Large language models in education: A focus on the complementary relationship between human teachers and ChatGPT

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing in a manner that blurs the boundaries between specific areas of application and expands its capability to be used in a wide range of applications. The public release of ChatGPT, a generative AI chatbot powered by a large language model (LLM), represents a significant step forward in this direction. Accordingly, professionals predict that this technology will affect education, including the role of teachers. However, despite some assumptions regarding its influence on education, how teachers may actually use the technology and the nature of its relationship with teachers remain under-investigated. Thus, in this study, the relationship between ChatGPT and teachers was explored with a particular focus on identifying the complementary roles of each in education. Eleven language teachers were asked to use ChatGPT for their instruction during a period of two weeks. They then participated in individual interviews regarding their experiences and provided interaction logs produced during their use of the technology. Through qualitative analysis of the data, four ChatGPT roles (interlocutor, content provider, teaching assistant, and evaluator) and three teacher roles (orchestrating different resources with quality pedagogical decisions, making students active investigators, and raising AI ethical awareness) were identified. Based on the findings, an in-depth discussion of teacher-AI collaboration is presented, highlighting the importance of teachers’ pedagogical expertise when using AI tools. Implications regarding the future use of LLM-powered chatbots in education are also provided.