AI can help students improve their writing, without doing it for them, says researcher

AI doesn't have to be just for cheating, says Elliott Hedman, a Colorado-based researcher. Working with teachers, he's created a free tool that provides "instantaneous" feedback to help students improve their writing, writes Greg Toppo on The 74.

As students write on Google Docs, they can ask Level Up "to help organize their thoughts, assist with marshaling evidence, fix grammar and hone a thesis statement," writes Toppo. There are no easy fixes, such as clicking on underlined words or passages to get the "ready-made answer."

Level Up will urge students to work on "tasks such as shortening too-long sentences, clarifying unclear arguments and strengthening passages that employ the passive voice," he writes. If they improve, they'll move up to the next level, as in a game.

Tools like ChatGPT allow students to “push a single button and it’s going to write,” Hedman tells Toppo. They don't need to do their own thinking.

Hedman's earlier app, Wonder Stories, lets struggling readers shape short mystery and adventure stories. "Students love critical thinking," even if they can barely understand what they're reading, he says. "We really like solving problems or getting feedback or solving the mystery. This is human nature."

AI bans won't work, Hedman believes. The technology is too ubiquitous. Many students, especially in high school, let AI write their essays, then rephrase sentences to sound more natural. It's "like running spell check,” in their eyes, he wrote recently. A student compared it to alcoholism. "You try it once, then the next day you want more. Soon, it’s just how you do things.”

Hedman wants teachers to grade students on how they improved their paper, not on the end product. "Anyone can turn in a nice looking paper with ChatGPT now. But can people put in work and reflect and improve their papers? That’s a different skill.”

College students are complaining that professors are using AI to design lessons and grade papers, reports Kashmir Hill in the New York Times. Instructors say it saves time for face-to-face interactions and provides more and faster feedback.

I don't think this is a sauce-for-the-gander issue. Students need to do the work to learn. Professors presumably already know the material. Of course, I assume they go over everything AI produces to ensure that it makes sense.