Written by: Evi Wusk<\/p>\n
Last year, I was working as an educational technology professor when I was part of a group who created <\/span>Writing & AI: Navigating the Gray Areas<\/span><\/i>, a multimodal resource for teachers (<\/span>link here<\/span><\/a>). At the time, I thought a lot about the \u201cbig picture\u201d questions: What does AI mean for writing instruction? What\u2019s the role of the teacher when a machine can draft an essay in seconds?<\/span><\/p>\n This year, though, I\u2019ve got a new class\u2014first-year college writing (English 1010), the same class many high school juniors and seniors take for early college credit. Suddenly, the gray areas aren\u2019t so abstract. They\u2019re right in front of me, in the faces and voices of my students.<\/span><\/p>\n This article is a window to my classroom as I try to navigate the waves of AI right alongside my students. I know there are things I\u2019m not doing right, but there\u2019s one thing I know for sure: <\/span>I don\u2019t want to do the same old same old with writing instruction.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So\u2026 the first day of the course, I launched with an activity called <\/span>\u201cIs this cheating?\u201d<\/span><\/i> Students opened<\/span> this AI thread<\/span><\/a> (that I begged\/borrowed\/stole from someone who gave us permission at the NETA conference\u2013Sorry I don\u2019t have a citation!) On the thread, a young writer goes back and forth with ChatGPT. The tool doesn\u2019t spit out an essay; instead, it nudges her thinking, offers feedback, and helps shape her words like a writing coach. I then asked my own students: <\/span>Is this cheating?<\/span><\/i> I wanted this conversation to set the tone: we\u2019d use AI as part of the writing process, not as a shortcut.\u00a0 With that framing, I made a few key moves in planning my class:<\/span><\/p>\n Narrative as anchor:<\/b> Storytelling highlights students\u2019 lived experiences and perspectives, which is harder for AI to replicate, so I wanted to focus here. I think this skill and its components (sensory details, navigating time, introducing conflict and characters, highlighting growth through your experiences) matter more now than ever. I used to think of narrative as elementary\u2026 I\u2019m starting to think of it as the top of the pyramid. What if the new Blooms Taxonomy has connection at the top? What if the ultimate type of writing is that that reminds us we\u2019re not alone, writing that helps us connect? I\u2019ve heard some people say that evaluation should go at the top, that writing will be more about evaluating outputs, but I personally think that the more AI\/Generic stuff I read, the more hungry I am for real human stories coming from humans. The \u201ctouch grass\u201d movement might have more to do with education than we think.<\/p>\n <\/span>AI as process, not product:<\/b> Students use AI for brainstorming, gathering perspectives, or organizing sources, but they shape the thinking and final work themselves. Guy Trainin at UNL has a great short video (<\/span>link here<\/span><\/a>) about ideation. AI is an amazing thought partner. I\u2019ve also been playing with random freewriting in AI and then having it reverse outline essays\u2013which I then write from the outline. I\u2019m curious how we might use AI in creative ways to get at tasks with better results. I\u2019m not sure I will never have AI do writing for class\u2026 but I\u2019m starting here.<\/span><\/p>\n Multimodal final projects:<\/b> Students will choose formats like podcasts, video essays, infographics, or blogs\u2014grounded in research and citation instead of writing a formal long-style paper. It\u2019s still important for them to learn to write, but I keep asking\u2013what would it look like to create a project or an assignment that is non- or less-AI-able? That is a hard ask, but I think the question is important. Are there times to teach things AI can so easily do? Absolutely\u2026 but let\u2019s be choosy about <\/span>why<\/span><\/i> we\u2019re taking the time. Is teaching this even worth it? I keep asking myself this, and I keep explaining <\/span>why we\u2019re doing this<\/span><\/i>\u2013even if AI can do it\u2013explicitly.<\/span> Author\u2019s Notes:<\/b> Students reflect on their process, AI use, and what they\u2019re proud of, giving insights beyond the finished product. I ask them to add a paragraph at the end of every writing to let me know how they used AI and what they\u2019re learning from it. Could they have AI write this\u2013sure\u2013but my experience has been that they\u2019re reflecting. Some students have always been cheating anyway. I think some of these AI instruction questions are more interesting than the cheating question\u2013even though academic integrity matters.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/li>\n <\/span><\/li>\n <\/span><\/li>\n We\u2019re navigating gray areas in writing and AI. With intention, students can still develop thinking, creativity, and expression. For resources from ESUCC and others, check<\/span> Writing & AI: Navigating the Gray Areas<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written by: Evi Wusk Last year, I was working as an educational technology professor when I was part of a group who created Writing & AI: Navigating the Gray Areas,… <\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\nSome Takeaways for Teachers<\/b><\/h2>\n
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