Public speaker demonstrates large language models; urges board to consider classroom impacts

Rob Ross told the Oakwood Board of Education on Aug. 4 that large language models—tools that power products such as ChatGPT—are already changing how students complete assignments and how parents and teachers support learning. Ross said surveys and faculty reports indicate student use of LLMs is widespread and gave examples he had tried: generating step-by-step chemistry help, creating a 20-question math worksheet with an answer key, and producing a multi-page book report on demand. He demonstrated how an LLM can produce polished work and then be prompted to make the output appear more like work written by a high-school student. “Now things get more problematic,” Ross said, describing a workflow where a student uploads a photo of a homework assignment, the model returns correct answers, and provides code or step-by-step explanations that could be submitted as the student’s work. Ross asked the board to consider the instructional implications and said he would return next month to discuss responses and possible actions the district could take to address the technology’s classroom impact. Ross offered to demonstrate the tools to trustees and community members after the meeting; he did not present a formal proposal or policy recommendation at this session.