Asking Students to Use AI to Review Their Work Before Submission
Overview
Students input their draft, the assignment instructions, and the rubric into at least two generative AI tools to get suggestions for revision.
Why Use This?
Students build AI literacy in a practical way by using AI tools to get specific, actionable feedback they can use to improve their written work. These tools can also point out spelling and grammar issues, helping students edit their work and saving instructors grading time. By asking students to explore and evaluate different tools, this activity fosters reflection and critical thinking about AI as well.
How Does It Work?
Students are given an AI prompt in which they ask the tool to review their draft against the assignment instructions, rubric, and any other relevant information. The AI tool then gives the student tailored feedback for making improvements. Students apply these suggestions to their drafts before submitting their final versions.
Here are sample instructions for the activity:
Sample Instructions
Step 1. Choose at least two AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.).
Step 2. Use the fill-in-the-blank template to complete your prompt, and then submit it to your AI tool.
“You are my instructor for an online course. Use the following information to give me feedback to improve my work. Please tell me where there are grammar and spelling errors. This is the assignment instructions ______ (copy and paste it in). This is the rubric ______ (copy and paste in). This is my work _____ (copy and paste it in).”
Note: If the prompt above exceeds the AI tool’s character limit, submit smaller chunks at a time.
Step 3. Carefully evaluate the tool’s response, also called the output, checking for quality and accuracy. Submit follow-up information or questions to the AI tool as needed (e.g., what do you mean by ____?, please give me specific examples, etc.). You may also consider rewriting your prompt to get an improved response.
Step 4. Include a paragraph with your assignment describing your experience using AI tools. Answer the following: Which tools did you use? Which do you think did a better job and why? Any other thoughts?
Keep In Mind
- Consider using this activity a few lessons into the semester so you have a general baseline of a student’s initial performance and writing style.
- It is important to pay special attention to the accuracy of the information the student gets from the AI tool and provide the correct information where appropriate. Students may not have the expertise to recognize false information, and AI tools can sometimes “hallucinate” or make up their own information to answer a prompt, including making up false or nonexistent sources.