Teaching Writing in the Age of ChatGPT

The impact of artificial intelligence on how we teach writing and how our students produce writing is uncertain. However, there is no need to panic; Writing Studies has effectively– and even productively–responded to new technology before. From the introduction of everything from pencils and typewriters (Baron) to computers (Hawisher & Selfe) to multimedia tools (Akayoglu), writing theorists and teachers ultimately adapted to these new inventions and learned to use them effectively.

In the spirit of theoretically informed teaching practices, the UMass Amherst Writing Program offers this webpage to all teachers of writing—from teachers of Englwrit 111 Writing, Identity, and Power and Englwrit 112 College Writing, to instructors of Junior Year Writing, to faculty who incorporate writing-to-learn strategies into their disciplinary courses. This site provides pedagogical resources, research related to technology and the teaching of writing, a selection of best practices and more, all chosen to help you navigate this new era of teaching writing in the age of ChatGPT.

The Writing Program has also compiled a list of Resources for Instructors.

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• Practical Teaching Resources

  These resources offer ways you might utilize Writing Studies’ best pedagogical practices to address some of the challenges posed by ChatGPT.

• Writing Studies Responds to Technology

  The field of Writing Studies has been responding to and theorizing the relationship of writing and technological inventions for decades, and this section offers a place to start learning about this history.

• Scholarly Roots of Writing Studies’ Best Practices

  These sources showcase some of the scholarship that led to the development of Writing Studies’ best practices, such as process pedagogy, critical self-reflection, and writing-to-learn strategies.

• Sample Assignments

  Use these sample assignments designed by UMass instructors and others either as-is or as inspiration to design your own writing activities and prompts that address a variety of technologies.

• The Current Conversation About ChatGPT

  This section offers a curated overview of the vast public conversation happening around ChatGPT.