At the forefront of exploring how AI is transforming writing and writing instruction
October 2024 – Drew University’s DrewTEACH recently welcomed over 150 educators to Drew’s campus for the Second Annual AI and Writing Symposium.
DrewTEACH brings together teachers who are interested in collaboration and connection through the Drew Writing Project and Digital Literacies Collaborative, a professional network that empowers teachers to become confident writers. In turn, the teachers share their practice with their students.
The event, held in celebration of the National Day on Writing, explored how AI is influencing writing and teaching writing through critical conversations, classroom demonstrations, working sessions, and an expert panel discussion. AI is transforming writing and writing instruction, and educators have much to navigate as this next wave of technology impacts teaching and learning.
“We are celebrating writing and the thinking that is behind writing today,” said Professor of Education and Director of the Drew Writing Project Kristen Hawley Turner, who organized the event. “We want to think about how writing is changing with new technologies.”
The day opened with a series of Ignite talks, five-minute fast-paced presentations consisting of 20 slides that advance every 15 seconds. Probing questions and perspectives were explored by Turner; Alex Rudniy, associate professor of computer science at Drew; Jens Lloyd, assistant professor of English and director of first year writing at Drew; and Danyel Cicarelli, supervisor of English & multilingual learning at Kearny Public Schools and Drew Writing Project teacher consultant; among other New Jersey education professionals.
Rudniy shared information on the ongoing evolution of AI and AI knowledge tests and training. “AI knowledge tests still cannot beat human experts,” he said.
“Writers must take agency of the tool,” said Turner. “Writing is thinking, and we need to design ecosystems for writing development that engages students, motivates thinking, and empowers the use of tools—including AI—in productive and ethical ways. Writing still matters because we are not raising robots.”
Lloyd is skeptical of the benefits of AI and teaching writing. “I don’t think AI is helping us teach writing in the way we want to teach it,” he said. “I think AI is undermining the ongoing and sustained efforts to focus writing instruction on process, not product. I am increasingly worried that AI is overwhelming the process. I worry about students seeing AI as the only efficient pathway to the final product.”
Attendees heard from tenth grade students Amiya Harish and Aashna Tiwary from Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, who use ChatGPT and other AI tools to create practice questions for test preparation and provide feedback on their writing.
Multiple interactive breakout sessions, led by Drew faculty, staff, Master of Arts in Teaching and Master of Education students, and other New Jersey educators, explored topics such as balancing AI and pedagogy, enhancing editing and reflection using AI, effective prompt engineering, and the impact of AI on urban learners, just to name a few.
Ann Mills, founder of Resourceful Business Digital Content Strategy and Solutions and assistant teaching professor of marketing at Drew, led a discussion to consider how AI is impacting real-world practice and what that means for teaching. She provided examples on how digital marketing is being transformed by AI, and how she implements AI into her own classroom instruction for efficiency.
The event concluded with a roundtable panel discussion featuring Mills, Rudniy, and Turner, moderated by Drew’s Instructional Designer Jenna Corraro. Together they explored current research and practice methodologies and fielded thought-provoking questions from the audience.
