The new job of a writing professor in the age of AI: Teaching students when to struggle

I was an early adopter of the wave of generative AI in higher education: I was among the first professors to teach writing and publish in a journal on generative AI and critical thinking, and now I’m part of an interdisciplinary team at Babson College thinking about how AI impacts education, industry, and society.

But that doesn’t mean that I’m fully into AI – and also doesn’t mean that I’m against AI. I am pro-learning. As my co-authors and I argue in a forthcoming book about realizing the promise of higher education, even the most powerful tools are only as good as the learning environments we build around them.

So what does “learning properly” look like in the age of generative AI? It’s about experimenting a lot and working with students as a co-learner when I don’t have all the answers, while also being rigorously committed to sharing my expertise in writing, critical thinking, and learning. I also hope that they trust me enough to follow my lead and persevere when the work…