Nov 11, 2023
Writing is more than just writing:Texts as learning tools, with & without AI
Writing academic texts plays a central role, especially in the humanities and social sciences. Nevertheless, writing didactic formats are rarely integrated into subject-specific courses, and seminars on academic work and writing are often only optional. And yet academic writing is taken for granted by students as a hidden skill.
On September 26, the Digital Teaching Team (TDL) GSW, in cooperation with the Writing Center of TU Dresden (SZD), therefore invited teachers and students to the second GSW Spotlight Day, which this year focused on the topic "Leading: Writing in Teaching". With theoretical input and interactive writing exercises, the writing speakers provided a varied and informative program. The online workshop day was rounded off by presentations from committed lecturers who reported on their experiences with writing in teaching. In the subsequent discussion rounds, participants were able to discuss their ideas, questions and thoughts.
Using texts as learning tools
The main findings were that writing is fundamentally not a linear process, but also involves reading and speaking. A text is therefore not just a product to be measured in a single examination performance, but also a learning tool as a process. It became clear that this must have an impact on the design of the examination formats. One possibility is to divide writing tasks for portfolio performances into several subtasks, which are either worked on in different phases of the writing process or can be tried out in different text types.
The "best practices" presented showed that the quality of assignments could be significantly improved simply by incorporating regular writing exercises. The students were also able to reflect much better on their own learning processes and types of writing, engage in a more critical exchange with each other and develop very concise research questions that can be applied beyond the individual courses. The services offered by the SZD for teachers and students as well as the TextLab of the SLUB Dresden cannot be appreciated enough, especially for writing-intensive courses (in the humanities and social sciences).
In discussion: generative language models
Another current topic is the question of how writing models influence writing in university teaching. Writing models are computer-aided systems that can generate texts. They are already being used in various areas, e.g. in translation, text generation and text analysis.
In university teaching, writing models can be used for various purposes, e.g. students can be supported in writing texts, for example by providing writing templates or by correcting grammar and spelling.AI systems can also be used for self-assessment and provide feedback, for example by analyzing structure, coherence and style.
However, it is clear that there are still some misunderstandings about the function of writing models that give rise to doubts about their use.For example, there are fears that too much reliance is being placed on writing models and that individual writing skills are being neglected.
Overall, the use of AI systems in writing is a promising approach that can support and promote writing in university teaching. However, it is important to consider the challenges and minimize them through appropriate measures.
The TDL and SZD teams hope that all participants enjoyed the highlight day as much as they did, and that perhaps one or two new inspirations could be found for their own courses.
Further information and all presentations as OER can be found in the OPAL course for the Schlaglichttag 2023 (in German).
Dr. Josephine Klingebeil & Bard (Google)
© TUD | Michael Kretzschmar
Employee to support virtual teaching
NameDr. Josephine Klingebeil
Faculty of Linuistics, Literature and Cultural Studies
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The Writing Center of the TU Dresden (SZD) supports students and lecturers with offers for planning and writing various texts in studies such as vouchers, protocols, seminar papers and theses and for teaching academic writing in teaching and supervision. All information about offers and possibilities of support can be found in the areas for students and teachers.