ChatGPT Has Eaten My Assignment: A Student-Centric Experiment on Supervising Writing Processes in the AI Era

Paper in proceeding, 2024

AI-powered text generation tools have brought about a profound shift in students' approaches to writing assignments, prompting the need for writing supervisors to gain a deeper understanding of how these tools can effectively tackle conventional university assignments. This ongoing work presents a documented and student-centered experiment where such tools are used for crafting the final assignment in a higher education course. Through the lens of a reflective essay, the study provides insights into the experiment's nuances and offers practical considerations that can prove invaluable to writing supervisors. Despite being introduced in late 2022, ChatGPT, a prominent AI language model, has quickly become a focal point in higher education research. This work distinguishes itself from existing literature by presenting a practical guide tailored for writing supervisors involved in overseeing diverse writing processes. By documenting a student's firsthand experience using ChatGPT to generate a self-assessment plan within the context of a university writing supervision course, the study not only explores the benefits and challenges of integrating AI tools but also underscores the importance of responsible usage. In particular, this work furnishes valuable insights for writing supervisors navigating the evolving landscape of AI-driven writing tools, offering a nuanced understanding of their practical implications.