AI and Writing in My Field

Submitter: Liza Long, C of Western Idaho

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The experiment:

For their final essay in my English 102 course at an open-access community college, students explore writing in a potential major/career. I changed the assignment in Fall 2023 to include a requirement to craft a prompt that would generate an example of writing in their field. Students crafted the prompt, then used the same prompt with two different generative AI tools. They reflected on how useful and accurate the responses were, comparing how the two outputs were similar and different. They also reflected on how they might use these tools in their future workplace and how they felt about the ethical concerns in using AI. I have linked to the assignment prompt, which could easily be used in different contexts.

Results:

Without exception, students loved this assignment. They appreciated that I asked them to consider how these tools might impact their work. They definitely needed help in crafting their prompts though. I introduced the activity in class and had students practice, but in future courses, I will teach prompt engineering earlier and practice it as a skill throughout the course rather than waiting to have them write prompts as their final assignment. I will also use a discussion board to provide my feedback and allow their peers to comment and view each other’s prompts.

Relevant resources:
Here is a link to the assignment prompt: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AjTHMWPI6mNTHNq4WCj4mp6NHvkD3s1eYfPbWo4INIE/edit?usp=sharing

Contact:

• Email: lizalong[AT]cwi[DOT]edu
• Threads: @anarchistmom
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liza-long-ed-d-3a71039/