Q+A: So, what do we do about AI?
Five practical ways to partner with AI in your writing classroom
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Q: Hi Rebekah! One thing my team and I have been learning about is Chatgpt…. We read a new book this summer and did a deep dive online. We’re at the cusp really of big change. We are looking at how to use it as a tool in our English classroom versus ignoring it. I’m wondering what your plans are on how to address/tackle/use Chatgpt. - Jodi
A:
This month’s question may have been composed by our friend Jodi, but this is all anyone has asked me about for at least the last sixth months. Every professional development workshop I have led has somehow ended up circling this topic.
And for good reason: I cannot think of something more classroom-altering than AI in an English class.
As Jodi suggests, we can’t ignore it. And we can’t fight it. In some ways, it’s wonderful: writing can’t just be assigned anymore. And it can’t just be five-paragraph essays anymore. We will have to make authentic writing assignments that leverage students’s individual voices and experiences…because, otherwise, the robot can already do that. And will.
And then, of course, it’s scary. Because we worry we’ll spend every day of the rest of our career’s fighting it, searching for its undue influence. Plus, we all know ChatGPT isn’t the end of the story. It’s getting smarter, and there will be more than we can even imagine coming on the horizon.
Shifting the Fundamentals
There are a few fundamental shifts we are all going to have to make if we haven’t already:
Class time has to be given to writing. If we are going to ensure our students are the ones doing the composing, we have to watch them do it. At least some of the time. We can’t just assign writing and send it home. We need to watch students struggle and draft and get stuck and revise.
We can’t stay stuck on the five-paragraph essay. One of the things AI does best is compose standard, by-rote academic essays like the five-paragraph essay. This can’t be all we ask of our students. Writing products need to become increasingly authentic and varied.
Voice and style matter more than ever. So many secondary writing classes focus on structure above all. But voice and style are something humans put into their writing that a computer can’t. So this needs to take up more space in our writing instruction. Voice, style, and individual experience need to be valued as highly as thesis statements and well-organized paragraphs.
Partnering with AI
If you can’t beat ‘em, join them. I think the only way forward is to find productive ways to help our students collaborate with AI to help their own writing rather replace their own writing. We need to teach them to use it as a resource that benefits their writing as much as a writing teacher or a mentor text.
Here are just five ideas I’ve played with in the last few months! Scroll to the bottom to download & print a copy for your future reference!
We would ALL love to hear strategies we could add to this list. How else have you leveraged AI to help student writers? (There are also some fun ideas and links to great articles in the September Community Chat!)
My favorite way I have used AI with my students has been developing questions for research. We asked, “What are some argumentative questions about _______?” And watched it generate. It has really helped me show students how many conversations there are around various topics and will build nuance into their research process. It’s basically a Google search on steroids.
Hi Rebekah… thank you for all of these ideas! It’s a one stop shop. I appreciate it. I also love the creative side that can be brought into these ideas. Maybe districts can finally let “teaching to the test” pressure go and bring back more creativity. Combine creativity with personal voice …. that leads to fun, engagement, and authentic learning. For high school English I’m thinking about things like digital storytelling/video, photo essays/digital composition, creating children’s books to read to younger children, interview projects, graphic novel unit like you shared … the ideas are unlimited. We got this.