Why write? There’s ChatGPT for that

If you think I will provide answers to all your questions about Chatgbt, then sorry to burst your bubble: you’ll probably end up with more questions than when you started reading this article. But first things first: what is chatgbt?

According to Wikipedia:

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI and released in November 2022. The name "ChatGPT" combines "Chat", referring to its chatbot functionality, and "GPT", which stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, a type of large language model (LLM).[2] ChatGPT is built upon OpenAI's foundational GPT models, specifically GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, and has been fine-tuned (an approach to transfer learning) for conversational applications using a combination of supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.

Redefining Teaching Writing in the era of AI: ChatGPT Friend and Foe:

Now is the time to think about what sets us humans apart from bots. What skill(s) do we humans (still) possess for now that AI can’t replicate?

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In one word, the answer is: human interaction [ok two words]

Now more than ever is it important to think about writing as a dynamic interaction between the writer, the artifact, the reader, and yes, the teacher that completes the interactive cycle of writing.

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Chatgpt is literally redefining what the act of writing really means, what teaching writing means, and what testing writing entails including new security measures ??needed.

Traditionally, teaching writing focused on the end-product. i.e., the polished paper that was submitted to the teacher. In the 70s and 80s, focus shifted to the writing process itself with its stages of brainstorming, drafting, revising, and polishing. And now, we seem to be moving from process to interaction and negotiation of the final product: and interaction and negotiation is something AI can’t (yet) do [take that in-your-face CHATGPT]

?Dynamic Assessment: An Interactive Model for Teaching and Assessing Writing:

I have been promoting dynamic assessment as an effective interactive teaching writing model since 2011. I also developed a Hybrid Dynamic Assessment model for assessing writing, and I am extremely happy to learn that it has since been adopted and explored further by other researchers.

Dynamic assessment is basically a model that helps the teacher provide individualized writing support that is within the learner's zone of proximal development.

To learn more about Dynamic Assessment and the Hybrid model, check out my TESOL 2023 presentation below:

Finally, remember the saying: “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime”; well that’s exactly it: bots can produce writing, but they can’t teach you the skill of writing; they might help you score a goal, but they won’t help you play soccer.