Creating a Course Syllabus and Lesson Plan Using ChatGPT: Some Considerations

ChatGPT remains controversial in education since its public release in November 2022. Despite its impressive résumé, which includes producing human–like responses, it is liable to hallucinate; and the opportunities for plagiarism are well documented in the literature. Could ChatGPT be an asset to teaching and learning? ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) continue to improve at astonishing rates, and students are already using the services. This qualitative study assesses the accuracy and usefulness of ChatGPT as a tool to create a course syllabus and lesson plan for a Western classical music history course, and by extension its usefulness as a teaching tool in the classical music history classroom. The findings suggest that while the LLM cannot be a substitute for the expertise of the educator, it is a useful tool. If used in conjunction with established practices and tools in humanities studies, the very limitations of ChatGPT could not only create powerful learning opportunities for developing AI literacy among students outside of STEM, but could support the development of higher–order cognitive skills in the music history classroom.