Many English teachers have drawn a line in the sand against any and all AI use for students. Bill Henry, an 8th-grade English teacher at Amity Middle School in Orange, Connecticut, on the other hand, has embraced his school’s approach of teaching students how to use AI in a responsible and ethical way that prepares them for a world in which AI will likely play an increasingly important role.
“The thought process behind this is that the technology is going to continue to be there, and if we embrace it from the start and teach them to use it, they will be able to accomplish more than if they were trying to use the one on their phones or a separate tab,” Henry says.
To that end, Henry teaches a prompt writing exercise to students that requires them to use MagicSchool AI, which is approved by his district and allows teachers to control how the AI chatbot interacts with students.
Henry, who also teaches English at Quinnipiac University, says he has used AI with college students as well to help them create an outline and structure for their work. He stresses to both his K-12 and college students that AI is not meant to replace their thinking and creativity.
Guiding AI-Led Writing Exercises
The platform Henry’s school uses for AI allows teachers to control what the AI can and cannot do in student interactions. This allows teachers to really emphasize thought and creativity with AI use, while teaching practical usable skills such as prompt writing.
In the lesson Henry conducts with 8th graders, students create a prompt for the AI asking for a statement related to the themes of their readings for the course, but the chatbot doesn't provide an actual theme statement in response. Instead, it offers advice on how to improve their prompt to the chatbot, so students can revise their prompt.
“They then used it to generate three theme statements, and had to choose the one they thought fit their book best, and needed to provide examples from their books to back them up,” he says.
How Students React To AI Use
“Students are usually excited at the very mention of AI, and immediately think 'We'll be using Chat or Snap AI,' but we start off with a discussion about how only certain platforms are approved for the district, and how AI should be used as a means to improve their writing, rather than replace the writing process,” he says. “While some students initially thought that it was a way to cheat, once they saw that it was a way to help them improve their writing and get live feedback, they were more enthusiastic about it."
He adds, "Some of them still tried to override MagicSchool with prompts that were asking it when it was taking over humanity, or tried to outsmart the system in making it do more than we had set it to do. Even so, ultimately, students met the lesson objective. Many also expressed interest in using AI as in further assignments."
Advice For Incorporating AI Into Your Classroom
When it comes to other teachers using AI, Henry has some advice: “Make sure you use a program that is approved by the district and that you have control over. Emphasize that the bots are not meant to replace thinking, but assist students in pushing their own thinking further.”
He adds, “When used as a tool, it can provide live feedback for students that supplements your own feedback, and can work to help them better understand the processes behind writing, when used in conjunction with the district curriculum and goals.”
Henry believes some of the concerns many writing instructors have around AI use are misguided. “The biggest fear for many English teachers is that it's going to make our jobs obsolete,” he says. “In reality, it can be used to help develop writers and allow them to integrate technology as a tool, rather than a means to replace their thinking.”
