Topic
Teaching Writing in the Age of A.I.
As educators, we often use writing assignments to assess student thinking. With the rise of AI chat bots, computers can now create essays faster and at a higher level than most high school and college students. So, what does that mean for educators?
This month in Creative Education Book Club we’ll read the experiences of three educators teaching writing in the classroom and discuss what teaching means, why human writing matters, and how do we approach creative education in the age of AI generated writing and art.
Of course, you don’t have to be a writing teacher to join this conversation. In fact, most of us won’t be. Any person interested in the intersection of art, education and creativity is welcome.
Date
MaY 8 @ 6-7:30 PM
Teaching Writing in the Age of A.I.
At the ECAT Wayne Building
650 East Ave, Erie PA 16503
Readings
This month’s readings highlight educator’s teaching writing in the classroom. While writing is the focus, the lessons from each article apply across all disciplines.
The End of High School English
Daniel Herman
Article from The Atlantic
An English for 12 years, Daniel Herman is astounded by what the AI chatbot, ChatGPT, can produce.
Read the article
The Art of Teaching Writing
Pirette McKamey
Interview
Pirette McKamey on helping students believe that what they write really matters
Read the interview
The Most Important Writing Exercise
Derrick Jensen
Chapter from the book: walking on water
Derrick Jensen shares a writing lesson that is decidedly not typical.
Order book
Free copies of the chapter available upon request when registering.
Additional Resources
Optional readings and resources for those who want to do a deeper dive into the topic of writing and AI chatbots. We will not discuss these resources in book club.
ChatGPT
Open AI
Artificial intelligence chat bot
The company OpenAI has trained a model called ChatGPT which interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer followup questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests.
Try the application
What is ChatGPT and why does it have educators worried?
TODAY show
YouTube Video
ChatGPT, a popular new computer program that will write whatever you want quickly and convincingly, has some worried over the potential of cheating in the classroom — leading some districts to ban the artificial intelligence on school devices. NBC’s Stephanie Gosk reports for TODAY.
Watch the video
The False Promise of ChatGPT
Noam Chomsky
Opinion from NY TIMES
An English for 12 years, Daniel Herman is astounded by what the AI chatbot, ChatGPT, can produce.
Read the article
Join Now
It is free to join the book club. Register below to get started.
Where do you meet?
Meetings take place at ECAT Wayne Building.
What does a meeting look like?
After a brief welcome, we break into small 4-5 person groups and discuss the book chapter for one hour before meeting back with the larger group for closing reflection. Discussion prompts are provided to get the conversation started but each group is encouraged to discuss topics most interesting to them.
Who is this for? Can I join?
For people who teach, want to teach, or have a job that supports learning. This includes anyone who works in a learning space such as a school, afterschool center, museum, library, online classes, etc.
We are a broad collection of people that includes school teachers, teaching artists, after-school educators, professors, school administrators, nonprofit staff, artists, creatives and parents. We all want to support programs that develop creativity.
Educators who want their student’s to develop a creative practice face unique challenges. We know that cultivating creativity in our students is vital. However, the practice of teaching creativity is challenged by an education system focused on improving standardized test scores. Conversations are focused on how we can better nurture creativity in our students and share practical strategies to overcome the unique challenges of our learning environments.
Questions
Contact Jude Shingle, Art Program Director
814-651-0902
