Have you heard about ChatGPT? Are you wondering what to do about it in your writing-intensive classes?
Through tools such as ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has suddenly become much better and easier to use, and students are discovering how to use AI in their writing. The Writing Institute recently sponsored a workshop designed by Annette Vee (Pitt) and Tim Laquintano (Lafayette College) on how AI writing tools work, how students are already using them, and how to revise your assignments to account for them. The materials they created are offered below with a CC-BY-NC license, which allows others to use and adapt them freely for non-commercial educational purposes:
How to Talk to Your Students About AI: In this resource, we outline some ways to address AI language models in your writing classes: how to introduce them, how to recognize AI writing, and how to talk to students when you think you see it.
How to Stress Test Writing Assignments: Stress testing helps instructors assess the extent to which an assignment is “exposed” to AI and large language models. This resource walks you through the process to stress-test your own assignments and provides an example assignment revision from an undergraduate writing course.
See Sample AI Policies to Add to Your Syllabus: Students in our composition courses are aware of ChatGPT and other free, accessible AI writing tools and some are already using them in our courses. They have indicated that they would appreciate clear policies on AI use in their writing classes, and establishing clear policies in your class may help you avoid misunderstandings further down the road. This resource offers two suggested syllabus policies that might augment Pitt's Academic Integrity Code, which prohibits unacknowledged use of the writing of others.
Dear Students: Should You Use AI for Writing?: This resource is written with a student's perspective in mind. Presented in the form of frequently asked questions, the resource explains what AI is and does and offers students ways to think about the possibilities and limitations of using AI for writing.
Annette Vee is Director of Composition and Associate Professor of English at University of Pittsburgh. Her research is at the intersection of computational technology and writing and she's published on computer coding, AI writing, blockchain, and bots. She has been teaching with automated writing technologies for several years and has led conversations about the use of AI in writing courses at Pitt.
Tim Laquintano is a Pitt alum and current Associate Professor of English at Lafayette College, where he directs the College Writing Program. His research and faculty development workshops focus on uses of technology in writing.