Keeping It Real: Centering Creativity, Voice, and Choice  in AI-Enhanced Learning

MyFEST

July 31, 2025

Heba Fathelbab & Mariah Fairley

Agenda

• Benefits & challenges of AI in education
• Exploratory activities
• As/in support of course assignments:
• Planning
• Development
• Reflection
• Voice
• Assessment
• Student feedback on AI approach

Warm up

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Type in the Chat

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What is a word that comes to mind when you think of the benefits of using AI in student learning?

What is a word that comes to mind when you think of the challenges of using AI in student learning?

Benefits of

Encouraging Critical Thinking & Creativity

Enhanced Engagement

Instant Feedback & Assessment

Efficient Study Assistance & 24/7 Learning Support

Preparing Students for the Future

AI

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5

Challenges and Considerations

Data Privacy

AI Bias

Student Learning

Student Voice

Training for AI

Ethical Considerations

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5

6

Approaches to AI Use

Heba’s Course

Mariah’s Course

• Intentional integration of AI as a core research tool
• Process-focused, iterative engagement with AI
• Human agency and critical oversight
• Transparent documentation of AI involvement
• Explicit acknowledgment of AI’s role
• Development of critical digital literacy
• Ethical and responsible AI use

• Developing agency & accountability (not policing)
• Space for freedom of choice
• Emphasis on critical thinking and rationale for choices
• Experiential learning cycle (experimentation, reflection,

goal setting)

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Activities

& Assignments

7

Exploratory Activities

Discussion

on stances and thoughts towards � AI use

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How to prompt AI

AI Prompting guidelines

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AI engagement challenge

Group Work

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Discussion about AI

Prompting � AI

AI

Engagement

Discussion: Agree or disagree

Instructions (F2F class)

• Decide how far you agree with the following statements and stand on the point in the line corresponding to your decision
• Discuss with those near you
• Share with whole class

Online adaptation: Discuss in breakout rooms

Statements:

1. I think we should let AI write for us
2. I can tell when writing is AI generated
3. I would find it valuable to read a piece of writing generated by AI
4. We should inform readers when we have used AI in our writing
5. I am confident in my abilities to use AI tools to help me in my academic writing

Prompt AI

Instructions

• Imagine you want to use AI to support a classroom activity or lesson. Write a prompt you could give AI to help you plan or enhance this activity.
• Take 2 minutes to write your own prompt for AI, focusing on a real classroom need.
• Feed prompt to an AI tool

Reflection

• Was it easy or challenging to come up with the prompt?
• Was the output from AI what you expected?
• What are important guidelines you should share with students before they begin prompting AI?

AI Guidelines

• Write a clear project description: Briefly explain your project’s purpose, intended audience, and the specific outputs you want AI to generate
• Assign AI a role: Specify an identity, point-of-view, or profession for AI to adopt that matches your task (e.g., teacher, historian, scientist)
• Provide project context: Share background information, reasons for the project, or important facts to help AI tailor its response
• Specify output details: Clearly state the type of output you want (e.g., list, summary, dialogue), as well as tone, length, style, structure, or required research
• Set rules and constraints: Include any topics, examples, or words to avoid, and any must-have elements or formatting requirements
• Give output examples: Show or describe the style, format, or tone you expect by providing a sample or model

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AI Engagement Challenge!

Part 1 Instructions:

• Discuss: What makes writing engaging to read?
• In groups, look at the two examples on this document and discuss the questions together
• Share key points about what makes writing engaging
• Share with class. Anything to add?

Part 2 Instructions:

• With your group, select an issue in your community that you all care about.
• Ask AI to write a paragraph about it
• Prompt AI in as many ways as you can to make it more engaging

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Reflect

• Discuss what makes each group paragraph engaging or not to you as a reader and why.
• How much ownership do you feel over this writing?
• How did you feel about writing this way?
• Takeaways?

�Research Assignment �(Heba’s Course)

Heba’s course

• Semester-long project
• Topic: Future Thinking with AI

Explore possible future aspects in � society using generative AI as a � creative research partner

• 3 main stages
• Part X: Planning — Generate and refine ideas with AI; select and develop the most promising concepts through critical engagement and iterative drafting.
• Part Y: Development — Expand on a selected idea, integrating research; use AI to support writing
• Part Z: Reflection — Independently reflect on the process, documenting personal learning, challenges, and insights gained from collaborating with AI throughout the project.

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�Autoethnography Assignment �(Mariah’s Course)

Heba’s course

• Semester long project
• Autoethnography: Explore self in relation to society for purpose of transformation (Ellis et al., 2011)

4 main stages

• Exploring passion & making a difference through journaling and analysis to develop a meaningful research question
• Writing a rationale for RQ
• Exploring & developing theoretical connections to frame exploration of RQ
• Exploring & developing answers to RQ

Embedded throughout

• Ongoing reflection & planning for AI

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�Structure of AI Assignments

Heba’s course

Model for developing research skills, integrating AI tools, and fostering critical thinking in academic writing

Planning

Brainstorming, generating ideas & learning to prompt

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Data analysis for developing a research question

Brainstorming

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Students generate ideas using AI to explore key issues in assigned topic.

Students learn to critically prompt AI until desired outcome.

Instructions

• Review the assignment goals and understand how AI will support your creative exploration.
• Brainstorm possible future scenarios related to your assigned topic.
• Use AI to generate multiple ideas and expand on your brainstorming.
• Save all your prompts and AI responses in a dedicated document or folder.
• Review the AI-generated ideas, select the most promising ones, and write a brief rationale for your selection.
• Refine your chosen idea(s) with AI, adding detail and addressing challenges as needed.

Data analysis for developing RQ

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Main Task:

Identify a research question about how you can use your passion to make a difference

Data Generation:

Journal on six prompts related to passion and making a difference.

Data Analysis:

• Go through all your data & make notes on what strikes you in relation to passion
• Create mind map or list with all points that strike you
• Ask AI to analyze your data in relation to passion
• Review output and add more points to your mind map
• Highlight one or two key ideas that really resonate
• Generate possible RQs and ask AI for further suggestions
• Discuss with partners & finalize your RQ

Planning

1

Prompt: What is one truly innovative way to engage students in today’s classroom?

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2

Discuss in groups

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3

Prompt AI for ideas (use guidelines) & agree on one answer

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4

Reflect

How did you feel about using AI in this activity?

�Activity

AI Guidelines

• Write a clear project description: Briefly explain your project’s purpose, intended audience, and the specific outputs you want AI to generate
• Assign AI a role: Specify an identity, point-of-view, or profession for AI to adopt that matches your task (e.g., teacher, historian, scientist)
• Provide project context: Share background information, reasons for the project, or important facts to help AI tailor its response
• Specify output details: Clearly state the type of output you want (e.g., list, summary, dialogue), as well as tone, length, style, structure, or required research
• Set rules and constraints: Include any topics, examples, or words to avoid, and any must-have elements or formatting requirements
• Give output examples: Show or describe the style, format, or tone you expect by providing a sample or model

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Development

Heba’s Course

Mariah’s Course

• Students refine one idea from Planning stage, conducting literature reviews, structuring arguments, and incorporating sources using AI.
• Develop drafts
• Students manually edit AI output so that it expresses their own opinions
• AI support in proofreading for grammar and spelling

• Goal setting
• Theoretical connections
• Developing an answer to RQ
• AI support in proofreading for grammar/ spelling, & organization
• AI disclosure statement

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Development

1

Find a source or theory to support your topic: What is one truly innovative way to engage students in today’s classroom?

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2

Reflect on the activity and share insights

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�Activity

Reflection

Journal Reflection & Peer Review

Final Reflection

Journal Reflection

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Students write journal entries throughout the assignment, including a final reflection, and assess how AI influenced their work and writing approach

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Students also reflect on what worked well with AI and challenges faced.

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Instructions

• What did you do in this stage of the project?
• How did you use AI?
• What new ideas or perspectives did AI suggest that you hadn’t considered?
• How did you decide which AI-generated ideas to keep, adapt, or discard?
• What challenges or surprises did you encounter while working with AI?
• How did your thinking or approach change as a result of using AI?
• What steps did you take to ensure your work remained original and aligned with assignment goals?
• What will you focus on or do differently in the next phase?

Peer Review (specific to AI)

Before reviewing, share and discuss:

• How do you feel about your draft?
• What choices did you make for AI use and why?
• How do you feel about those choices?
• Comment on your sense of ownership & achievement, your voice & engagement as a writer
• What concerns do you have?

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During review

• Which parts are most engaging and why? Where does your attention drop?
• How credible does the writing feel to you?
• How do you feel about the writer’s choices with AI from a reader’s perspective?
• Respond to any concerns your partner mentioned
• What recommendations do you have related to their AI use?

Final Reflection

• How did using AI shape your research process and creative thinking throughout the project?
• In what ways did AI support or challenge your ability to generate and refine ideas?
• What were the most significant benefits and limitations you experienced when collaborating with AI?
• How did you balance AI-generated content with your own analysis, judgment, and creativity?
• What strategies did you develop to prompt, evaluate, and revise AI outputs effectively?
• How has your perspective on the role of AI in academic or creative work changed as a result of this project?
• What skills or insights will you carry forward into future work with AI or other digital tools?
• If you were to repeat this project, what would you do differently and why?

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Part 1: Reflect on your relationship with writing and your choices with AI use this semester:

• What have you learned about yourself as a writer this semester? How has your relationship with writing changed, if at all, over the course of this semester? Why? Here you could consider:
• How do you feel about writing?
• What conditions make you feel most and least like you want to write? Why?
• What are your strengths as a writer?
• What is your current personal philosophy on AI use for your writing? Explain. You can consider:
• What do and don't you believe you personally should use AI for? Why?
• Your sense of ownership and your writer's voice

Part 2: Write about your goals as a writer going forward:

• Who are you becoming as a writer going forward? Focus on one or two main points as goals you want to work towards and briefly describe.

Reflection activity

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Reflect on how you felt using AI and what insights you have gained so far

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Voice

28

Voice Mind Map Activity

Debrief:

What did you learn from this activity?

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What do you want your writer’s voice to be and do in your writing piece? Make a mind map or list. (5 min)

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Maintaining Student Voice with AI Use

Students are required to use critical thinking in prompting AI and assess AI-generated content for gaps, or misinterpretations, ensuring their own voice remains centered

AI-generated drafts can used as starting points or to revise, but students refine and personalize their arguments through multiple revisions

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Students receive guidance to ensure their work maintains authenticity and reflects their own academic growth through self-assessment, peer and instructor feedback

Use a clear rubric for evaluation adapted to incorporate use of AI and voice

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The reflection phase ensures that students reflect on their use of AI, ownership, and engagement

Encouraging Personal Reflection

Emphasizing Critical Thinking

Analyzing AI output

Feedback

Adapted rubric

Assessment

31

Assessment

Planning

Generation of ideas

Criticality of prompts

AI Iterations

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Development

Process work

Manual Editing

Final Research Paper

References

Reflection

Journal & Peer

Final Reflection

1

2

3

Examples of rubrics

AI Rubric

Final Paper

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Giving us this freedom helped me… develop my own strong opinion of my AI use… like when and when I shouldn't use AI and… I wanted my autoethnography to be more personal, and I knew that AI couldn't do that… because there's no depth, and it doesn't have the personal experiences that we have so it just felt very shallow. – Lily

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-- FY Student

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I really appreciated the fact that you encouraged us to be honest about how and where we used AI… so then I never felt like I was kind of in danger of getting a lower mark, or I never felt a sense of unfairness or injustice in some people using AI and some people not using AI. – Laura

Student Reflections on AI

When I was trying to use AI for the actual writing, I didn't find this helpful. But the main thing it helped me with was to pick out sources. Instead of having to read through multiple books or very long articles, I'd have Chat GPT summarize them for me so I could pick out a few and then read those and use them in my writing. That was the main use, like as a research tool, not as a writing tool. – Ahmed

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I think because you encouraged us to be so transparent and honest, that's what I was… It made me not want to use AI as much, because… then what's the point of me being in this class? So [honesty] was just really helpful in letting myself try. And then I could resort to the use of AI. I was very, very confused in the beginning, so I went to AI because I wanted a structure that would make sense… and be nice to read. – Fateema

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WRAP-UP

Share one take-away from today’s session with the group

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Contact

Heba Fathelbab

heba.f@aucegypt.edu

Any Questions?

Mariah Fairley

mariah@aucegypt.edu