Jisc Change Agents' Network Conference 2024

The workshop draws on the results of a project exploring the integration of Generative AI into the essay writing process. Co-led with three undergraduate students, the project is grounded in the belief that students and educators should collaboratively shape the new teaching and learning paradigms demanded by the Generative AI revolution. 

The workshop aims to disseminate our project findings in a practical, hands-on manner. Participants will engage actively with the project’s key output – i.e., the Generative AI-embedded assignment brief – and accompanying student reflection data. The latter was gathered in March 2024, during two ‘cognitive group interview’ workshops with 19 KCL undergraduate students aimed at trialling the essay brief while gathering data on students’ perception of the brief and, more generally, of Generative AI. 

Open to both staff and students, the workshop is structured as follows:

1. Introduction (7 min): Participants will first be introduced to the objectives and structure of the workshop. They will learn about the trial conducted during the project, where students were tasked with: 

• Critically engaging with Generative AI to assess its capacity to produce a good-quality essay on a given prompt.

• Writing an essay themselves, either with or without the support of Generative AI.

• Reflecting on their use (or non-use) of Generative AI throughout the process.

2. Analytical exploration (25 min): Participants will explore anonymised student essays and reflections from the project trial. Through guiding questions, they will analyse firsthand: a) the various strategies employed by students when engaging with Generative AI; b) the accompanying students’ reflections; c) students’ critical assessment of Generative AI’s capabilities. 

3. Group discussions (25 minutes): Participants will engage in group discussions to compare and contrast student approaches and consider implications for their own practices (either as educators or as students). 

4. Wrapping up (3 minutes)