The world of artificial intelligence is changing so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up. Every day, another new tool or chatbot is unveiled that has the potential to save users time and make life easier. And this is also true for those of us in the education field, where staying current is important and saving time is critical. With that in mind, I would like to introduce you to Claude, a new AI tool that is definitely worth a look.
What is Claude?
Released in April 2022 by Anthropic, Claude 2 is another of the many new chatbots available (like ChatGPT, Bard, Bing, Perplexity, and Jasper). It assists with content summarization, general research, creative and collaborative writing, Q&A, and coding. A user enters a question (called a prompt) and the tool answers. Claude 2 is currently free.
How is Claude 2 different from ChatGPT 3.5?
Most of you are probably more familiar with the chatbot ChatGPT, especially its free form, version 3.5. But there are some significant differences between ChatGPT and Claude 2 in their underlying architecture. These differences are worth noting, as you can see in the table below.
| Claude 2 | ChatGPT 3.5 |
| Trickery and deception avoided through its modular architecture | Better at creative writing tasks and generating imaginative content |
| Can handle and recall larger amounts of information | More of a personality |
| Only available in the United States and the United Kingdom at this time; supports only English | Available in 163 countries and with support for multiple languages |
| Does not accept image inputs | Can recognize what is displayed in an image, although not always accurately |
| Includes current data | Trained on data up to September 2021 only |
| Can accept up to five files, up to 10MB each, including PDFs, TXT, and CSV files that can be added using the paperclip icon before a prompt is entered. | |
| Better at text summarization | |
| Faster processor time |
Comparing Chatbots: Claude 2 and ChatGPT
Since I find that it’s best to use the same prompts when comparing different chatbots, I tested Claude with my standard prompt: “What is the most effective instructional strategy to use with fifth grade ESL students?”
Here’s how ChatGPT 3.5 replied:
And here’s the response I got from Claude:
When I asked ChatGPT 3.5 for a Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards-aligned lesson plan for fifth grade ESL students on the life cycle, I got this response. It did pull from the TEKS but gave me the ELAR standards and not the science ones. Several of the activities also seemed weaker to me and not as engaging or on level, especially the enrichment. And it did not really include anything related to ESL students.
Objective:
Students will be able to describe and understand the life cycle of a butterfly using appropriate vocabulary and language structures.
TEKS Standards: English Language Arts and Reading
5.2.A: Identify the meaning of common prefixes and suffixes.
5.4.B: Describe the plot’s sequence of events.
5.14.A: Listen actively to interpret a message.
Duration:
Approximately 60 minutes
Materials:
- Chart paper or whiteboard
- Markers
- Visuals of a butterfly’s life cycle (pictures or diagrams)
- Butterfly life cycle worksheets
- Colored pencils or crayons
- Butterfly life cycle video (optional)
Hook (10 minutes):
Begin the lesson by activating students’ prior knowledge. Show pictures or diagrams of different animal life cycles, such as a frog, chicken, or butterfly. Ask students to discuss in pairs or small groups what they know about life cycles and what similarities and differences they notice between the different animals’ life cycles. Encourage them to use vocabulary related to life cycles and discuss their ideas as a class.
Activities:
Vocabulary Introduction (10 minutes):
Introduce key vocabulary related to the butterfly’s life cycle, such as egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Write these words on the chart paper or whiteboard and provide simple definitions or visual representations for each term. Discuss the pronunciation and ask students to repeat the words.
Butterfly Life Cycle Presentation (15 minutes):
Show visuals or a short video depicting the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle. Narrate or explain the process step-by-step, using simple language and reinforcing the vocabulary introduced earlier. Pause at each stage to check for understanding and encourage students to ask questions or share observations.
Group Activity: Life Cycle Diagram (15 minutes):
Divide the class into small groups and provide each group with a large sheet of paper and colored pencils or crayons. Instruct them to draw and label a diagram of the butterfly’s life cycle, using the vocabulary they learned earlier. Encourage collaboration and discussion within each group. After they finish, have each group present their diagram to the class.
Formative Assessment (5 minutes):
As a formative assessment, ask individual students to explain one stage of the butterfly’s life cycle using the appropriate vocabulary. Observe their responses and provide feedback accordingly.
Enrichment (10 minutes):
For students who show a deeper understanding, provide additional information about the importance of butterflies in the ecosystem and their role in pollination. Show pictures or videos of different butterfly species and discuss their diversity.
Individual Practice (5 minutes):
Distribute butterfly life cycle worksheets to each student. The worksheet should have labeled spaces for them to draw and describe each stage of the life cycle using the vocabulary words they learned. Collect the worksheets for assessment and to provide feedback on their understanding.
Closure (5 minutes):
Summarize the main points of the lesson, emphasizing the key vocabulary and the stages of the butterfly’s life cycle. Encourage students to share what they enjoyed or found interesting during the lesson.
Claude 2 gave me the following response. It did pull from the science TEKS and included an activity to activate prior knowledge. In addition, this lesson plan includes the use of graphic organizers and anchor charts, both useful for ESL student learning.
Topic: Life Cycles
TEKS Addressed:
5.2C: Students will identify stages and sequence in the life cycles of different plants and animals.
5.8F: Students will organize and present data in a variety of ways including detailed illustrations, flow charts, posters, and graphs.
Hook: Show images of life cycles (butterfly, frog, plant). Have students discuss what they see and what they already know about life cycles.
Activating Prior Knowledge: In partners, students complete a graphic organizer listing the stages of a familiar life cycle (human, pumpkin, butterfly) and draw quick sketches. Share out.
New Material: Teacher explains stages of life cycles using an anchor chart. Show video clip on general life cycle patterns. Have students take notes on stages.
Guided Practice: In groups, students are given cards depicting the life cycle of a specific organism out of sequence. They work to put the cards in order and identify the stages. Share out.
Formative Assessment: Have students draw the life cycle of an assigned organism on paper, labeling the stages. Teacher evaluates sketches and labels for accuracy.
Differentiated Instruction:
– Advanced students add details on duration and key processes in each stage.
– Struggling students are given cards with stage names to sequence.
Individual Practice: Students choose an organism and create an illustrated life cycle poster labeling the sequence of stages.
Enrichment: Students research an unusual life cycle (frog, butterfly, etc.) and present key learnings to the class.
Closure: Students share out key learnings about life cycles. Teacher reviews structure and purpose of life cycle stages.
Claude’s Chatbot Brother: ClaudeScholar
ClaudeScholar is a research assistant for science that can synthesize data, extract insights, and automate scientific workflows. Users can search through any document with natural language, uncover insights across multiple research papers, and even task the AI assistant with complicated workflows like generating new compounds and modeling protein interactions using state-of-the-art research. While this is not likely to be a tool most of us will use, it is interesting to see the direction that chatbots are going.
Trying Out Claude 2
If you’d like to sign up for free to try Claude2, visit Anthropic’s website and click “Talk to Claude.” You’ll then be prompted to sign up with your email address or enter an existing address to access the bot.
In the near future, it is likely that we will regularly use a variety of chatbot tools, depending on what we need to accomplish, just as we may choose to use Canva for one type of design project and Adobe Photoshop for another. So now’s a good time to begin to learn what each tool is especially good at. I encourage you to try Claude 2 and let me know what you think!
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