A new educational research project is set to explore the potential of AI feedback as a “booster” to traditional methods, enhancing the depth of students’ understanding and capacity to apply argumentation and reasoning across contexts. This research aims to compare the quality of feedback from teachers, peers, and AI, and examine how these feedback sources impact students’ writing development.
The project ‘Artificial Intelligence as a Source of Feedback for Enhancing Students’ Argumentative Essay Writing: A Replacement for Teacher and Peer Feedback or a Booster?’ leverages AI, specifically ChatGPT, to enhance argumentation skills in higher education—an essential ability for analyzing diverse perspectives and making informed decisions on global and societal challenges. Argumentative essay writing is a key academic activity, yet many students struggle with structuring their arguments due to its cognitive demands. While feedback is crucial for improving writing quality, providing timely, personalized, and high-quality feedback is challenging for teachers due to workload constraints, and peer feedback can be hindered by emotional and cognitive barriers.
Building blocks for synthesizing knowledge across domains
Critical analysis and argumentation are essential for synthesizing knowledge across domains. AI-supported feedback helps students improve writing, critical thinking, and reasoning skills, enabling them to tackle complex issues. ChatGPT offers continuous practice and nuanced feedback, enhancing these abilities. AI feedback also supports transdisciplinary learning, by aligning with the flexibility needed for transdisciplinary learning environments, students might be sparked to explore topics that require knowledge across different fields. By helping students refine their arguments in diverse contexts, AI bridges disciplinary divides and reinforces transferable adaptable learning. This project explores AI feedback as a “booster” to traditional methods, deepening students’ understanding and argumentation skills across contexts.
Insights into using AI feedback in higher education
This project aims to evaluate the quality of AI-powered feedback compared to teacher and peer feedback and its impact on students’ argumentative essay writing. Practically, it could provide insights into using AI feedback in higher education and optimal instructional designs for ChatGPT in writing assignments. AI feedback could enhance essay quality, address students’ reluctance to trust peer feedback and reduce teachers’ high workload.
More information
Omid Noroozi is an associate professor at WUR’s Education and Learning Sciences chair group. His main focus is on how various Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) environments, such as digital learning environments, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), serious games and simulations, and virtual reality could be best designed to facilitate students’ acquisition of 21st century skills for solving today’s complex and controversial challenges. He reaches the use of these TELs for: 1) scaffolding second-order argumentation-based learning through adaptive fading, 2) fostering students’ argumentative essay writing through scripted peer feedback/feedforward, 3) facilitating acquisition of students’ 21st skills through game-based learning.