AI Killed the Essay. What's Next?
As a teacher, I can already hear the collective groans from my colleagues at the mere mention of AI and homework in the same sentence. With the rise of ChatGPT, teachers are becoming more and more concerned that our students will turn to AI as a shortcut to bypass the hard work and critical thinking that goes into completing an assignment. But is this fear justified, or are we just being old-fashioned Luddites?
The truth is that AI is a fantastic tool, but, it does render the old homework essay pretty obsolete.
Don't despair just yet though. There's plenty of ways to make sure your students don't get it too easy.
First, it's important to remember the limitations of AIs like ChatGPT.
1. They don't know much about current events.
ChatGPT doesn't know anything about events after 2021. Simply ask your students to link what their essay is about to more recent issues and the AI won't be much help to them.
2. It can't write much of substance without decent input.
Your students, even if they used AI to write their entire essay, will still have put thought and effort into getting an output that actually meets the requirements of the assignment.
That's good, but what's better is that you can use this to your advantage.
The more specific requirements you put on an assignment the more input your students are going to need to provide to get anything that they can actually submit and the easier it will be to tell if they did use AI.
When restricted too much, AI text becomes clunky and too close in resemblance to whatever the user put in. Not only will the final product be closer to what your student provided themselves, but they will have had to read and redraft several responses to get something satisfactory, thereby using a host of critical thinking skills and getting more hands-on practice with the process of drafting and workshopping a piece of writing.
Still not satisfied? OK, let's talk about some alternatives that should cut out AI all together.
But first, let's consider WHY students are turning to AI to write their assignments.
Because students are lazy? Duh! Well yeah, but that's not the whole picture, and it doesn't help us to understand the problem.
If there's anything students hate more than homework it's having their time wasted. Students already struggle to see the value of things like essays but now we live in an age where such things undeniably feel trivial in the face of well, everything.
Gen Z, literally dubbed "Generation Dread", are known for their existential nihilism, and who can blame them? The climate crisis, the reemergence of mainstream fascism, impending economic collapse; these are the things our teenagers are worried about. They don't care about that essay due Monday.
So, in the spirit of not wasting time, let me cut to the chase and tell you about...
Suggestion #1: Atomic Essays
Atomic essays are short-form essays that aim to get their points across as succinctly as possible.
Not only does this save our precious students' time, but our own, reading and marking it. (Not to mention, this style of writing is much more accessible than the wordy academic drivel often touted in colleges and universities.)
You may be wondering how this cuts out AI exactly when ChatGPT is more than capable of generating short-form content.
Well, it doesn't. But, it makes it a lot less worth it, and lot less necessary. Using atomic essays allows teachers to set assignments that feel significantly more manageable for students whilst still assessing their knowledge and skills. This helps to reduce burnout and saves time marking!
Suggestion #2: Thesis Defense
Usually the goal of an essay assignment is to consolidate and assess learning. There's no better way to do this than with a thesis defense. It tests all the same things that an essay does except students must, at the very least, read and understand any essay they'd be defending. But realistically, they would have to prove much more than just a surface level understanding of a topic in order to field questions on it successfully.
Though it may not test their writing as much, it does test their ability to speak coherently and eloquently on a topic and answer questions in a formal and professional way. It would also encourage them to think about how they can represent information in the form of a presentation which may be a key skill they go on to use regularly in their working life.
Suggestion #3: Video Essays
Instead of writing an essay, have your students create a video to explain their thoughts on a topic or essay question. Encourage them to be creative, not only talking at the camera but using their tech skills to create content that is engaging and informative.
Suggestion #4: Memes
Challenge your students to make a humorous observation or comparison about what they’ve studied by making a meme about it. It takes a good degree of understanding in order to create something truly witty and whilst they may not all strive to be the class’ best essay writer, being considered funny is definitely something desirable for teenagers and, like atomic essays, this is a much more manageable amount of work for them.
Suggestion #5: Soundtrack
Gen Z love creating “POVs” for anything and everything. Selecting music they think a character would like, or creating a playlist with similar “vibes” to a story, character, event, or setting is something that can demonstrate their understanding of a text and trigger discussion in the classroom.
Using music in the classroom as a form of “ambience” during quiet work can also help students stay focused and on task.
Suggestion #6: Student Choice
Finally, let your students get creative with it. Tell them you’ll score based on understanding and effort displayed and let them show you what they know. Maybe they’ll do a skit with some classmates, maybe they’ll make a diorama, or write a twitter thread about it. Who knows?
Conclusion
There’s a 1001 ways to see what your students know, understand, and can express. Essays are just the most boring.
