What Do High School English Students Actually Need to Learn in the Age of AI?
“Can I use ChatGPT for this?”
Ahhhh the modern classroom refrain… and that’s when they ask.
So what can we do about it? The rise of AI has made it clear: if students can outsource our assignments to a robot, maybe we have to rethink this whole shebang. With teachers regulated to playing detective and students tempted to give up their learning to machines, it feels like the right moment to ask the bigger question: what should students actually be learning in English class?
Luckily, (or not) English lovers have had to spend YEARS explaining the importance of an English eduction–in high school and beyond! We know:
how to advocate for the critical thinking skills that close reading requires.
that in order to write an orderly paper, you have to have an orderly mind, which is 90% of what we want students to learn.
that writing and reading creatively give students skills to deal with the most challenging things in life and strengthen the link between the mind, the heart, and the hands.
that learning to analyze a variety of texts will lead to young people who can filter all the information that the world throws at them with a critical lens–and hopefully have the ability to distinguish what is real from what is not.
that literature opens a window to the past and to the experience of others with a depth that is hard to achieve in any other media.
that being patient when reading a poem can teach us about the intricate connections between all living things and open the door to a profound feeling of connectedness.
Ultimately, we know that reading literature regularly and closely, learning to express ourselves through writing, and gaining experience speaking in front of others and listening closely to others is critical for whatever our future looks like
This is all well and good, but at this moment, what can we do to ensure that students actually learn these skills and don’t just outsource their thinking to AI? I have a few ideas here and I’d love to hear what you’re coming up with!
Discussion, discussion, discussion.
Students can’t fake discussion. There’s no way to outsource on the spot classroom communication to anyone else. My essential elements to creating a strong discussion are:
Choose texts that you love, are of interest to your particular students, and ones that you’re able to breathe real life into.
Spend time crafting the best discussion questions that you can based on the material that you KNOW your students will be interested in discussing.
Set the expectation that everyone will contribute and link it to some sort of grading incentive or essential classroom routine.
Try out different discussion strategies to see what works for you and your students!
If you want a discussion-based unit that’s completely prepped for you (and, bonus, ends with the perfect PBL podcasting project) check out my Poetry Unbound Mini Poetry Unit. And if you want to go all in on a discussion-based novel study unit, I have a full unit for popular Red Rising!
2. Creative Assignments
I do still believe that learning to write well is a critical skill, not because students will necessarily need to write essays in an AI future, but because of how learning to write transforms the brain.
Luckily, you can have students do the analysis work of essays with creative assignments of all sorts! Some ideas are to:
make collages
work with paints
create dioramas
act out scenes
put together costumes
fancast novels with reasoning, etc.
And, bonus is that you can have them do all of this during class (with less time than a novel), so you can control their computer usage. Add in a handwritten analytical statement and you’ve got a good idea of where they are at!
If you need a starting point, check out my Creative Projects Freebie or my free Fan Fiction Creative Writing Prompts
3. Group Work
While group work isn’t anyone’s favorite, when we think about the skills that we can teach students, working with others has to be top of the list. Most careers students step into will require clear communication, delegation, and teamwork. Let’s help them get there now.
Tips for making group work effective:
Know your students’ strengths and group accordingly
Assign roles or checkpoints to keep things balanced
Offer creative, open-ended tasks that allow for multiple contributions
Check in often and be present all around the classroom
Don’t Give Up!
Whatever you decide to do in your classroom to answer the rise of AI, don’t give up hope! Our students need real teachers who work their hardest to teach them real, actionable skills. What we teach in English is as important as ever, we just need to get a little more creative in the delivery :)