In The Chronicle of Higher Education, Lisa Lieberman, a community-college instructor, writes about “AI and the Death of Student Writing”:
I called the student in and asked him to write a sentence with the word “depiction.” He admitted he didn’t know what “depiction” meant, much less how to spell it, much less how to use it in a sentence. He confessed he hadn’t written a single word of the essay.And it turns out for a small monthly fee, Grammarly can do much more than identify errors in grammar and spelling.
Another student complained when I gave her a zero for using AI. She said, “I don’t know why you’re picking on me. I turned in all my assignments on time. And I never used AI.”
It was true she hadn’t used AI, but when I pressed her, she admitted to using Grammarly.
comments: 7
Reading high school students work, I am amazed they think teachers couldn’t differentiate AI writing from theirs!
Or can you instruct AI to write at different grade levels and abilities?
I hear you. I used to tell my classes that plagiarism is remarkably easy to spot, just as a cashier can sense in an instant that a bill is counterfeit. It might take some time to identify the source, and in pre-Internet times, it did, but I don’t think I was ever fooled.
One of my favorite plagiarism stories, pre-Internet: I received a short essay on the Odyssey that I knew was not genuine, but I couldn't figure out sources. Then, one day in the children's section of our public library, just for fun, I pulled out an encyclopedia to see what it said about the Odyssey just for fun. And there was the source, or one of them. The gods hate plagiarism.
Aughh — strike the second “just for fun.” The woes of trying to think and write on a phone.
Community College English Professor here. I've gone back to having students outline and draft in class, then flesh out drafts at home, then discussing the draft and subsequent revisions in small group workshops, literally highlighting and discussing changes we see in the drafts. This is difficult to do with 4-5 classes of 25 students each, but it is manageable. This summer I lucked out with 3 classes of 10-15 students each, which are perfect for workshop discussions.
Also, the more local and creative the assignment, the less likely AI can churn it out. I have my students write wacky forms, like snarky recommendation letters of random objects I bring into the class, complaints about on-campus events and artwork hanging in the halls (we are home to a well-known contemporary art museum), issues affecting this particular campus's construction projects & student services, have them interview and do profiles of their other professors, etc. AI chokes on these topics.
I think these are great suggestions for anyone teaching writing, Matthew. I was surprised that the fairly predictable assignments the Chronicle writer describes seem to her plagiarism-proof. Going for what’s local or off the bot, so to speak, is a good way to encourage real writing.
“Off the bot”! Brilliant —I want to start saying that.
You’re welcome to it!
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