knowledge and towards the application of knowledge to a particular situation.” Donald Lancaster “The way we shape the question for an assessment is critical. We can ask students, for instance, to answer a question that references what we’ve taught them in class. ChatGPT wouldn’t know what we’ve taught them in class, so they would still have to use their knowledge and understanding.” Sir Eric Thomas “I feel there’s a possibility of an antiquated exam room and the viva coming back. It’s very difficult to cheat or talk your way around a viva. Of course, cultural differences might make the whole dynamic of how people perceive what happens in a viva much more difficult, but you can’t get somebody to write your viva for you.” Nicolas Forsans “We have an MBA project at the end of the programme with three options – business plan, dissertation or consultancy project report. This project is currently 60 credits out of 180 and, in my view, that’s the takeaway of their MBA. The possibility of someone not writing that report themselves is not okay… I’ve seriously been thinking about trying to organise a viva so that they defend the outcomes of their project, but we’ve got 80 students on the MBA, so that would be 80 vivas.” Richard Hodgett “In South Korea, there is now a K-pop band that is fully powered by AI. They have actors on which the voices are based, for example. So, virtual professors that use our faces could perform an AI viva in which the technology asks the questions and then analyses students’ responses.” Mark van der Veen “There is already a huge discrepancy between how we are assessing and the realities of the labour market. I’m from a research university and the master’s thesis is a major piece of the assessment – maybe a quarter of the study load at that stage. Many students struggle with it and I’m certain that
How can AI help business schools offer regular and formative feedback to students?
Mark van der Veen “Using AI to give feedback is a real timesaver for teachers. We don’t always have the time to read every essay in full detail and give sufficient feedback – and AI can help. The teacher might not even be needed if students can get the feedback themselves.”
Donald Lancaster “It’s not going to be ChatGPT that does [the feedback], it’s going
AI could impact many aspects of teaching, from assessment methods to feedback forums
18 | Ambition JULY/AUGUST 2023
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