Three years after the draft media cycle of current artificial intelligence (IA), catalyzed by the release of Chatgpt in November 2022, the AI continues to deeply disturb higher education. A recent survey of more than 300 university leaders Affirm many of the concerns expressed in public speech: the majority of students use a generative AI, while the majority of teachers do not do so; Cheating has increased while AI detection tools remain unreliable; Almost all institutions feel behind progress in one way or another. Although we certainly share these concerns, we remain relatively optimistic about an aspect of higher education: learning to write.
From the moment, the Chatppt struck the scene, articles proclaimed the death of the college testAnd the students started question the need to develop written skills. Which gives us reasons for hope comes back to the way we define writing.
Generative AI tools such as Chatgpt can now produce polite and technically competent texts in a few seconds, which questions our traditional understanding of writing as a process of creation, reflection and only human learning. For many educators, this disturbance raises questions about the role of writing in their disciplines. In our new book, How to use writing for teaching and learningWe argue that this disruption has an opportunity rather than a threat. Note from the title of our book according to which our objective is not necessarily on “how to teach writing”. For us, writing is not a final objective, which means that our students do not necessarily learn to write for reasons of writing. Rather, we define writing as an investigation method which allows access to various communities of discourse (for example, an academic discipline), social worlds (for example, the economy of knowledge) and forms of knowledge (for example, literature).
The true value of writing lies in the thought it generates (word game) – priority of new information, triangulating it with other sources of information to discover new ideas and analogy information to give meaning under different perspectives. We call this process of prioritization, triangulation and analogization of “concentric thinking”, because it involves making several layers in layers, Similar to the way our brains develop patterns. We not only attribute writing to teach our content, but students also use writing to explore connections between assigned texts, lived experiences and other course content.
By reframing writing as a cognitive process rather than a simple result, the existence of AI forces us to integrate writing more intentionally into our courses, whatever the discipline. Of course, AI could produce a quality test in a few seconds, but we, humans, remain a curious species; Writing, as well as its equivalent reading, is the The main way, we satisfy our information research reader. AI not only presents a good excuse to use writing for teaching and learning, but it also requires it. After all, to effectively use generative AI, you must be able to clearly invite the tool and critically read the output.
The other cause of hope is that we describe an educational problem, something that we can influence by the way we conceive and teach lessons. We have the agency and the ability to promote learning quality, especially in our current time. Below, we explore the three cognitive movements of concentric thinking – prioritization, translation and analogy – and show how weak issues, informal writing assignments can take advantage of these movements to improve teaching and learning in the IA era.
Concentric thinking
At the heart of our model are three interdependent cognitive movements that writing facilitates: prioritization, translation and analogy. These movements align with the means Experts organize and apply knowledge in their fields.
Prioritize information:: Before students can write effectively, they must learn to identify and classify key ideas for their readings, conferences or discussions. For example, in a history course, an informal writing prompt could ask students to select the most important event in a unit of the civil rights movement and to justify their choice. This exercise encourages students to make a critical commitment with the material, distinguishing the central ideas from the details of support.
Translate understanding:: Translation is to reframe complex concepts in accessible language. This step reinforces not only understanding, but also prepares students to effectively communicate ideas to various audiences. In a biology course, students could write a brief explanation of the replication of DNA as if they explained to a high school student. By simplifying the concept, they deepen their own understanding.
Analoge ideas:: Links between course equipment and real world problems promote higher order reflection. For example, in a sociology course, students could write about how current debates on economic inequality reflect historical models of social stratification. Analog thinking helps students to see the broader relevance of their studies and prepares them to apply knowledge in new contexts.
These movements are recursive, relying on each other as students pass informal reflections to more formal work. By designing prompts that scaffold these movements, teachers can help students develop the spirit habits necessary for disciplinary expertise.
Informal writing with low challenges in class of class
Informal writing assignments, also known as “Writing-to-learned”, are versatile tools that can be adapted to any discipline. Here are some examples of how concentric thinking can be favored by writing tasks that focus more on learning than on evaluation:
Pre-class reflections:: Before the course, students can write a short response prioritizing the most convincing argument of assigned reading. These reflections can be used to structure class discussions, guaranteeing that students engage with material significantly.
Class exercises:: During lessons, students could work in pairs to translate a difficult concept in simple terms, then share their explanations with the group. This collaborative exercise strengthens understanding while promoting communication skills.
Post-class applications:: After a conference, the students could be responsible for writing a brief analogy connecting the subject of the day to a real problem. For example, in a course in environmental sciences, students could link the concepts of the balance of ecosystems to urban challenges.
These assignments require a minimum classification and can be formatively assessed for student learning trips. The emphasis remains on the development of students’ critical thinking and cognitive flexibility rather than accuracy or adhesion to conventions.
Write as a life for life to expertise
At a time when the text generated by AI can imitate expertise without really embodying it, writing as a concentric thought offers an irreplaceable cognitive path to develop a real mastery. Expertise, as shown by cognitive sciences, does not consist in accumulating knowledge; It is a question of organizing and integrating information into deeply connected patterns which can be applied in contexts. Writing promotes this process by obliging students to prioritize important ideas, translate complex concepts into accessible language and to analogize information on new or interdisciplinary challenges.
The informal writing that we attribute acts as opportunities with low challenges to students to engage in a deliberate practice. These encourage the links between previous knowledge and new content, providing an essential practice in disciplinary thought. Thanks to iterative feedback – designed not only to identify gaps but also to guide a more in -depth reflection – students gradually move from memorization to the surface to a nuanced understanding of the course material. The formative comments serve as a bridge, helping students navigating challenges and transforming their understanding of difficult concepts.
In addition, the interaction between formative and summative assessments highlights the relevance of writing for the development of expertise. When students revisit their informal writing during the organizational phase of a major mission, they engage in an essential process of synthesizing their learning. By integrating informal writing into the final work, teachers provide a cohesive learning arc which not only promotes the completion of tasks, but an in -depth understanding of disciplinary methods and epistemologies.
AI can offer polite results, but it cannot reproduce the intellectual journey that students undertake when they engage with the content of the course, assigned readings and other learning experiences with writing as a vehicle. The metacognitive ideas acquired thanks to concentric thinking – priority, translating and analogization – is equivalent to students with a level of expertise which transcends what any IA can generate. These skills are not only essential for academic success, but also for navigation in the complex world and saturated with information beyond the class.
As a Educators, we organize the tools to design writing processes that cultivate authentic learning and expertise. By reframing writing as a dynamic scaffolding for the survey rather than a static product, we prepare our students to think critically, to synthesize knowledge and to apply their learning significantly. In this, we preserve not only the value of writing in higher education, but we also guarantee that our students emerge as confidents, capable generators (word game, once again) new knowledge.
Suzanne Hudd is a professor emeritus of sociology who was also director of the editorial staff of the Quinnipiac University Studies program.
Robert A. Smart is a former dean of the arts and sciences of Qui, professor emeritus of English and resident of the great state of Maine.
Andrew W. Delohery is the associate vice-president of retention and academic success at Quinnipiac University, where he also taught courses in first-year writing and the first year seminar.
JT Torres is director of Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning at Washington & Lee University.
(Tagstotranslate) Critical thinking
