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Grappling with AI

Ever since I heard about Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming available to the public, and almost immediately catching several students submitting essays written by Chat GPT, I have felt overwhelmed and even disillusioned about what I do for a living. How, truly, can I teach writing, something I have been passionate about, that I have spent years learning and adapting and experimenting with and trying to perfect, if students may now use AI to produce a well-written paper with zero effort?  How can I compete with that?  What’s my purpose?

Although my first inclination was to bury my head in the sand, as a teacher who regularly studies pedagogy and believes strongly that it is my responsibility to prepare my students for their futures, I couldn’t help but realize---albeit slowly and with great reluctance—that if I didn’t allow AI into my classroom, I wasn’t really doing my job.  I wasn’t preparing my students for their futures.  Hesitatingly, I began to contemplate how I could bring AI into my writing classroom, but then would immediately envision students happily telling their parents, “Ms. Neumiller is telling us to use AI to write our papers! I’ll never have to struggle through a writing assignment again!”

I believe the first moment that I really started to shift my understanding of how I could possibly consider allowing students to use AI in the classroom came when I was listening to the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Episode 518 with author and educator Jose Bowen.  The topic of the episode was “Teaching With AI,” and during this thought-provoking discussion, he shared an analogy that really helped me think about AI in a new way.  He explained that AI is to writing teachers what the calculator was to math teachers. Then he pointed out that math teachers have been able to convince their students to still learn basic arithmetic—the foundation of mathematics—even though they now had a tool that could do it for them.  “The math teachers did it!” he exclaimed.  This clicked with me—He’s right. If the Math teachers did it, why can’t we?

Another change in my thinking occurred when I stumbled on a report from Turnitin that found that, although many students are (unfortunately) using AI to write their papers for them, at the same time the number of students using it that pervasively actually hasn’t grown that much since the introduction of AI, with only about 3 out of every 100 assignments found to be generated completely by AI.  When I think about it, this is what happened in my classroom as well. When Chat GPT first entered the scene, as I mentioned above, I immediately identified 3-5 students who submitted papers written by AI.  Last year, however, a full year after it became available, I did not have one student that used AI to write their entire paper (at least I’m pretty sure J).  I know that some students used it during the writing process, but not one chose to simply copy and paste writing from AI and submit it as their own.  The fact that a majority of my students—even with AI so readily available to them—are still choosing not to have an AI program write their papers for them gives me so much hope.  Just like me, they want their voices to be heard.

AI—a Calculator for the Composition Classroom

Now that I’ve taken you through my thinking, I turn to the bigger question: How can I effectively use AI in the composition classroom as a tool to improve writing? Looking at it another way, how can I use it as a calculator for improving writing?

First, I really don’t know the answer to that question (sorry!), but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t begin to try.  According to the authors Jose Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson in Teaching with AI, “AI is a prolific idea generator” (63).  I think that is a great place to start. I can see using AI regularly for idea generation in writing—brainstorming writing topics, gathering organizational options, looking for clever leads and modes for delivering strong conclusions, and the list goes on.  So, I think this is where I will begin.  I don’t think, however, that this is where I should end.  At this point, my goal is to begin to use AI for idea generation, to observe students using AI and gather their input and feedback on what works and what doesn’t, and then let that inform our next steps.  It might not be much, but I believe it is in my students’ best interest to slow down and learn how to use it as a tool and not as a replacement for human thought.

Another more specific activity that I am excited to try early on is asking students to compare an essay written by a professional—a mentor text— with an AI-written essay on the same topic.  In my experience, while technically correct, AI writing isn’t perfect, and I need my students to see that. Although I’m sure AI will continue to improve its ability to “sound human,” at this point I think what AI writing most suffers from is the lack of a clear writer’s voice.  Examining the difference between a human voice and AI’s lack thereof could lead to a great discussion about voice—a concept that I sometimes find difficult to explain to students.  Hopefully, students will see why AI is a great tool to ask for suggestions and ideas on how to improve their writing, but also that it will never be a replacement for their unique voices.

Adapting to the Moment

In addition to experimenting with using AI as a tool, I also plan to alter some basic classroom operations to discourage cheating.  Returning to the calculator analogy, just as math teachers now require their students to “show their work,” I plan to change my grading rubrics to require more documentation of the writing process. I also intend to increase the amount of class time I give for working on writing assignments, reducing the stress that can often lead students to cheat.  Finally, I want to visit more regularly with students to see what they’re working on, so I’ll be trying to increase the number of writing conferences I do and keep documentation about what they’re working on and witness their writing process.  There are more ideas that I have to help combat the reasons students cheat, and so I’ll make additional changes going forward, but these are the ones I think I’ll experiment with immediately. 

“Tomorrow Ain’t as Bad as it Seems”

After all of this thinking and learning about Artificial Intelligence, I have come to the conclusion—with inspiration from Billy Joel’s “Keeping the Faith,”—that AI is not going to replace the heart of what my students and I do in my composition classroom.  We will continue to spend extensive time studying strong writing, practicing writing, discussing what we like and what we don’t, revising, and, well, back to more practicing.  We will together build understanding of what good writing is, and create stronger writers.  Thankfully, AI is a tool that my students and I can add to our writer’s toolbox, but it does not replace effective writing instruction, and it cannot replace my students’ voices. 

Thinking about the old nursery rhyme Peter the Pumpkin Eater and being a cheater, we often interpret the use of AI in the classroom as a reason for being a cheater.  Can this be true?  Of course, a student can throw the prompt you provided into a program like ChatGPT, an essay is quickly provided, a quick copy and paste, and a hit of the submit button and they have turned in the assignment.  They walk away with the completed assignment and leave you with a feeling of defeat in your attempts to instill quality writing skills in your students.  What if, instead, we teach kids how to use AI to their advantage to be strong writers, analyzers, readers, and lifelong learners.  We need to shift to AI as a tool to reinforce what we are already teaching. 

As a teacher, it's evident the use of AI will not go away, and we are now finding ourselves as the guide to our students on how to use AI appropriatly.  To quote from the book Teaching with AI, “What faculty call cheating, business calls progress.”  It will be our job to help students learn to use AI with integrity, trust, and to teach them to become AI-literate.  If you have read this far you are probably thinking, “ok, great show me.” The following are just a few ways we have found to use AI during our Summer Institute of Writing Workshop:

Some Ways to Use AI in the Class:

• Brainstorming: AI tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini can be used as jumping off points to get some ideas created. You can add in prompts for your writing and command AI to give you a list of ideas.  You must be specific to the task and be sure to tell AI to just give you suggestions (a specific number is helpful) and to ask AI to not write out your whole paper.

• Proofreading and Revision: Students can ask AI resources to give them feedback on their papers, proofreading and even help with revising your work. It must be reiterated by the teacher to ask for suggestions.  The student will need to be the one to decide if the edit is worth it.  It shouldn’t just be a copy, paste and done.  

• Creating Images to Boost Writing:  Students can use an AI image creator to find an image to base their writing or see if what they have written in their narrative writing creates a vivid picture. 

• Mentor text: Students or teachers can have an AI tool create a mentor text.  The students can analyze it and look for things like figurative language, vivid adjectives and verbs.  They can check their work to see if they found the same as the AI utility. 

You may be still questioning, but how do I prevent my students from just stealing from AI to create a paper, and if they do this, what is the next step?   Our goal as a writing teacher is to teach our kids the process, and we want them to become experts in writing, and we want them to be accountable for their work.  If we want to set our students up for success, we need to know the guidelines when it comes to using AI.  Policies and expectations help students understand what is at stake and help deter them from using AI to cheat. One of the first things we need to do is set up those expectations when it comes to using AI tools.  In the article from We are Teachers there is a list on setting up policy for your school.  As they stated, we have rules and guidelines when it comes to plagiarism. Is this the same as it is for AI, or should it look different?  It is important to set up a plan to create a policy.  These steps can help you get started:

• Create a team that includes at least one AI-literate person.  The other proper stakeholders should also be present such as administrations, teachers, parents, students and legal advisors.

• Determine your goals.  

• Look at other policies that have been created. 

• Draft policy

  • Policy should include the proper use of AI

  • Policy should be transparent

• Review and edit as necessary.

• Review and teach all stakeholders.

This seems simple enough, but just remember your own classroom policy should be in line with your school policy.  

You now have a policy in place; however, the next question that comes into play is, what happens if I have a student that turns in a paper completely generated by AI? This is where you need to look at your policy.  A conversation should be started between the teacher and student.  This conversation should be about the students' writing process when creating their paper.  Having this conversation will guide you and your student to decide what will be done about the work they have handed in.  Will your policy allow for the student to redo their paper and reflect on writing in their own words?  Will your policy be an automatic zero?  As a teacher or administration, this needs to be clear in your policy, so your students know what is expected of them. 

In the article Common Sense Media: How to Prevent AI Use for Plagiarism,  it is important that we consider using the process to grade and evaluate students just as much as the product. This should be part of your conversation with your student as you question if their work is AI -generated or AI- assisted.  Our goal as writing teachers may need to shift a bit.  We need to understand that a student's process of writing may actually weigh more than the product itself.  Having a student show you how they got to the end of their paper will be just as useful as the final product.  You can think of it like math. We use the tool of a calculator, but we require students to show their work.  Writing can work the same way. We need to consider including the prompts used with AI and the thought process that was used in the AI -assisted writing assignment.

After much consideration and thought, you can see how we as educators need to shift our way of thinking to allow AI in the classroom.  It is something that is not going to go away in the near future or probably at all.  Our students need to be ready for the workforce that will be rewarding the intelligent use of AI for many tasks.  If our job as educators is to prepare our students for the real world, we need to be the first line to show them how to use AI properly.  We need to get away from the idea of immediately saying Cheater, Cheater whenever a student uses AI.  We need to shift our way into thinking to prepare our students for a new world of AI; how we can make those who were formerly known as cheaters to now become progress-makers. You can make the shift in your class.  The question is, will you?

Authors Note: The article is all about the appropriate and transparent use of AI.  I did use the AI tool Gemini to assist me with my title.  The rest of the article was proofread by peers in the Red River Valley Writing Project Summer Institute. Thank you, Jolynn Werner Sasse, Elissa Berg, Erika Dyk, and Robert Hutton.  

A year later, when I realized that the likes of ChatGPT were not going to magically disappear, my Language Arts department “wisely” added the following criteria to our already verbose Academic Honesty Policy: “Academic dishonesty includes…utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) software when completing assignments.” Black and white. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Or so we thought…  However, just as Bobby’s waterboy skills were underestimated until he unleashed his true potential, my department underestimated the staying power of AI. Admittedly, since my colleagues and I had no real experience with it, our policy was ill-informed at best.

After participating in a collegiate course focused on AI in education, a much more informed and realistic me realizes that ignoring and vilifying AI is useless; therefore, I have taken on the mantra of “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Just as Bobby Boucher had to embrace his inner linebacker to save the Mud Dogs, I have come to see the value of embracing AI. As a high-school English I, English III, and Speech Communications teacher, I find myself more comfortable entrusting the power of AI into my juniors’ and seniors’ hands, but not so much into the sweaty paws of my freshmen and sophomores since these younger students have yet to develop the ability to wordsmith an essay, to ascertain whether or not they have met the criteria of the 6 Traits of Writing; heck, some of them cannot consistently write a complete sentence because they have no clue what a noun and verb is.  It's akin to Coach Klein trying to teach complex football plays to his team without first ensuring they understand the basics. How can I, in good conscience, place the glorified Gatorade of AI in their hands? And, for the love of all things good and holy, what if my teaching assignment shifts to the junior high or even to upper elementary? I surely have to hide this techy knowledge from them even more so, right?

Right and wrong. According to industry experts, rather than hide AI technology from our youth, teachers should instead create a plan to scope and sequence it appropriately.  Therefore, the question changes: What is the appropriate age to introduce AI to students, and which elements of AI are appropriate to introduce at these various ages, especially in regards to writing? Furthermore, which of the endless number of AI tools are developmentally appropriate for each grade level? In a sense, teachers must become the Coach Kleins devising a game plan to strategize the best way to integrate this AI player into our curriculum. Thankfully, experts from Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Elsevier, ISTE  and even the states of North Dakota and Minnesota have some ideas about how to do that. Also, although several suggested AI tools are listed below, that does not mean that we teachers need to become experts in all of them. We don’t have to become to AI what Bobby Boucher was to water; we just need to find the right tools for us and our students while working with our school districts to cover any potential costs of these tools. My hope is that the following information, organized by grade level, will help others get started on their x’s and o’s: 

Early Elementary (Kindergarten to Grade 2)

Focus: Teaching students that AI is not a real person

Rationale: We don’t want a society of Mildred Montag’s from Fahrenheit 451 on our hands, believing the holograms on the three-screened living room walls are actual friends and family. Much like Mama Boucher saw football as a threat to her Bobby, educating young children about AI involves dispelling myths and clarifying its role as a tool, not a replacement for human interaction. However, that does not mean that we keep our children delightfully ignorant like Bobby’s mother did; we need to give them a  “peek under the hood,” with us standing by their sides, until they comprehend that AI is no more real than the tooth fairy. Bobby had to learn that his opponents were not actually “devils;” similarly, early education about AI should emphasize understanding the technology’s capabilities and limitations but should not replace the hands-on activity and play which foster student learning. 

Suggested Tools: Ready AI’s Zhorai, MIT’s PopBots, Google’s Quick, Draw!, Writing Wizard  & Teachable Machine 

Upper Elementary (Grade 3 to Grade 5)

Focus: Developing problem-solving skills 

Rationale: Teachers will utilize AI to develop better learning lessons, cultivate customized learning materials, and establish cross-curricular focus while cautiously modeling the use of AI in class, especially during teachable moments (ie: when the teacher does not know the answer, modeling how to formulate AI prompts together, recognizing AI’s strengths & weaknesses) since students are not yet developmentally ready to spearhead their own AI adventure. This type of modeling allows students to explore and apply AI in contexts, side by side with their teacher as a model, where it complements their learning journey. After all, without us as their Coach Kleins, our waterboys may not find technological success.

Suggested Tools: Google’s Gemini (formerly Bard) & Story Jumper 

Middle School (Grade 6 to Grade 9)

Focus: Critical thinking and abstract thinking 

Rationale: Because of the curious disposition and raging hormones of this age group, teachers are cautioned not to loosen restrictions around access to AI too much. Technically, Chat GPT allows students to create an account with parent permission at age 13, but clear boundaries  must be set for successful use in the educational setting, just like his referees quickly set boundaries for Bobby’s tackling skills (no more piledrivers or body slams allowed). This approach ensures that students learn to navigate AI responsibly while developing essential writing and analytical skills in a controlled, supportive environment.

Suggested Tools: AI Tutor Pro, Grammarly,  Hemingway Editor, QuillBot, School AI , MyEssayFeedback, Coggle, Plot Generator, TurnItIn’s DraftCoach  & Peergrade 

High School (Grade 10 to Grade 12)

Focus: Learning about the limitations of AI

Rationale: Although teens tend to question everything an adult in their life tells them, they tend not to doubt AI, similar to how Bobby Boucher never questioned his mama until Vicki Vallencourt came along. We teachers need to teach our little Bobbies responsible use, reaping the benefits of the technology while avoiding the inherent biases, stereotypes, inaccuracies, and other such harms. Just as Bobby’s journey to becoming a skilled linebacker required ongoing training and guidance, students should engage with AI tools quite often, gradually refining their writing skills and understanding of AI’s role in the writing process. This approach helps students develop the mental stamina needed for rigorous academic writing complemented by AI assistance where appropriate, which better prepares them for life after high school.

Suggested Tools (listed in progressive grade-level order): Grammarly, Hemingway Editor, Quillbot, ProWritingAid, SlickWrite , ChatGPT, Sudowrite , Zotero , CoAuthor, & Scholarcy 

Just like Mama Boucher ultimately had to accept that her beloved Bobby loved “foosball,” we must accept that Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. Rather than spend our careers as the Red Bellieu’s of AI, we can be the Farmer Frans and Mr. Coach Kleins who lead our students down the path of AI sportsmanship. Much is yet to be discovered about the how’s and why’s, but even we Language Arts teachers should not be AI’s opposition. After all, Bobby Boucher’s opponents  underestimated his abilities, and look what happened to them. One thing is for certain: water doesn’t suck, and neither should AI.

Ever moving, ever changing -- that’s a river. That’s education. That’s technology. 

A river goes somewhere: the ocean. 

Education goes somewhere: our long-term flourishing.1

And technology? Does it go somewhere? Or does it simply assist (or hinder) the movement of humans, their ideas, and their actions?

Process should be the river that leads to the ocean of long-term flourishing. It’s just that we now have a new and powerful assistive technology -- one that can metaphorically teleport from the beginning of the river to the ocean. Yet to shortcut the journey down the river is to miss out on the training of navigating the river, the inspiration from all the places along the way, and the joy of the journey.  

The Training by Navigating the River: Why Emphasize Process

To use AI effectively and ethically, humans need to make intelligent decisions: prompting AI specifically and intelligently, evaluating information, and choosing what to do with generated content. In the Epilogue of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning, Bowen and Watson note, “Even more than digital literacy, AI literacy centers around critical thinking: a complete education in the liberal arts has never mattered more” (238). Bowen and Watson repeatedly emphasize throughout the book to value process when teaching with AI.

Emphasizing the process prepares students for the ever-changing workplaces that see AI as an “innovation,” not as a way of “cheating" (Bowen and Watson 5). Additionally, it also allows space for education to be about more than producing employees, as a process focus can also fulfill other purposes of education. Dave Stuart Jr. created the “Rainbow of Why” to visually show what he sees as the value of education: utility, relevance, justice/pro-social, social status, autonomy, novelty, enjoyment/pleasure, meaning/purpose, and beauty. 

Education is beautiful, but too often the beauty is polluted by well-intentioned distractions. The work then of writing teachers includes making decisions that help maintain the focus and flow of the learning. 

How To: Inspiration to Emphasize Process

Teachers need a practical plan to help students both value the process and be equipped to make decisions. Use this list as inspiration to welcome more process-focused thinking into your classroom. 

• Pace: Slowing down instruction and providing many low-risk opportunities for practice can help emphasize the process. ChatGTP can assist teachers in producing more practice texts, such as independent clauses that need combining or poorly written texts that need assistance.
  
  

• Concrete Process Strategies: Having simple and actionable strategies for students to use independently is key. The strategies equip students to make decisions.

  • At the 2019 North Dakota Council of Teachers of English Conference, Kelly Gallagher shared the revision moves acronym of RADaR: Replace, Add, Delete, and Reorder. Using this language and practicing these moves help students understand how writers revise. 

  • Using the 6 Traits of Writing can help demystify what clear and effective writing needs. It helps students focus their revision process; and as an added bonus for teachers, many resources are available online to assist! 

• Teacher Talk and Modeling: Teachers need to be using the language of process and modeling revision consistently. 

  • Have a slogan like my friend Donna Davidson: “You can’t edit a blank page.” 

  • Do whole-class review of writing regularly. Bring your work and student’s work underneath the document camera and teach students how to give helpful feedback, using the language of RADaR and the 6 Traits of Writing. Peer review is often a poor process because we assume too much about students knowing the process.
    
    

• Grades: Elissa Berg, English teacher at Fargo Shanley High School, introduced the idea of having a gradebook category of “Writing Process.” Students often speak the language of grades, so speak their language. Consider being extra daring and make the writing process category worth more weight than the product category.
  
  

• Assignments: Give assignments that grade the quality of the revision of the work, not the end process. Jolynn Werner Sasse, a 25-year veteran English teacher, is exploring having students track their revision decisions in a comment on their document. The student needs to write the original, the revised version, what feedback was suggested, why the student accepted/declined/tweaked the revision, and how the revision helped the writing. 

How To: The Joy of the Journey

Focusing on the process can also be an invitation to have fun. 

Writing can be an enjoyable journey with surprises finding you on the page or inspiration striking from the most unexpected source -- like a poster on the wall or the fact that all your peers are wearing green that day. 

I hear some of you say, “Well, you’re a middle school teacher. You can afford to think in terms of fun.”

Catherine Price (and I) would disagree with you. In her book The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, she defines True Fun as “the confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow” (32). I don’t know about you, but True Fun sounds like a return to the river.2 A confluence is the point at which two rivers join; a river within its banks is playful, connects places, and definitely flows! 

You, as a teacher at any level, can decide to bring in the element of True Fun. 

What if you….

• Welcome improv into your classroom to act out concepts and skills needed in the age of AI.

  • Make up an improv game where the audience are chatbots intentionally giving really bad answers. Work to identify strengths and weaknesses in their made-up responses.

  • Put an idea in the hot seat. Students now more than ever need to be skeptical, so act it out! 

• Give students a weekly challenge: somewhere in your writing this week you need to include a panda and also a Christmas tree. Limits help people be more creative--and have some fun along the way.3 

• Ask students to intentionally write badly in a humorous way so that you can practice making revision suggestions.4

• Have students draw out a storyboard of their writing process as an author’s note or find a creative way to document their writing process. 

When an element of playfulness is added, connection and flow are more likely to follow, leading to True Fun. This makes learning more enjoyable, more memorable, and inherently more human for AI can’t laugh, and ChatGPT thinks adding granola bars to a story enhances the humor. [Note to ChatGPT: it doesn’t.]

Journey to the Ocean

As we navigate the ever-changing river, we need to remember that we are not alone and that the best way to navigate forward is on the FriendSHIP. Technology such as AI can assist us on that journey, but it is never the journey nor the destination in itself. For we are wayfinders on this river towards long-term flourishing, my friends. We will find the way together. 

Footnotes:

1. Dave Stuart Jr., educational blogger and author, identifies the ultimate goal of education as “long-term flourishing.” 

2. This, Reader, is a real-life example of a surprising inspiration finding you on the off-screen journey. I was attending More Than Words's 1st birthday party and stumbled upon this book about fun. When I saw the definition of true fun, it changed the direction of my writing for True Fun literally flows like a river.

3. “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” -Orson Welles

4. Thanks, Elissa Berg, for the idea to have students write an intentionally bad paragraph in your teaching demo. 

Author’s Note: I am quite grateful for Elissa Berg reading a quite rough draft and noticing that my voice was missing and for greatly assisting with the last lines of the blog post. Also grateful to my writing group for your thoughtful comments and night-owl reading of documents: Jolynn Werner Sasse, Justine Kapaun, and Elissa Berg. ChatGPT was used minimally for editing suggestions. 

“The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It's not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.”

― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Like Steinbeck’s quote poetically demonstrates, these redwoods are unbelievable in their structure. I would argue that Artificial Intelligence, such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Claud and many others,  is similar to the redwood. Although redwoods are old and AI is new, it has the same effect on us because how it grows is mind blowing, and I do not completely understand all of its abilities and its limitations. Recently as an educator, I feel lost in the forest of education. My evergreens, my old traditions to assess learning, are shifting, and my brain is overwhelmed more often than not. Because these changes of AI feel unfamiliar and distant, I am compelled to sit in silence and to be stricken with awe until I can secure my bearings; however, the more I want to digest and process its magnificence, the more I realize how little I know about the world, and then I remember—I am an educator who is responsible for guiding my students, and I do not have time to sit in awe. I  need to go back to my map, examine my new location, and use my resources to direct us through this new section of the forest and decide what the appropriate steps and uses of AI will be.

Research demonstrates that the use of AI as an assistant does benefit writers, but it is also important to help our students understand the differences between the two methods of using AI (AI-Generated or AI-Assisted) and provide better instruction and clarity for their usage. So we need to decipher what each method means. In the recent AI Writing Course facilitated by the Red River Valley Writing Project, we as educators have been grappling with defining this line in our classrooms. In that discussion, Erika Dyk pulled up Amazon’s definitions of AI generation and AI assisted, and there seemed to be a metaphorical clearing of the trees. We began to see the first landmarks to consider putting onto our teacher maps to provide clearer directions for ourselves and our students: 

AI-Generated: 

• It encourages students to use AI  in a non-critical way. 

• It becomes a substitution “for” student thinking and process rather than being an opportunity to problem solve and build self-efficacy. 

• It enables individuals to become automated and dependent on technology alone for answers. 

• It fosters “product only” engagement. 

AI-Assisted: 

• It encourages and allows students to make critical choices in their learning. 

• It should be a collaboration “with” AI to  establish a conversational learning experience. 

  • Ideally, the AI would even include questions to the students about their learning to make them critically think about the content. 

• It provides and establishes independence and student voice in their writing. 

  • Students can use prompts that list or advise them how to improve their voice rather than the AI rewriting their writing.

•  AI  can be a model for students; however, they should be selective in how they use it.

  • Teachers should also be modeling appropriate use of AI to help them process and critically analyze the information that it provides. 

• AI-Assistance can be part of the process, and there should be transparency between the student and the educator about the use. 

  • This could be demonstrated through an author’s note, reflection surveys, or copied AI transcripts and chats that are submitted with the writing assignment. 

Why is it so important to define these terms and know the difference between AI-Generated and AI- Assisted? Defining the difference between them is crucial because it is a tool that is not perfect; it can be easily misused, and it can be inaccurate. AI chats can hallucinate, misconstrue information, and misinform our learners because of the vastness of the biases that it collects and reiterates to us (Bowen and Watson, 2014). These flaws along with the temptation to cheat often makes teachers want to hunker down and hold firm against this new reality. Prothero writes in her article, “What is Age-Appropriate Use of AI? 4 Developmental Stages to Know About,"‘Teachers may feel their main duty as this stage [high school students] is to police students and make sure they’re not using ChatGPT, Photomath, and other similar technologies to do all their assignments. But experts say that educators have a more important role to play: primarily, to teach students the limitations of the technology. The text and images created by generative AI programs, for example, can be plagued by biases, stereotypes, and inaccuracies” (2024). If we only police them, we are failing to prepare them with the skills they need for their futures which will require better critical thinking skills, better questioning skills, and better writing and communication skills.  If we fail to articulate and teach the importance of AI- Assisted vs. AI- Generated, we are setting students up to be merely “average” in multiple ways, and not just in our gradebooks.

While many of these thoughts seem like common sense, it is important to return to our foundational principles and practices and adapt them to these new resources we have at hand.  As educators, we are the foundation for our students, and we are capable of building them up and guiding them, so eventually one day they can find their own way in the forest.

Bringing up the words artificial intelligence (AI) in a room full of educators is certain to elicit a lot of strong opinions. Since AI was introduced to the public, some teachers have taken advantage of the technology to streamline their own classroom tasks while others are strongly opposed to its use in any form. I found myself in the latter camp until recently. My initial views on AI were primarily shaped by fatalistic headlines declaring AI would make cheating rampant and that it would be the downfall of humanity. Seeing those headlines conjured visions of robots becoming self-aware and conquering the human race like you might see in a sci-fi horror movie. 

Batgirl once said, “Everything doesn't have to be about fear. There's room in our line of work for hope, too.” So I decided to face my fear of AI and jumped at an opportunity to learn more. Not only was my thinking turned upside down, but I also discovered the real risk with AI is humans using its capabilities for ill will, not robots (sorry sci-fi fans). While that still makes AI seem a bit like kryptonite, it made me start thinking about the discussions we need to have as a society to ensure ethical use of AI. As a fifth grade teacher, I realized I can save the world one writer at a time by teaching responsible AI use in my elementary school classroom [puts on a metaphorical cape and flies off to save the world].

Some might think elementary school is too young for students to have access to AI tools. That is true to an extent; they are too young to have access to some tools. Teachers will need to research which AI tools are best for their students. The reality is kids are increasingly tech savvy, and if we act like AI doesn’t exist, students may come across these tools on their own. If students experiment too much with AI unsupervised, we may have difficulty getting the horse back in front of the cart. Providing a structured approach to students’ exploration of AI will increase the likelihood they will use the tools responsibly.

Others might also argue that teachers are already pressed for time and do not have time to incorporate AI lessons into their curriculum. However, lessons about AI fit in well with what students in these grades are already learning about digital citizenship. Upper elementary students start writing more complex research papers, so it is an opportune time to weave AI literacy into the work they are doing and learn how to use it ethically. Topics such as misinformation, plagiarism, and privacy all come into play when interacting with AI. We can choose to address the appropriate use of AI with students now or deal with inappropriate use later. Time is spent either way.

So how does a mild-mannered teacher go about securing the future of humanity within the walls of a classroom? A good starting point is for teachers to become acquainted with AI themselves. The EdWeek Research Center recently reported that two-thirds of teachers currently do not use AI. We cannot teach our students to use AI responsibly if we don’t fully understand its capabilities and the potential pitfalls students may encounter with its use. Taking time to develop our own AI literacy will allow us to model how to use it responsibly in the classroom. When students see us having respectful conversations with chatbots or giving proper credit for AI-generated materials, they will be more likely to emulate what they see and develop responsible habits. Furthermore, if students see that we are knowledgeable about AI, it may discourage misuse.

Another step teachers can take to foster responsible AI use is to establish clear parameters for their students. In my classroom, we always start the year going over the procedures for handling learning tools from markers to scissors to Chromebooks. “Use your tools for good, not evil,” is an expression my students often hear me say. By establishing procedural expectations at the beginning of the year, it lays the foundation for the rest of the year and prevents issues. AI is simply another learning tool. Individual teachers will need to determine which part(s) of the writing process they want to permit AI use. Wan writes, “not every part of the writing process needs to be equally stressful.” Perhaps that means allowing students to use AI for ungraded tasks such as brainstorming. These limitations give students the opportunity to interact with AI responsibly while still respecting the creative process. If we introduce AI gradually and are judicious with its use, we will set up our students for long-term responsibility.

Finally, in order to encourage students’ responsible use of AI, teachers can lead students in exercises that help them see the value of their own work. Students in upper elementary are beginning to understand plagiarism and may connect that to using AI to do their work. However, Prothero suggests that focusing too much on plagiarism to deter AI misuse is not effective. Instead we need to help students consider how AI could help or hinder them. For example, AI might help students improve a first draft, but its overuse may make it more difficult for them to think creatively. Weighing these scenarios with students will help them understand that while writing is demanding, doing it themselves is often the more rewarding and responsible option. Teachers could also give students the opportunity to review work generated by AI and consider its strengths and weaknesses. Gamifying the process by challenging students to produce writing better than AI might help students realize they do not need machines to think for them. Helping students feel capable of their work will make them less likely to use AI as a way to cheat.

AI is not destined to become kryptonite unless we allow it. Teaching our young writers to harness the superpowers of these tools will lay the foundation for responsible use as they get older. Instead of fearing AI, we can have hope in a future world that uses AI for the good.

Writing, in its very nature, has been an outlet to allow us as humans to express ourselves. Whether it is documenting our experiences, emotions, and moments in time through personal narratives to creating worlds, characters, and themes through fiction writing to recording historical events, people, or periods in time with nonfiction writing, writing has so much potential and freedom that the possibilities of what we can do with the medium are endless. This is in contrast to the most recent development and disruption to the writing world: Artificial Intelligence aka A.I. A.I. programs such as ChatGPT “create” writing that, on a surface level, looks fantastic. But by relying solely on these tools to create for us, we lose out on the human traits and elements that make writing come alive to a reader. As our world becomes more reliant on A.I., it is important for us as educators to impart knowledge to our students on how to create, make mistakes, and improve writing skills in a world that is shifting towards having it done for us.

One of my recent favorite books is a graphic novel titled Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes by Benoit Dahan and Cyril Lieron, plays with the writing genre by using words, images, and the panels itself to show the reader how Sherlock processes information and makes the reader an active investigator in solving the mystery. It is also how the novel plays with and brings new life to the mystery genre as well as classic characters that shows writing as a mode of expression is still evolving and that we as writers can still innovate to make engaging, original content. Where some people might see graphic novels and comics as just picture books, I encourage students, friends, and family to give the medium a chance especially if they have fallen out of love with reading.

The reason I bring this up: With the advancements of AI, I worry that my favorite genre, as well as writing in general, is at risk of losing its heart and soul due to reports of the rising trend of A.I. usage in the comic and graphic novel industry. According to the Comic Book Resources article titled “Comic Book Writer Calls Out A.I. Art - 'You Solved a Problem That Didn't Exist'” by Brian Cronin, Marvel writer Daniel Kibblesmith argues, “...all of the things that the A.I. art can produce are things that are already being produced, just by humans. So the end goal is to...what? Match what we're already getting, only from a different source? Kibblesmith jokingly notes, “‘Art created with zero editors or adversity is always great, I can’t imagine anything I’d enjoy more than a computer generated novel by a guy who didn’t want to put any effort into it.’” A.I will continuously recycle human work to create content that is truly unoriginal due to the information databases it is pulling from.

We must realize that A.I. only works with us as the starting point. Kibblesmith has some other valid points that lead me to consider a plethora of questions of my own. As an English educator who champions writing, reading, and communication on a daily basis, these are some questions I have considered over the last year on the topic of A.I.:

• Why are we creating new technologies to fix nonexistent issues?

• When will we as humans know when we have crossed the line into a dystopian future where A.I is used to create and imagine instead of the human mind?

• How do we persuade students and future generations of learners to develop and produce writing while not being disheartened that it can be done for them much quicker and without any thought by a machine?

In terms of writing, A.I. 's unknown possibilities and their creators' endless pursuit to reach them has caused instability and worry in a skill that once was thought of as essential in so many aspects of life, not just careers. 

In having conversations with high school seniors over this past year, my students seemed to be split on A.I. and how it should be used in education as well as the everyday world. According to The New York Times in their article “What Students Are Saying About Learning to Write in the Age of A.I.”, an interviewed student shared, “I think that AI will eventually replace the need for the average person to write at the level that they do. AI is no different than every other tech advancement we’ve made, which have made tasks like writing easier… Having it write for us will allow us to focus on more important things that AI is not yet capable of.” I have seen that this mindset is common not just among young learners, but in adults as well.

Believing that writing is just a job or task to be completed as well as trusting the tool to capture the same voice, nuance, emotion and experience that humans can produce is a dangerous outlook as it negates the other aspects of what writing can be. It is important for us to be aware that A.I. programs are not sentient beings with original thoughts, as they are just regurgitating human ideas and information into paragraphs that makes sense. There is no passion, creativity, and reasoning in A.I. generated work. Instead, we as educators should teach students how to use A.I. as a supportive device to enhance their own writing. According to Written Word Media in their article “Three Ways Writers Can Use AI (Without Having it Write for Them)” by Shavonne Clarke, they suggest three ways A.I. can be used to help students:

1. Research: A.I. can help you brainstorm ideas based on the prompts you give it, saving hours of time researching yourself. Clarke states, “That’s the true power of such a tool for research: the speed with which it can provide you with ideas based on your context.”

2. Outlining: A.I. can help model your writing as long as you specify for it not to write for you. This can give you some useful prompts to substantiate your topics with evidence. Clarke suggests, “Similarly, with an outline…the more sophistication I put into my request, the better the result I’m likely to get…The most useful application of AI here is to spark ideas.”

3. Getting unstuck: A.I. can be a nonjudgmental source to receive feedback and help you if you get writer’s block. It can help give you direction when you feel lost and aimless. Clarke explains, “When you’re stuck, you want a chipper voice to tell you everything’s going to be okay. And maybe just that is enough. But then there’s the ideas—which once again are less-than-brilliant and generic—which represent something rather than a big swath of nothing floating inside my head.”

If we can teach and or re-teach students how to use A.I. in these ways instead of relying on it as a holy scribe to write for us, we can empower learners to rely on themselves first with A.I. being the sidekick to assist them when necessary.

It is important to educate students about the value of their personal writing in a society that is becoming increasingly disenchanted with the skill. A.I businesses are marketing to companies simple systems and tools that eliminate human obstacles to produce text at a faster rate. Why pay for a team of writers to spend a full day or week storyboarding if a computer can do it in just seconds? This business minded approach to the writing process with companies being so willing to discard human beings for A.I. is truly disheartening. This is why as educators, we have a duty to our students to help them see worth in their own personal writing journey.

When we share stories through writing, we can elicit emotions and connect with others on a more personal level. We as humans have unlimited possibilities and potential to achieve anything we desire. Writing is an extension of this, putting words to a page to create meaning and purpose. According to USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in their article “Storytelling in the age of artificial intelligence” by Manuelita Maldonado, he states that A.I., “...lag(s) behind human creativity when it comes to original thinking. Machine learning algorithms rely on vast amounts of data to identify patterns but they can’t predict when these patterns will change, a crucial component of creative thinking.”

It is imperative that we remind students that we as humans have a tool that will always outpace A.I. no matter how much our society tries to claim otherwise: our brain. Our brain can imagine and deliver so many possibilities that break through the constraints and limitations of A.I work. We can push boundaries, stir up emotional responses, and dream big with our writing. Using our tool, it is important for writers to continue to strive and persevere through the written word to show students that A.I., though astounding in its speed and utility, is not a replacement for human accomplishment and capability. We, as teachers, can inspire the next generation of writers to create and innovate despite the tools that “can” do it for us.

I started my education journey as a math education major– until I met calculus. The textbook was both beautifully illustrated and utterly confusing. After six weeks of beyond ample note taking, tutoring, and supplemental studying, I decided that if my math was going to have that many letters and pictures in the book, then I was going to go teach English where I at least understood what the letters and pictures were doing. So that’s what I did. However, the deeper I got into my preservice education and first years of teaching, the more frequently I heard cries of “Disciplinary literacy!” “Content area writing!” “Reading and writing for all!” emanate as directives from above. As an English major concurrently studying and then practicing composition instruction, these writing directives didn’t seem too difficult to me. However, I recognized all was not the same for my colleagues instructing in other content areas. As I sought to imagine myself in their position, I envisioned somebody decreeing that Algebra II must be taught in all upper level English classes as a means to increase numerical reasoning via disciplinary literacy. As a college graduate, I had taken Algebra II, successfully completed the preparatory work of Algebra II, and passed Algebra II, but could I teach Algebra II? Not by a long shot. So why was it that we think we should be able to demand reading and writing from our non-ELA colleagues with little to no formal training of the practices? That does not seem fair to me. 

Deborah Brandt, professor emerita of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains literacy as the development of any skill that provides a socioeconomic benefit for its user. Relatedly, James Gee defines literacy as “control of secondary uses of language (i.e. uses of language in secondary discourses)” (35). Seeing as one of the many purposes of education is to prepare learners of all ages and learning levels to contribute positively to the surrounding economy in a way that makes sense to them, we can see how Brandt and Gee both, albeit indirectly, call for disciplinary literacy in the educational setting and as part of the formal learning process. Releah Lent, arguably the leading researcher in disciplinary literacy, both highlights and differentiates disciplinary literacy as “an understanding of the ways in which knowledge is constructed in each content area and how literacy (reading, writing, viewing, reasoning, and communicating) supports that knowledge in discipline-specific ways” (10). By combining the definitive work of Brant, Gee, and Lent, I suggest that every educator, regardless of their content area, must come to accept effective reading, writing, speaking, and listening instruction within their specific content and discipline as essential for the following three reasons:

1. Satisfactory disciplinary literacy equips students to gain socioeconomically from their reading and writing skills;

2. Satisfactory disciplinary literacy equips students to participate thoroughly and appropriately in the various disciplines in which they study; and,

3. Satisfactory disciplinary literacy equips students to apply their educational knowledge at the appropriate time, in the appropriate context, and for the most appropriate purpose.

In this age of ever present high-stakes testing, internal and external educational demands, and student learning deficits, is it fair to ask non-ELA teachers to implement additional, intentional literacy practices in their classroom? If we are asking them to implement ELA-specific literacy practices, we are most definitely being unfair. But to implement reading and writing practices specific to their academic discipline, in a way that advances their specific content, and advances student agency and learning at the same time? I would argue this is, perhaps, the most beneficial academic practice we could ask of teachers and students alike. Furthermore, with the advent and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) as an educational tool, the question stands to be answered– how can we use AI to increase writing across academic disciplines, specifically for non-ELA teachers? 

As of April 2024, the North Dakota State English Language Arts Standards include disciplinary literacy standards for three core content subject areas and six elective content areas. These standards are intended to supplement, not supplant, the existing standards framework for each content area. Within these disciplinary literacy standards, the state of North Dakota, via the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, chose to focus on reading, writing, and thinking as the means by which students will develop disciplinary literacy. The idea of teaching writing can be understandably daunting for a non-ELA teacher and we owe educational professionals of any content area training in the art of writing instruction. However, as a starting point, I would like to offer three contexts in which AI can be used to increase writing across the academic disciplines, especially for non-ELA teachers.

1. AI as a brainstorm partner. Unlike content area literacy, disciplinary literacy calls for students to read/write/think like a scholar of their discipline. Thus, for an educator who is not sure of the different types of writing that they could utilize in the classroom, AI is an excellent means by which to brainstorm writing assignments. For example, asking AI What are five earth science-specific different ways an 11th grade student could demonstrate a 250 word written understanding of the water cycle and publish for an authentic audience? leads to suggestions for student compositions of an environmental blog post, a school newspaper article, an educational infographic, an opinion piece for a local newspaper, and/or a science journal submission.

2. AI as a model text creator. Though more teachers are entering the classroom with previous industry experience, the reality is that most non-ELA teachers do not enter the classroom with any discipline-specific writing experience beyond that which they may have gleaned in college. Educators widely recognize that examples are one of the best ways for students to model their own understanding; likewise, we are quick to admit and lament the scarcity of quality model texts to show our students. While student writing is highly unique and personal to each learner, the confines of a discipline-specific model are relatively the same. As such, AI can be utilized as a partner to create a variety of model texts for any specific genre, topic, publication type, etc. by turning the initial writing prompt into a product prompt. 

3. AI as a proofreading tool. Editing should be a collaborative point in the writing process, involving both teacher and student. However, considering the time crunch experienced by educators and learners alike, AI can be used as a quick, fairly reliable means of evaluating writing, especially in a learner-facing self-assessment process, that can foster growth and understanding of formal academic English in a means that may not always be otherwise accessible. AI cannot be used as the sole means of feedback and/or grammar instruction, but for a teacher who is looking to integrate more discipline-specific writing into their classroom and is looking to maximize authentic publishing opportunity, AI may be the proofreading tool needed to increase the value of that partnership.

Regardless of how one chooses to utilize AI in the classroom or personal life, they must remember to make AI work for them, not themselves for AI. That is to say, AI must be a partner in the thinking process, not the sole performer of thought. Brainstorming, modeling, and proofreading are the first three of virtually infinite means in which AI can make the implementation of writing instruction more accessible for non-ELA teachers, especially until relevant and applicable professional development is made accessible.

Being an educator in our “new world of AI” can be a bit overwhelming.  But, as we all know, it’s not going away. The landscape of education is changing: we educators must shift our mindset to embrace AI literacy as the focus of our new digital learning era. The big concern is that AI may undermine students’ motivation to learn, to actually do the work and learn the basics, and to think critically. So, where do we go from here?  Can we work around it, or do we embrace it?  The answer may lie somewhere in between, which is where we find the importance of critical thinking in an AI-world.

In order to work around AI in our classroom, we will need to create motivating and engaging assignments that are personalized.  In Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide To A New Era of Human Learning, by Jose Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson, chapter 10 focuses on creating a classroom culture of “I Care, I Can, I Matter” in order to motivate students. Defining an assignment’s purpose can ignite student motivation and engagement. When students see that the purpose of the assignment applies or connects to their lives, that they can do the work because it’s a little challenging but not overwhelming, and that their voice matters, we have hooked them. Furthermore, chapter 11 is dedicated to engaging assignment ideas that apply to different disciplines. One example is posing ethical dilemmas, such as, “You are faced with the following ethical dilemma. How do you balance the opportunities to benefit others or yourself? Why is it important to you? Why is it important that you decide for yourself?” (Bowen & Watson, p. 204). Or, create interesting journal questions so that your students can connect your content to their lives. Other assignment ideas are interview-based writing, conversations, and making choices, such as “If you had the ability to change one thing about the world, what would you change and why?  Describe how this change would affect you and people you know” (Bowen & Watson, p. 206). Yet, if we completely ignore AI in our classroom, where will that get us?  Students will still use AI.

In that case, should we embrace it?  Give students an AI-free-for-all? Or, do we need limitations? 

Based on my experience at the RRVWP  Summer Institute, “AI Writing & Critical Thinking,” I discovered becoming proficient in AI literacy is so crucial for teachers and students.  Becoming AI-literate involves prompt writing and using critical thinking to accept or deny feedback. First of all, prompt writing requires specific language skills to find the right word choice and to “chat” back and forth with the AI repeatedly in order to get the feedback for which you are seeking. This not only takes practice, but also grit. According to Angela Duckworth, “Grit isn’t just perseverance. When I began to study high achievers, I noticed it’s not just that they’re hardworking, it’s not just that they’re resilient—it’s also that they truly love what they do and stay in love with what they do over extended time periods.” In this case, students need motivating assignments and projects even while using AI.  The “I Care, I Can, I Matter” classroom culture is still at the center…and it especially matters in an AI world. Furthermore, Angela Duckworth notes that “gritty people are more dependent on other people, not less. They rely more on their coaches, mentors, and teachers. They are more likely to ask for help. They are more likely to ask for feedback.” So, teaching students how to collaborate with AI by writing effective prompts to get the appropriate feedback is a necessary skill of AI literacy.  This builds and requires grit, and it’s what gritty students want. And, the purpose of AI feedback is to help us think (Bowen & Watson, p. 177). One must be able to critically think about and evaluate the feedback in order to accept or deny it. Moreover, Pooja K. Agarwal, PhD. says, “Without feedback, students don’t know what they got correct and what they got incorrect during retrieval practice. Research demonstrates that the more elaborate the feedback (e.g., with explanations), the more powerful it is for student learning.” AI can give students good immediate feedback, as long as the prompts are written effectively and/or there is satisfactory iteration. The immediate feedback can be very powerful to students who may wait days or weeks to get feedback from a teacher.

So, where do we go from here?

First, we need professional development which educates teachers on AI literacy so we know how and what to teach our students. This will look different at every level (elementary, middle school, high school, college). Next, we need to start the conversations of how AI will affect the process of writing and how/what we assess…how we view plagiarism, citing sources, and deciding if it’s important to reveal from whom we received feedback. At the middle school level, creating a basic checklist for our students to guide them in evaluating AI feedback would be helpful, working them through the critical thinking process. Also, giving students practice with evaluating AI writing and comparing it with human writing would be beneficial. Furthermore, exploring different AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Canva, and SchoolAI is a must for teachers. Finally, we may need to create AI use policies for our classrooms and school districts. 

Although this new AI world can be overwhelming, the right combination of motivating and engaging assignments mixed with effective prompt writing and critically thinking about AI feedback will set our students on the path to success. Because we care, we can navigate this new AI world: our students matter.

Throughout the past couple of weeks, I have continually returned to one question in relation to student use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a classroom setting: How do we deal with cheating and plagiarism in a world with AI? My purpose is to reflect on ways we, as educators, can promote students to do their own work, perhaps with the assistance of AI, rather than relying entirely on it to do their work for them. Teaching students to value the hard work of writing and the process of learning is more important now than ever. AI is not a passing fad; it is here to stay, and educators need to learn how to stay relevant and set realistic guidelines for students in a world with AI. According to an article from Wired by Christina Wyman, it is the educator’s duty to “get smarter about how to ethically incorporate AI into… teaching”. What I have collected here are ideas from the 2024 Summer Institute for responsibly incorporating AI and avoiding student plagiarism.

What Constitutes Cheating?

Cheating looks different in the world of AI. Before, students would most often use a source from the internet or a text without quoting or citing it. It was often pretty easy for educators to identify cheating and find the source. Now, students can have their entire assignment written for them, and written well. Because of this, we need to know the difference between ethical and unethical uses of AI and define our policies. Unethical use of AI, according to Penn Foster, is “using artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, to write all or parts of any assignment”, and “if it [an AI detector] detects less than 20% plagiarized content, the teacher grades the assignment based on the rubric.” This policy allows for the use of some AI, as a support or assistant in the writing process, but draws the line at more than 20%. We need to determine what we are willing to accept as far as the use of AI. It is our responsibility as educators to familiarize ourselves with AI and its capabilities, so we know plagiarism when we see it. By using AI ourselves, teachers can determine what it is capable of, what is acceptable use, and ways to identify it in student work. 

Policies

What policies should be in place to avoid plagiarism? First, it is important to differentiate whether student work is AI-assisted versus AI-generated. The graph below shows the difference between the two. Educators will need to determine what level of usage we’re comfortable with in our classrooms. If we are to understand that students are going to use AI, we need to differentiate– identifying what is acceptable and what is not. Then make sure these expectations are clear and consistent for students.

Purpose, Task, Criteria

Another way to prevent plagiarism is to be specific about the purpose, task, and criteria. According to Bowen and Watson, “Cheating is often a symptom that students do not understand or value the reward of doing the work themselves.”(184). Students are motivated when they know whether the work is meaningful, they can perform it effectively, and there is value in their work (Bowen and Watson 185-186). When planning assignments, be sure the purpose, task, and criteria are clear for students, and we’ll get more  buy-in.

Author’s Notes

Author’s notes are yet another tool we can use to hold students accountable for their use of AI. If students are going to use AI, we need to have the expectation for them to be honest and disclose that information in the author's notes. Author’s notes should be clear about the what, how, and why AI was used in their writing. This practice can help teachers understand the student’s process and open the door for honest use and communication. We can teach students that author’s notes are just another step in the writing process.

AI-Adjusted Rubrics

Using AI the right way means that the focus is no longer simply just focusing on a final product. We must reassess how we assess students, and take into account more of the process, growth, and voice. Below is a possible rubric for assessing AI-assisted writing. Changing expectations will show how much you value the work and effort students put in, not just the final draft.

The Plagiarism Conversation

If a student still cheats, then what? What’s the best way to approach a student you believe has used AI-generated work? Your immediate reaction may be to confront and likely fail the student, but we need to be more sensitive with how we respond to AI use. Students are not going to be transparent or truthful if we go straight to consequences. According to Bowen and Watson, students are getting “clear messages from schools: AI is prohibited.” Rather than prohibiting use, “we need to take time in class to ensure that all students have baseline competency regarding how to use the tools we’re assigning and to craft assignments that build AI literacy and skill” (207).  To start, is the assignment AI-assisted or AI-generated? Have they gone through the writing process–brainstorming, rough draft, revisions? Next, focus on evidence and observations. What have you observed the student doing in class? How have they used the time given? You should keep in mind the goal of the assignment and the revision process. Has the student met the goal of the assignment? Finally, focus on relational knowledge of the student. What do you know about this student? What has their past writing shown? What is their writing style and voice? There will always be students who cheat, so we need to be prepared.

Ultimately, wherever AI takes us in the future, Christina Wyman, in her article from Wired states, “But the humanity required to navigate intimate human relationships is not something AI will ever be able to replace.” In other words, the best way to deal with cheating with AI is human communication and building relationships. That is more motivating than anything else.

Works Cited

Bowen, José Antonio and Watson, C. Edward. Teaching with AI. Johns Hopkins University Press, 30 Apr. 2024.

Dear School Leaders,

Today, I wish to address the monumental role you can play in unlocking the potential of your students through a skill often underestimated - writing.

It is a common misconception that "good writing" revolves around flawless grammar or an extensive vocabulary. However, the truth is beautifully encapsulated by this enlightening quote, "Good writing is not about perfect grammar or fancy words; it's about clear thinking and effective communication."

This simple statement shatters the usual, rigid definitions of writing and invites us to re-imagine it as a tool for exploring ideas, enhancing understanding, and expressing individuality. When students engage in writing, they're not merely learning to craft sentences but also honing their ability to think and communicate effectively.

Let's bring this perspective into our classrooms and encourage our students to see writing as a conduit for their thoughts and feelings, a tool for learning, and a stage for their unique voices.

Several studies support the critical role of writing in cognitive development. The Writing-to-Learn approach, for instance, emphasizes that writing enhances learning by enabling students to process, analyze, and comprehend information better. Similarly, a study published in the CBE Life Sciences Education demonstrates that writing helps students become better critical thinkers.

The question is, how can we as leaders foster a writing-rich environment?

Reframe Writing
Reinvent the narrative around writing. Make it less about compliance with grammatical norms and more about ideation and communication. Encourage students to express their thoughts freely and openly without fear of criticism for 'imperfect' language.

Promote Writing Across Disciplines
Writing isn't just for English class. History students can write about their interpretations of events, science students can journal their observations, math students can articulate their problem-solving processes.

Utilize Digital Platforms
Leverage the technology at our disposal. Online platforms like WriteAbout offer students the space to write for authentic audiences beyond the classroom. This makes writing a social, interactive, and rewarding process.

Regular Feedback and Support
An essential component of student success in writing is the provision of regular feedback and support. Modern platforms like Google Classroom and Turnitin make this process seamless and more impactful.

Google Classroom provides a collaborative environment where students can submit their work and teachers can offer direct, real-time feedback. This allows students to see your input directly on their work and make the necessary adjustments. Moreover, Google Classroom enables an ongoing conversation about a student's work, which can boost their understanding and performance.

Turnitin, on the other hand, is a powerful tool that not only checks for plagiarism but also provides advanced feedback features. With the GradeMark tool in Turnitin, teachers can give personalized comments, use a custom comment bank, and provide voice comments. This wide range of feedback types can accommodate different learning styles and make the feedback process more engaging and effective.

In addition to these, the National Writing Project's Formative Assessment Tool for Argument Writing is an excellent resource. It aids in tracking the growth of argumentative writing skills over time and provides specific, actionable feedback that students can use to enhance their argument crafting abilities.

By using these platforms, we can offer more dynamic, comprehensive, and effective support, significantly improving the quality of student writing over time.

By facilitating a culture of writing, we are empowering our students with the capability to process complex ideas, express themselves authentically, and communicate effectively. Good writing is a reflection of clear thinking, and by nurturing this skill, we're equipping our students with a critical tool for success in the 21st century.

Are you ready to lead this change in your school? Let's create a generation of clear thinkers and effective communicators. If you’re in the North Dakota area, check out the Red River Valley Writing Project website to learn about vetted resources and to talk about having a personalized in-service professional development at your school. If you live elsewhere, I recommend exploring the National Writing Project sites for one in your area.

Sincerely,

Lisa Gusewelle

Lead Consultant | Red River Valley Writing Project

An important aspect of Civic Literacy is having a broad view of history and the world that appreciates the rich diversity around us and an understanding of how we got to where we are today.  Unfortunately, many of us are very provincial in our thinking across time and space.  Too often our understanding of the world is limited to right now in our immediate neighborhoods or communities.  We are shaped by what we see on television or electronic media resulting in a lack of appreciation for the reality of others (McKenney, 2017).  We also go through life believing that right now is the most crucial time in history without so much a thought, let alone an appreciation, of how we got to this point.    

This lack of a broad worldview develops into what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes as the “single story” where we view others not from their point of view but through the lens of others who at best are telling an incomplete story and at worst a completely false story (2009).  Unfortunately, this is not a problem limited to far off lands in exotic parts of the world.  In rural parts of the United States, how much do our students really know about the realities facing their peers in segregated inner-city neighborhoods and what do those children know of kids growing up on farms?  How much do the inner-city or the rural students appreciate about their Native American peers attending school on a Reservation?  Additionally, how much do we know about each of our own respective histories let alone the history of those with whom we share little in common?  Sadly, for decades, we have been seeing an incomplete or false story for many groups around us with whom we have little interaction.

 Although we have much to learn about the entire world, oftentimes the steepest learning curve is with the community across town that has an experience very much different from our own.  McKenny reminds that “…our students need to learn from and work collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures, religions, and lifestyles in a spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue” (2017, pg. 52).  There is no National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for world history, but the geography scores have remained steadily below proficient for decades (NAEP, 2022).   If students are not exposed to diverse cultures and gain an appreciation for history during their school years they will be at serious disadvantage when they enter the workforce.  Unfortunately, they will have to learn the hard way from mistakes that could have been avoided through intentional educational experiences.  A broad world view and an appreciation of history are directly related to the 21st Century Skills of collaboration and critical thinking, which our students will need in order to achieve their future goals. 

This lack of worldview and historical appreciation are not theoretical problems but real-world issues that at this very moment are costing the lives of thousands across the globe.  How many of our students or fellow citizens understand or appreciate that the current war in Ukraine has its roots in an obscure treaty penned in 1654 and a 1954 land transfer (Council on Foreign Relations, 2023)?  The 1654 Treaty of Pereyaslav resulted in Cossacks in areas that are now part of Ukraine pledging allegiance to the Russian Tsar in exchange for protection (Pearce, 2022).  Then in 1954, Nikita Khrushchev transferred to Crimean Peninsula (the 2014 flashpoint) from Russia to Ukraine while both countries were still part of the Soviet Union (Council on Foreign Relations, 2023).  Both the treaty and the transfer were referenced by no less than Vladimir Putin in July of 2021 in order to justify a position that Ukraine could not be a separate country from Russia (Putin, 2021).  This is not to give any legitimacy to Russia’s illegal war of aggression on Ukraine.  However, I mention it because if we jump into a conflict we do not understand, we are liable to find ourselves in a difficult situation.  

As teachers, we are preparing students for a future we cannot imagine.  Ask yourself (depending on your age) if 30 years ago, your high school science teacher could have imagined the iPad and Apps; probably not.  It is also unlikely that a history teacher watching the Berlin Wall fall in 1989 then seeing the Soviet Union collapse in 1991 would have imagined that in just 30 years from that momentous time there would be a full scare war between Russia and Ukraine that has the potential to spark World War III.  More important than teaching a student how to write an App for today’s iPad or giving them a superficial pass over history, is to equip them with the skills to work with a diverse group of people from across the globe in order to adapt to an uncertain future that is just over the horizon.  The question is not should we help our students develop a broad worldview but how do we help them see beyond their neighborhoods and current events.  

First, as educators we must first examine ourselves and our beliefs to determine what our biases are and in what areas we have narrow historical and world views (Clark, 2010).  In the classroom the first thing to remember is that is never too early to start broadening the historical and cultural literacy of our students through exposure to the past and the world beyond their neighborhoods.  Cruz reminds us that a student’s worldview and prejudices will not become ingrained until later in childhood providing a golden opportunity for impact (2015).  In order to do this, we must make broad inclusion in all subjects intentional.  As teachers we should strive to understand the layers of diversity in our classrooms so we will be able to select topics and examples that allow all our students to see themselves in the lessons (Ginsberg, 2015).  Additionally, we should review our curriculums in order to determine if they present material from a multicultural perspective that develops an appreciation for culture and empathy with individuals (Adichie, 2009).  The most important thing we can do in the classroom is to not shy away from difficult conversations about the world around us and its history.  These will come up and the students need to understand that they are not taboo.  We have to let our students know that these topics can be discussed as long as it is done in respectful manner in order to gain understanding (Cruz, 2015).  Finally, we cannot be afraid to tell students that teaching about past events does not mean we condone them, it simply means we are trying to come to an understanding of how we got to where we are today by learning what came before.  This means as communities when we consider education standards and legislation, we must remember that factual history will occasionally be uncomfortable, as true reflection often is.

Fortunately, we have more resources than ever to help our students to look beyond the now and their neighborhoods.  Through virtual reality students can travel the globe and see places they previously would have only seen in a picture book.  Also, the proliferation of video communication platforms has made it possible to speak face to face with almost anyone in the world.  Finally, we are privileged to live in an era of wonderful historical literature that is well written and interesting to read.  Authors like Nathanial Philbrick, David McCullough, Stephen Ambrose, Margot Lee Shetterly, David Treuer, and Jeff Shaara have brought history alive in a way that has attracted diverse audiences, rekindling a spark for history.  Hopefully, as educators we can harness this spark to help our students develop a burning passion to learn about the world beyond their neighborhoods and an appreciation that their now, is intricately connected with all the “nows” that have come before. 

One of the dominant headlines in American media over the past few years has been some variation of “The Kids Are Not Alright.” Classrooms teachers across the country, in private conversations, public meetings, and TikTok channels echo the sentiment. The National Assessment of Educational Progression results found reading and math scores continuing to decline in America’s 13-year-olds. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that a 2022 survey found that 87% of public schools in the US saw worsening behaviors and delayed socio-emotional development in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 22% of high schoolers have experienced suicidal ideation, and suicide is now the third-leading cause of death in people ages 10-24. It seems that simply calling the kids “not alright” is a vast understatement.  

In the face of such alarming statistics, it would be easy to simply sigh in resignation and bemoan these modern times. But we are teachers. Our profession demands a fundamental belief that growth can be fostered and change is possible. We are not in the business of despair. So what can we do that has not already been done? 

What if the question isn’t what can we do, but what can we help empower others to do? What happens if we remind society that schools are only one influence of many in a child’s life and that the solutions our kids need may not lie with us?  

Let’s do some math. In North Dakota, an average secondary teacher will see his or her students for 50 minutes a day, for approximately 175 days. That totals 8700 minutes out of the 525,600 minutes in a year. So, excluding extra-curricular school activities, the time middle and high school teachers spend with their students only represents approximately 1.7% of their year. In elementary grades, this number is obviously higher, but not as much as you‘d expect. If we add up all the time students are in the school building (let‘s say from 8:00-3:30, excluding extracurriculars), that’s still only about 17% of the students’ year. The rest of the time—the vast majority of the time—students are with their families, friends, day care providers, community organizations, churches, or on their own.  

My argument here is not that teachers aren’t important and influential. We know that they are. My argument is that a lot of other people are, too, and parents absolutely top that list.  

Schools are limited in their ability to solve every problem, and they simply do not have the capacity to fix all that ails America’s children. They’re not set up for that. You know what they are set up for? Education. So let’s leverage the real capacity of schools—buildings designed to facilitate learning, staffed by people who are experts at teaching—and use them to provide learning for the parents and community members who play such a vital role in kids’ lives.  

Research shows that good parent education initiatives can have meaningful, positive effects on children and parents alike. These benefits can include strengthening parents’ social connections and improving parent mental health, improving parent-child interactions, increasing pro-social behavior in children, and reducing the risk of child abuse. As educators, we are constantly surrounded by both education research and real-life interactions with many, many kids. We know that family stress at home is a recipe for disaster for student behavior and achievement in school. We know that home environment has huge impacts on language development.  We know that there are real, concrete strategies to help kids be more resilient to challenges. But do all parents know that? Many parents can feel lonely and isolated--after all, parenting a human is challenging and exhausting, and they’ve never done this before. They may not be aware that there are resources available to them or that they are not alone in their struggles.  Schools can be connection points where parents can interact with other parents and be provided with helpful resources and evidence-based information.  

By now, you probably have a small but potent list of objections floating around your head. Here is a good time to remind everyone that opinions reflect our underlying belief systems, and it’s important to examine those beliefs out in the open. Here are mine: 

1. Parents want to be great at parenting. If they aren’t engaging with their children as positively as they could be, it’s because they don’t know how to, not because they don’t want to. They may be hampered by the examples in their own history, or they may simply not be aware of the powerful effects of their words and actions for good or ill. Many would be interested in learning more about how they can help their children. 

2. Most parents still see their school’s personnel as educated, caring professionals who want what’s best for their kids. A too-constant diet of social media and viral school board meeting clips could lead one to believe that parents and schools are mortal enemies, but that loud but small contingent of parents is not representative of the whole group. There is room for partnership and engagement, even in our current, fraught society. The world does not have to be an Us vs. Them dichotomy. 

3. You don’t have to be an expert at a topic to be able to present the research and resources of those who are. Teachers may not have the credentials as experts of early child development or licensed mental health professionals. But we do have the credentials to be teachers. I daresay it’s what we do best. We are good at taking deep dives into subjects, researching multiple sources, and presenting our findings to an audience. We literally do it all day long. Why should we assume that because the topic is resiliency instead of history, that we are suddenly unable to teach about it? I didn’t write my history books, either, but that’s never stopped me. 

Schools have the ability to help parents help their kids. This could look a lot of different ways. While the holy grail of parenting education is regular, in-person workshops with opportunities to model and practice skills, we know that this is not always possible for busy working parents. So what are some creative alternatives? 

Social media snippets: Most schools have some sort of social media accounts, and many parents follow them to stay up-to-date on events or schedule changes. Schools can leverage the following they already have on their social media accounts to give frequent, research-based parenting advice or to provide links to vetted resources.  

YouTube channels: As long as you don’t feel the need to go full-Instagram model with your lighting and set, it’s pretty easy to record and upload short videos. A lot of teachers already have their own YouTube channels, so most schools probably have people on staff who would be comfortable appearing on camera. The school could create a series of 3-5 minute videos featuring their own teachers, counselors, or adminstrators to explain a tip or piece of  research for parents and other community members. 

Facilitating cohorts: Groups like the NDSU Extension Program already offer parenting classes. Schools could simply promote such programs and provide time and space for parents who might want to do it together. 

In-Person Workshops: I know, I already pointed out that these are hard, but that doesn’t mean they’re impossible. Sometimes schools try such a meeting, have an initial poor turnout, and then stop because it doesn’t seem to be working. Rather than abandoning the idea entirely, schools might consider creative scheduling, more aggressive promotion, or surveying for topics parents have high interest in. 

Piggy-backing on other events: Do lots of parents show up to music concerts? Basketball games? Play performances?  Is there a booster group that already meets regularly? Schools could include research-based information in the programs or announcements over the PA between games. They could ask for 10 minutes at each booster meeting. If it’s hard for parents to come to a separate event, then perhaps schools can more successfully bring information to where the parents already are. 

Looking outside the school: Perhaps there are churches or community organizations who would be interested in hosting or facilitating presentations or workshops. These groups might bring in a slightly different group of parents, and are well-placed to reach parents of kids who are not yet school-aged.  

All of these suggestions require time and research in order to carry out, and whatever school personnel become involved ought to be compensated for their efforts. But parent education also requires commitment from the administration. Schools can’t quit the effort if intial reaction is tepid. Advertisers understand the power of repetition—schools can use that power, too. 

We know that many of the kids are not alright, and we know that schools are already stretched as far as they can go. Let’s build capacity in parents and other leaders to help meet the needs of our kids to move forward into healthier futures. 

“You know me, I think there ought to be a big old tree right there. 

And let's give him a friend. Everybody needs a friend.” – Bob Ross

I have stopped clicking on the headlines that announce the numbers or reasons teachers are leaving the profession. There are just too many of them and they all read about the same: teachers are stressed, burned out, and tired of being in a steady state of exhaustion.

The headlines are concerning on many levels, notwithstanding the adage and truth that a democracy rests upon the need for an educated populace. If all our teachers leave, then who will teach the next generation? 

While all the teachers leaving sounds hyperbolic, it is probably not an exaggeration to say that most teachers have thought about leaving the profession at least once in their life. Being a teacher before COVID could be stressful, but the COVID and post-COVID eras of education have added more weight onto the professionals’ shoulders than ever as they try to fill in the gaps left behind by COVID and short staffing.

Enter the scene: trees.

A Chinese proverb makes an interesting comparison: “A teacher is like a tree. It stays in one place, but its fruit goes all over the world.”

Let’s explore this metaphor.

A tree’s roots grow deep; its branches stretch wide; its fruit feeds others. It cleans the air, provides shelter and shade, and protects the land.

You cannot rush a tree’s growth, for a tree is there for the long-term. 

A teacher lays a foundation that allows both teachers and students to branch out. The fruit of their learning can literally and metaphorically feed others. Knowledge and skills can provide rest and protection from ignorance and anxiety.

But you can rush a teacher, and a teacher does not have to be a long-term thinker. With stress mounting, long-term thinking can be a difficult task when so many problems need solutions in the short-term immediate now.

So how can a teacher become more like a tree? Play the long game.  

Dave Stuart Jr., educational blogger turned book author turned professional development facilitator who has always been a human first and foremost, identifies the ultimate goal of education as “long-term flourishing.” 

I agree with Dave. Long-term flourishing for our students, our teachers, our admin, and our support staff. The long-term flourishing of humans is at the core of this really beautiful thing called education.

But right now, though, there seems to be a shortage of both the long-term and the flourishing.

Enter the scene: shelterbelts.

For non-Midwestern prairie dwellers, a shelterbelt is quite simply trees planted in a row (or rows). My aunt and uncle from Montana have noted that they always know when they are driving through North Dakota because the trees are all in a row. 

A large number of shelterbelts were planted in the 1930s in response to the vast loss of topsoil. In the article “Shelterbelts, one of the great soil conservation measures of the 1930s, are being removed” , Heidi Marttila-Losure notes that the 1930s topsoil flying into the wind “gave dramatic evidence to the damage that 50 years of short-sighted farming practices had wrought.” 

The Prairie States Forestry Project (1935-1942), aka The Shelterbelt Project, began with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Paul H. Roberts, former Director of the Prairie States Forest Project, wrote the introduction to the book Trees, Prairies, and People: A History of Tree Planting in the Plains States. In his introduction, he wrote that the shelterbelts brought “a renewed faith in the land and hope for the future” to a people that had been plagued by drought and failed crops.           

Martilla-Losure reports that many of the shelterbelts from this 1930s project are dying or being removed, but some are being replaced for various reasons.

The reasons for and against actual shelterbelts can lend some insight into why teachers might be willing to be part of a “metaphorical shelterbelt” or not.

First though, let’s explore the shelterbelt metaphor a little more. 

If a teacher who is metaphorically a tree is thinking long-term, then a shelterbelt is a group of intentionally grouped teachers who are also thinking long-term. As an English teacher, I think of communities like the Red River Valley Writing Project, the Northern Plains Writing Project, and the North Dakota Council of Teachers of English as shelterbelts. These are communities of teachers who have committed to developing themselves professionally, beyond the walls of their schools. However, I also think of communities of teacher friends, both inside the walls of the same school and beyond.

A shelterbelt’s purpose is inherently one of protection, so what is this shelterbelt of teachers protecting? I posit the metaphorical shelterbelt protects the teacher’s career and probably their health—both physical and mental. 

However, a shelterbelt is not solely about protection. The maintenance of a shelterbelt goes beyond one generation. My friend Donna told me about her family’s shelterbelt in Beach—about how four generations ago, trees were planted in a row. Then, the next generation rested in its shade and also weeded the trees and also added some trees of their own. Then, the next next generation did the same, and etc. and etc.  

What a beautiful picture of multiple generations contributing their work to something much bigger than they are. 

Teachers working together in community can rest in the shade of the work that has been done, maintain the profession, and work to make it better for both the now and the future. 

While this sounds good, there are reasons for and against being a part of a metaphorical shelterbelt, much the same as an actual shelterbelt.

However, if you are ready to join a shelterbelt (which I advocate you should!), where exactly would you find one?

What a great question. The first step would be to look for them right within your school. Who are those teachers who are supporting other teachers right where you are? The second step would be to seek out opportunities within professional organizations, specifically opportunities that place you in conversation and proximity with other teacher professionals.

Attend the North Dakota Council of Teachers of English Conference.

Learn in a Writing Project Summer Institute, either from the Northern Plains or the Red River Valley sites. 

And delightfully participate in the conversation and learning around you. Make some friends (and in so doing, make Bob Ross happy!). 

If you are already part of a shelterbelt, how can you help strength them?

Existing shelterbelts can actively look for ways to honor the work that has been completed in the past and also maintain and improve for the present and future generations. 

One simple way to do this would be to curate resources that have helped teachers flourish long-term. These metaphorical shelterbelts can do what sometimes feels like a very non-North Dakotan thing and write down knowledge to pass from one generation to another in an organized fashion. 

And the metaphorical shelterbelts can consistently show up for each other, reminding each other of the good there is in learning new things and creating the confidence that comes from working together on something that is bigger than oneself. 

For trees—and friendships and communities—can simply be beautiful. 

As English teachers, the existence of AI text generators makes our lives more difficult. It should make our lives more difficult. In many ways, that’s a good thing. Learning about something new is often difficult. Adapting to a changing world can be difficult. Taking responsibility for something is difficult.

As English teachers, we have a responsibility to learn how AI text generators work, how they can be used ethically or unethically, what they do effectively and not so effectively, and how we can become better teachers by designing assignments with AI in mind. By taking responsibility for AI, we have an opportunity to revisit fundamental questions of how and why we teach writing. We have the opportunity to make our writing assignments better. Whether you want to discourage the use of AI, or whether you want to promote AI use and fluency (both have their time and place), the goal should be the same: to help students make more intentional and informed decisions about how they use language in relation to their audience and purpose as writers. 

Avoiding possible pitfalls with AI in relation to writing assignments

When it comes to Chat-GPT, most teachers’ primary concern is preventing students from cheating. Students cannot learn how to make complex rhetorical choices when a machine is simply asked to do everything for them! This is a legitimate concern. Using AI as a mere substitute for learning how to write sidesteps our learning outcomes. It allows students to turn in “products” without having to put in the work and do the thinking that is required for growing as a writer. Thus, as teachers, we need to shift the emphasis from written products to the writing process, and focus on evaluating the students’ entire process, not just a final product.

Some good advice for writing assignments, especially in the context of AI, includes:

• Asking students to engage deeply with a specific part of the course content and course conversations. No more generic topics! No more generic rubrics! When possible, make assignments locally or regionally specific. 

• Defining a specific audience, purpose, and structure for the communication—one that Chat-GPT doesn’t easily spit out through its cliché “predictive” text. 

• Scaffolding (and requiring submission of) writing processes throughout the unit, prior to “final” submission: mind-maps, storyboards, free writes, journaling, bibliographies, source notes, etc.

• Incorporating repeated opportunities for feedback, conferences, and revision of drafts.

• Requiring “author’s notes,” self-annotations, reflections, and self-assessments as a key component of the grade, where students need to explain their communication strategies—how and why their choices were intended to influence the audience and achieve their purpose for the paper.

• Consider asking students to compose in multiple modes (i.e. written text + video presentation), as well as thinking about/analyzing multimodal texts (videos/pictures/audio, etc.)

How to cultivate literacy, critical thinking, and AI-fluency

Though the perceived dangers of AI often dominate our thoughts as English teachers, a strong case can be made for explicitly incorporating the use of AI within the writing process and thereby helping students develop a critical and questioning mindset about how (and how not) to use it. AI fluency is already a desired skill employers are looking for. The next version of Microsoft Word will have Chat-GPT built right into it—“at the cursor” is what they call it. Teachers and students need to understand that writing with AI is not the same as asking AI to write for you. It is a tool that needs to be leveraged by a competent and critical thinking user.

Some principles and practices for cultivating both AI fluency and stronger literacy skills include:

• Asking students to experiment with and reflect on the “prompt engineering” process—what makes an effective prompt and what literacy skills are needed in order to get AI to produce something appropriate and relevant to the writer’s purpose and audience?

• Asking students to verify and augment AI-generated bibliographies—which AI sources are inaccurate and/or inauthentic (“AI hallucinations”), where does AI excel at summary or synthesis, which sources are relevant to your own purpose and which sources does the AI leave out (to its detriment)?

• Asking students to annotate and evaluate Chat GPT outputs, using your class rubric as the criteria for evaluation—where does the AI text demonstrate strengths or weaknesses when it comes to genre awareness, thesis development, appropriate and accurate source use, source integration and citation, logical organization and transitions, etc.?

• Asking students to make substantial revisions to Chat GPT outputs. Consider an assignment design such as 1. Write your own draft of the paper, 2. Ask AI to generate a response and reflect on your prompt engineering process, 3. Write a rhetorical analysis and critique of the AI generated text, 4. Revise your original paper.

• Asking students to engage meta-cognitively (“author’s notes”) when using AI as a tool in the writing process—and make these author’s notes and critical reflections a major component of the final grade.

There is no right answer or response to the question of “what do we do now!?” But we all have a responsibility to persistently ask ourselves: what do I want my students to learn and what is an effective way to achieve that outcome? This is true in a world with or without Chat-GPT, but we can no longer answer the latter question (in good faith) without confronting the reality of AI.  It’s a challenging reality. That’s a good thing.

Every time a student needs a new book to read (or forgets their book), I take them to my classroom library and help them pick a title. I scan past Refugee, Dear Martin, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. All are great titles that tackle complex themes, but I pass by them. Too heavy.  

Sometimes, I look at my library, which I curated, and it manifests into an albatross of trauma. Even the classics like The Great Gatsby, Macbeth, The Diary of Anne Frank, and The Outsiders are heavy. Complications of the American Dream, power corruption, genocide -- these topics anchor students in a sadness that gets carried out of my room and into their lives. In a way, I want that. I want them to grapple with the complexities of these conflicts and themes that cycle through time and humanity. I want them to think about their role in progressing society so it matches their values. 

I’ve eagerly brought this into my curriculum. Last year, my eleventh-grade students read poetry from Clint Smith’s book Counting Descent. It is an amazing collection. In it, Smith unpacks how racism shaped him. The students dug through Smith’s words, uncovering insecurities, fear, and injustice. They empathized with him, got angry alongside him, cursed society for him. Those days, the air in my room was heavy.  Over time, it became exhausting. There are so many poems in Smith’s collection on how society’s racist and dangerous views of Black boys negatively shaped who he became that even he directly addresses it in more than one poem. And, although the collection ends on hope, it is a long, painful road to it. 

That’s not to say Smith’s collection should be skipped. It is worth reading; it broadens students’ worldviews and helps them understand the emotion behind the current debate on racial injustice. But, it is hard to end this heavy unit and then transition to The Great Gatsby or The Crucible, two more heavy themes. 

It gets kind of depressing. 

How much exposure to other people’s trauma do students need to be able to understand themselves and the world they live in? They are post-everything: 9/11, social media, the 2008 recession, George Floyd, COVID, Jan. 6. Aren’t they already drowning in harsh complexities?

A Bonding Agent

I’m at the 2023 NCTE conference in Columbus, OH, listening to a panel of young adult authors talk about the role of humor in their books. Angelina Boulley, author of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed, writes with humor because as she put it, it is “the opposite of trauma dumping.” Humor allows authors to work through complex issues in a way that is approachable and invites thoughtful discussion. Talking about racism in the context of a book like The Hate You Give or To Kill a Mockingbird begins at a place of high emotion. If the way into a discussion is for students to begin with reader reaction and scaffold questions to increase difficulty (reader reaction, comprehension, author purpose, application, etc), then the discussion begins in an uncomfortable state because reader reaction is grounded in a negative emotion: anger, frustration, sadness. 

Through humor, students are not exposing a vulnerability (i.e. why the content upsets them). Instead, they laugh with their classmates, creating a bond and a shared value system. This can remove social barriers in classrooms because funny is a safe place for all to start.

In another way, humor helps students build relationships with the characters. Panelist Jessica Kim, author of Stand Up, Yumi Chung, describes her young adult novel of a girl named Yumi, who felt stuck. Her parents are immigrants and want her to focus on a career that will bring her financial stability, but she wants to be a stand-up comedian. Kim says, for her, humor is a way to connect with the reader because it “is an involuntary response.” It helps readers connect to the character and opens opportunities for empathy. In Kim’s book, the main character witnesses her father cry for the first time. It is a pivotal moment for the main character and a serious moment in an otherwise light-hearted story. Kim says she could not establish the buy-in to this moment without a relationship with the reader. Humor closes the gap between reader and character because every time readers laugh with the character they are forging a relationship, so when the character experiences a meaningful plot point, readers are already emotionally invested. 

An Outlet

Beyond classroom implications, humor allows students to think through their difficult experiences. Books are not only opportunities to experience perspectives different from their own but are ways for students to see themselves. And that’s important. When young adult books use humor to discuss traumatic events that otherwise are too difficult to talk about or even think through, it gives students permission to step outside of their situation and release those emotions. Crystal Maldonado, the author of The Fall of Whit Rivera, says she uses humor because characters can joke about their trauma in a way students might not be ready for and that gives kids an outlet for their feelings in a way they may not have access to. 

This can be seen in panelist Kitty Curan’s work as well. Curan is the author of the middle-grade book Grave Mistakes. In the book, the main character’s mother and brother die. The mother becomes a ghost and her brother, a poltergeist. They decide to live in the house with her family. It becomes the family secret; however, the dead want to leave the house and watch the main character at her violin audition. Chaos ensues: the mother takes over a dead body; the brother paints his face and promises not to eat brains. It is through these absurdities that Curan approaches difficult topics like secrets, feeling like an outsider, and death. She connects this story to her own life and how her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a child, her family kept this secret from her grandmother. Through humor, she reflected on how that secret affected her, something she had not completely processed until she wrote the book.

A Model

Finally, students can use humor in their narrative writing. Panelist Daniel Nayeri--author of The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams--suggests using a resource like The Joke Machine - a book that details humor characteristics like surprise, exaggeration, timing, and wordplay. Pairing these characteristics with examples will help students build the procedural knowledge required for creating humor. 

Using excerpts from movie clips, shorts from sketch shows like SNL, clips from TV Shows and podcasts, and TikTok posts, students can study what makes something funny. Videos will ensure all students can engage in the material, and they are easy to view multiple times without worrying about reading stamina or level. Another approachable entry point is having students engage in analyzing memes. These bite-sized jokes are perfect for getting students to identify details and draw conclusions.

Starting Small

Unfortunately, if humor is not an option in the anthologies and literary canon teachers have access to, it can be hard to find. A quick scan of the number of humor texts in my school’s ninth-grade textbook Collections resulted in a predictable zero. For teachers to comb through texts (either on the internet or in other anthologies) on their own to find one that is grade-appropriate and aligned with the curriculum is a daunting task. 

Perhaps adding supplemental materials or starting on a humorous hook is an approachable way to add it to an already packed curriculum. Here’s a quick list of ideas: 

• Read the satirical article “Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequences” by The Onion with a book like The Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace, Just Mercy, or The Outsiders to introduce inequities in social classes. 

• Watch the trailer for Warm Bodies, a movie inspired by Romeo and Juliet about a zombie named R falling in love with a human named Julie, to introduce the difficulty for two people from opposite backgrounds to overcome their societal and familial pressure to be together. Because R is a zombie, the challenges R and Julie are up against are absurd and are bound to deliver interesting discussions. This can also be seen in the SNL short with Taylor Swift of the Twilight movie, which matches a human and Frankenstein.

• View a Ugandan man seeing snow for the first time or video clips of what colors dogs can see while reading The Giver to remind students of the joy experiencing something new can bring. They also open the door to discussions on what 

For more resources, check out this list of funny stories from kindergarten through twelfth grade gathered by Common Lit. 

Finally, consider adding more humorous independent read books to your classroom library and advocating for more humor books in the school library. For ideas, check out these lists: elementary, middle school, high school. Perhaps, if students have access to humor regularly and in different formats, tackling the difficult themes from class novels will not seem so all-encompassing. 

Both camps tend to focus on how the artificial intelligence tools “radically change” the way we write and teach writing, but it is worth dwelling for a while on what Chat GPT doesn’t change:

1.     Our job is to help students make more critical and deliberate choices about how they use language.

Thus, whenever teachers or students are faced with the dilemma of whether to use AI as a writing tool, they must first ask themselves these questions: “Does this help me become more aware of the choices available to me as a writer?” “Does this help me learn how to develop a stronger purpose and relationship with my audience?” “Does this increase my autonomy as a writer to express my thinking, feelings, and values?”

If using Chat GPT can help you answer “yes” to those questions, then consider using it. If the answer is “no” (or even partly “no”), then avoid it. Any tool that decreases our awareness, our ability to learn, and our ability to make thoughtful, independent choices, is not a tool for education, and it is certainly not a tool for learning how to write.

2.     Our job is to help students critically evaluate a broad range of information and perspectives, then integrate or synthesize those perspectives with their own evolving ideas.

Thus, whenever teachers or students feel compelled to use AI for research, synthesis, and evolving their own ideas about the world, they must next ask themselves: “does this give me greater access to accurate, authentic, credible information vetted by a team of experts?” “does this improve my ability to evaluate the accuracy and credibility of a position or information?” “does this help me develop my own nuanced response to others’ perspectives in a way that is not driven by problematic bias and motivated reasoning?”

If using Chat GPT helps you answer “yes” to those questions, go for it… but make sure that you and your students know the extent to which Chat GPT just makes stuff up—it is not a source of accurate, authentic, and credible information vetted by a team of respected experts! One recent study found that only 7% of references in Chat GPT-generated medical content were both authentic and accurate.

3.     Our job is to teach students that writing (and learning) is about process more than product, and that establishing a proven process will give students the autonomy and adaptability to succeed in a variety of writing situations, inside and outside the classroom.

Thus, whenever teachers or students are confronted with Chat GPT as a way to make life quicker and easier, they must ask themselves: “does this enhance my ability to generate topic ideas, focus my purpose, add nuance to my thinking, find and use sources, organize my writing within the conventions of a genre, seek out and provide feedback to benefit writing, revise and edit to strengthen purpose, clarity, and audience impact?”

If Chat GPT productively contributes to process (and is not mainly a shortcut to the product or a substitute for navigating this complex, necessary process), then by all means, wield the tool. 

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