AI Ushers In a New Era for Writing Classes
Pary Fassihi on why instructors should embrace generative AI
The 2022 launch of ChatGPT was met with excitement and fear. Concerns about the generative AI chatbot and virtual assistant included the potential for spreading misinformation, copyright infringement, and bias. Teachers worried the platform could damage students’ critical thinking skills and threaten academic integrity. Pary Fassihi, a senior lecturer in the writing program, and her colleagues began seeing traces of AI use in students’ work almost immediately. She decided to take an approach of “critical embrace.”
Fassihi quickly incorporated generative AI into the writing courses she taught for English language learners. She discovered it could be used to help students think deeply about their writing. “It became a great tool to teach language and grammar,” she says.
For one exercise, she had students compare their own writing with a hybrid version they’d edited in ChatGPT to be more concise or to adopt a different voice. When asked which version they preferred, “many students wanted to keep their own,” she says. “It’s best practice for students to see that level of transparency from their professors as well.”
Fassihi is a member of BU’s inaugural AI Task Force, which generated a report in spring 2024 with best practices and recommended policies for using generative AI in classes. Fassihi was also part of a group of professors who piloted AI-intensive writing courses in spring 2024, with support from a grant from BU’s Shipley Center for Digital Learning & Innovation. “What I wanted my students to take away from this class was being transparent in their AI use,” she says.
Fassihi also uses generative AI in her own work. “It’s a big time saver for certain tasks,” she says. That includes refreshing class activities and coming up with discussion questions. “Maybe it can offer a different perspective,” she says. She always notes if an assignment has been created with the assistance of AI. “The first time the students saw that, they were shocked,” she says. “They don’t see that level of transparency from everybody.”
To show their own transparency, students highlighted sections of their papers drawn from ChatGPT and explained how they arrived at that version. “I’m not sure that level of time is spent [writing] one paragraph without generative AI,” she says.
After seeing the care with which her students used this tool, Fassihi is convinced that generative AI has the potential to promote critical thinking. Another set of AI-intensive courses will be offered in spring 2025, taught by a new group of professors. “When we went into this project, we didn’t know what to expect,” says Fassihi. “I didn’t know how much of a success it would be and how students would absolutely embrace and learn as well as they did from ethically using generative AI.”