The rise of generative artificial intelligence is reshaping nearly every school subject鈥攂ut maybe none more than English class.
When generative AI became widely available, some teachers wondered whether they should keep teaching students to write a classic five-paragraph essay on say, the concept of the oversoul in The Grapes of Wrath. ChatGPT and Gemini, after all, have the topic covered, and either tool can formulate the essay faster than humans.
Other teachers reverted to pen-and-paper essays to head off cheating.
And many teachers found themselves somewhere in between.
The National Council of Teachers of English recently stepped up to provide 糖心动漫vlog with some for how to think about AI in the context of English class.
The organization stresses that this framework for AI in English/language arts is a rough draft put together with broad input鈥攂ut the group wants 糖心动漫vlog to offer their feedback on it.
The process recognizes that AI is 鈥渁 moving target,鈥� said Antero Garcia, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and NCTE鈥檚 president. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening in the world of AI is constantly changing.鈥�
At a time of big backlash to education technology in general and AI in particular, NCTE isn鈥檛 鈥渄rawing a line in the sand鈥� by coming out as pro- or anti-AI, Garcia added.
Instead, the organization recognizes that AI is a 鈥渓iving reality鈥� for many English teachers. NCTE is seeking to offer teachers鈥� support on how to use the technology in a way that enhances students鈥� critical-thinking and writing skills.
The organization also wants students to recognizes AI鈥檚 pitfalls, including its propensity to spread inaccurate or biased information, he added.
Students need to know how to 鈥渃heck facts that are disseminated by these tools,鈥� Garcia said.
Among NCTE鈥檚 recommendations:
Help students become critical thinkers鈥攚ith AI
AI shouldn鈥檛 replace a student鈥檚 thought process, but the technology can help them 鈥渄eepen鈥� their thinking, NCTE鈥檚 draft guidelines say. For example, AI could serve as a starting point for ideas, but students must be pushed to go beyond the technology鈥檚 suggestions, applying their own creativity and reasoning.
This could take the shape of students and teachers 鈥渃o-designing鈥� prompts and discussing different queries that yield different responses. Students could also compare an AI-created writing sample to a human-crafted one on the same topic.
Teachers and students can apply a critical eye to AI鈥檚 responses, asking questions such as 鈥淚s this accurate?鈥� and 鈥淲hat did the technology leave out?鈥�
Help students critically examine AI鈥檚 source material
Teachers need to help students understand that the answers coming from generative AI are drawn from massive datasets that comprise the internet, books, and social media. AI鈥檚 responses aren鈥檛 the work of a knowing machine; they reflect widespread misconceptions, stereotypes, and flaws that have been incorporated into AI鈥檚 universe of source material. AI may also fabricate facts and citations, and even invent historical events.
Students can get a hands-on understanding of this dynamic by investigating specific websites or authors cited by AI tools to see if they are genuine and reputable, and if the AI tool has accurately portrayed their contents, NCTE suggests. They can also compare an AI tool鈥檚 analysis of a primary source鈥攕ay, a historical document鈥攖o a published, scholarly take on the same material.
Teach ethical and responsible use of AI
Students need to understand academic integrity in the context of AI鈥攆or instance, that they can鈥檛 pass off an essay crafted by a large language model as their own work, NCTE notes. Teachers should also model ethical AI use. They can let their students know when they have used AI tools to create an assignment or build a graphic, for example.
Teaching ethical AI use can mean creating a clear classroom policy on when and how students can use AI for writing assignments, showing students how to cite the use of AI tools in their work, and helping students decide when to use the technology or rely on their own knowledge and intellect.
