The Future of Writing Instruction: Navigating AI’s Impact

Outline

Topic: Writing Across Disciplines in the Age of AI

Introduction and Framing the Session (20 minutes)

Content: Introduce the overarching theme of AI in writing instruction. Highlight the session's goals, the importance of writing in all disciplines, and how AI tools can either enhance or undermine critical thinking and creativity.

Engagement: Start with a brief discussion, using a quote from Dan Schwartz about how AI can automate bad teaching practices, asking participants to reflect on what resonates with them: “Technology is a game-changer for education – it offers the prospect of universal access to high-quality learning experiences, and it creates fundamentally new ways of teaching. But there are a lot of ways we teach that aren’t great, and a big fear with AI in particular is that we just get more efficient at teaching badly. This is a moment to pay attention, to do things differently.”

Objective: Set the stage for deep reflection on how AI can play a productive role in writing instruction across content areas.

Interactive AI Writing Task (40 minutes)

Content: Participants will use Playlab.ai to engage with a structured chatbot designed to support an authentic writing task. Playlab.ai allows participants to engage with an AI tool that has clear guidelines and guardrails (e.g., do not correct student writing, do not write for the student).

Activity:
On their devices, participants will use the chatbot to go through a writing prompt related to their discipline.
The chatbot will guide them through brainstorming, drafting, and revision steps.

Reflection:
After completing the task, participants will reflect on the opportunities and challenges of using the chatbot to support cognitive tasks such as idea generation, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Discussion will focus on what the AI did well, where it fell short, and how it could be used as a co-intelligence in the classroom rather than a shortcut.

Objective: Hands-on experience with AI’s limitations and strengths in writing, sparking critical thinking about its application in classrooms.

Reflection on Practice: Building Writing Goals (40 minutes)

Content: Teachers will reflect on the role writing plays in their own discipline. They’ll explore how writing is used as a cognitive tool in their subject areas and define what they want students to achieve through writing.

Activity:
Drawing on activities from the PL program, participants will create profiles of successful high school students in their discipline, identifying key writing goals.
Discuss how these goals align with what AI can and cannot support.

Objective: Encourage deep reflection on the core outcomes of writing instruction that teachers must ensure AI does not undermine.

Practical Tips for AI Integration (30 minutes)

Content: Provide practical guidance on using AI in ways that support learning rather than replace critical thinking.

Engagement:
Share strategies for using AI to streamline administrative tasks (e.g., grading or providing basic feedback) while preserving the cognitive demands of writing.
Participants share their own classroom contexts and challenges.

Objective: Equip participants with actionable strategies they can take back to their classrooms, balancing AI’s utility with preserving student creativity and intellectual engagement.

Peer Reflection and Discussion (30 minutes)

Content: A transdisciplinary, peer-to-peer discussion on how AI can be responsibly integrated across different disciplines.

Engagement:
Participants share examples from their own disciplines of how writing is used, the challenges they face with student writing, and how AI could either help or hinder their goals.
Participants discuss how using AI as a co-intelligence might shift their teaching goals.

Objective: Collaborative sharing of ideas and solutions, ensuring cross-disciplinary learning.

Closing and Action Steps (20 minutes)

Content: Summarize key takeaways and challenge participants to identify specific ways they can introduce AI into their classrooms thoughtfully. Share resources for exploring these topics further.

Engagement:
Participants write down one actionable step they will take in their classrooms to balance AI and critical thinking.

Objective: Leave participants with a sense of direction and concrete plans for implementation.

Supporting research

Teaching With AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning by Jose Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson
https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53869/teaching-ai

Co-Intelligence: Living and Working With AI by Ethan Mollick
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741805/co-intelligence-by-ethan-mollick/

Who Wrote This? How AI and the Lure of Efficiency Threaten Human Writing by Naomi S. Baron
https://www.sup.org/books/extra/?id=35889&isbn=&gvp=1

The Future of Education in a World of AI: A Positive Vision for the Transformation to Come by Ethan Mollick
https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-future-of-education-in-a-world

Generative AI and K-12 Education: An MIT Perspective by Eric Klopfer, Justin Reich, Hal Abelson, and Cynthia Breazeal
https://mit-genai.pubpub.org/pub/4k9msp17/release/1?from=21897&to=22711

Learning Systems: Artificial Intelligence Use Cases by Amy Chen Kulesa, Michelle Croft, Brian Robinson, Mary K. Wells, Andrew J. Rotherham, and John Bailey
https://bellwether.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LearningSystems_3_Bellwether_September2024.pdf

Learning Systems: Opportunities and Challenges of
Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Education by Amy Chen Kulesa, Michelle Croft, Brian Robinson, Mary K. Wells, Andrew J. Rotherham, and John Bailey
https://bellwether.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LearningSystems_2_Bellwether_September2024.pdf