A Connecticut Teacher Tries AI with Student Writing
“Every time I give a writing assignment to my students,” says seventh-grade ELA teacher Katie Durkin in MiddleWeb, “I am overwhelmed by what they create, but also disappointed in myself that I can’t provide more support. I try my hardest to give feedback to all of them during the writing process, but I always feel like I’m falling short.” In the past, she’s been hesitant to use artificial intelligence, but this year decided to try using SchoolAI, an educational chatbot.
Durkin offers three provisos up front: (a) AI didn’t replace the writing conferences that have always been part of her classes. “There is something extremely important about feedback from a human being that changes the way a writer approaches their writing,” she says. (b) Before using SchoolAI with a whole class, Durkin gave it a trial run with a few students to see if the feedback was helpful and grade-appropriate. She and her guinea-pig students were impressed and kids were excited to put the bot’s feedback to work. (c) Durkin did not use the chatbot for students’ final grades. Here’s how she used SchoolAI:
• The Education Coach feature – This gave students immediate feedback on their realistic fiction stories. Durkin drafted the following prompt for all students to use:
I am writing a realistic fiction story that develops a main character who is dealing with a conflict. This conflict will unfold in multiple scenes in my story. I will need to develop a setting, an organized and logical plot, and a major theme for my realistic fiction story. I must include a flashback. This is in draft form. I would like for you to give me feedback on my story, using multiple author’s techniques such as creating believable characters, grounding dialogue in scenes, SHOW, don’t TELL details, and proper grammar.
After each student entered the prompt, SchoolAI asked them to import their story. What happened next, says Durkin, “was nothing short of magical.” Students got specific suggestions in bullet-point paragraphs on what could be improved in parts of their stories that needed work. Students also got compliments on what was effective – for example, on how a character was developed. Most important, says Durkin, SchoolAI did not provide students with polished texts showing how a passage should read; students had to use the questions and suggestions to craft better prose. Suggestions also served as a starting point for in-person conferences that she and classmates led.
• The Essay Grading Assistant feature - This assessed students’ edited stories on the criteria in the rubric Durkin provided. As with the Coach feature, the chatbot gave students specific suggestions and compliments as well as a point-by-point assessment. Durkin was most impressed with the grammar feedback, with prompts on capitalization, punctuation, and run-on sentences. Looking at a detailed SchoolAI data report, Durkin was able to plan follow-up conferences with students in certain areas. After making final edits and revisions, students handed in their stories and she decided on final grades.
“I personally believe that AI is going to change education,” Durkin concludes. “I think finding ways to teach students to use AI for good rather than evil can only be beneficial for them. It will be important for teachers not to allow students to use AI as a crutch and not to use it as a crutch ourselves. But I don’t think it will take away the personal touch that teachers provide, especially in our role as readers and critiquers of student work.”
“How I’m Using AI Bots with My Writing Classes” by Katie Durkin in MiddleWeb, May 4, 2025; Durkin can be reached at durkinm@wiltonps.org.
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