Blog Archives

Authentic Assessments with AI

Authentic Assessment with AI is a workshop that attempts to align project- based learning with AI supports. Whether researching a topic for an essay, developing an in-class paragraph, or designing a creative project, students can utilize AI independently or with teacher supports to create prompts that address the fundamental structures of an assignment or assessment while also evaluating and reflecting on their decisions in the development of a product. By using authentic assessments with AI, teachers can show students the limitations of AI in this process when it comes to the authentic learning experiences they engage in as well as the critical thinking skills necessary for student success.

Participants will be provided with some purposeful review and examples of project-based learning with practical application for a high school setting or relative experience in middle-school or college. Participants will also explore, design, and outline their own authentic assessment with AI. Organizationally, participants will be provided with an overview of the steps of a project-based learning assessment and will be shown where AI can be used to support student learning. Though not necessary, attendees are suggested to bring a device with access to ChatGPT or MagicSchool AI to allow for some person- alized exploration.

Session materials:

The Nostalgia Project: Discovering Community Through Poetry, History, and Human Impact

In preparation for a return to school following the pandemic in 2021, East Aurora School District partnered with Dr. Badia Ahad, Loyola University Provost, to train staff district-wide on the concept of Nostalgia, Reclamation, Regeneration, and Retribution. Following the training, The Nostalgia Project was born. As an element of a four-part interdisciplinary unit ending with a four- part podcast, students shared their oral and written histories in the format of narrative poetry inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem “Where I’m From” while considering their childhood homes, families, and community. Transitioning to social studies, math, and science, students learned about the history of their city and the diverse immigrant groups that worked to contribute to the identity and uniqueness of where they are from; compiled information about demographics of the area they chose to investigate and created their own data representation with projections; and proposed a way to resolve a social, environmental, or political issue in their city in a way that would benefit the community as a whole. In this session, educators will gain specific knowledge of the project in order to collaborate with their colleagues to provide a rich interdisciplinary experience for students to become experts in their community and to “forge a better future.” Attendees are suggested to bring a device to access links to resources presented during this session.

Session materials: PDF 1; PDF 2

Interactive Lectures and You

In this session, the presenter will demonstrate how interactive lectures (Nearpod, Peardeck, etc.) can introduce literature and literary elements, help students to analyze literature, make note-taking engaging, guide them through self-assessments of their writing, and more. Teachers are always looking to increase student engagement, deepen student reflection, and teach more effectively, and interactive lecture sites can help teachers to reach those goals. Teachers are invited to learn how they can incorporate this option into their current repertoire. Attendees are suggested to bring a laptop or tablet (a phone will work, too) to access the sites featured in the presentation.

Session materials: Nearpod

Future Leaders Speak Out on Refining Our Literary Traditions

Since literary traditions are ever-evolving, it’s crucial to engage with the perspectives of future educators on how to refine and redefine these traditions. This presentation will offer insights and research from pre-service teachers enrolled in the licensure program at Northern Illinois University. These emerging educators represent the next generation of literary leaders, and their voices are instrumental in shaping the future of ELA education. This panel features pre-service teachers at various stages of their licensure program, each offering a unique perspective on the refinement of literary traditions. Through interactive discussions, personal reflections, and practical examples, the presenters will delve into innovative approaches to teaching literature that honor tradition while embracing contemporary voices and perspectives. By amplifying the voices of future leaders in education, this session contribute to the ongoing dialogue about how literature can foster empathy, criticalthinking, and cultural understanding. The presentation will inspire conference attendees to reevaluate their own teaching practices and consider new ways to engage students with literary texts. Areas of focus include: 1) Reimagining canonical texts for diverse classrooms; 2) Integrating contemporary literature into the curriculum; 3) Using technology to enhance literary learning experiences; and 4) Empowering student voices through reader-response pedagogy.

Video Games as Literary Source Material for the Writing Classroom

Video-computer based games emerged as consumer products in the 1970s and now surpass movies, television, and music in terms of worldwide profits. Many of the original text-based games, such as Zork and Deadline had a genre based literary quality to them, and 50 years later we still see literary storytelling in this medium, with both major corporations and independent developers delivering significant texts using varying levels of technology and sophistication.

At the lower level of this, developers often produce low cost material that effectively deals with social and personal issues our students are interested in. Papers Please is a multi-platform game that examines issues around immigration and documentation. One Night, Hot Springs looks at the experience of being trans at a hot spring, while This War of Mine allow us to be a civilian in an urban combat zone (and is a text in Polish history classes). New and exciting games come out frequently, and this is a rich area for texts, which are sophisticated and meet students “where they live.”

We have successfully used video games in the writing classroom, and we are proposing a workshop that presents a number of short low-cost (or free) games to the audience, along with a variety of ways of using them in the classroom. As part of the experience, we would like to engage the participants in an actual lesson in relation to one of the games being presented.

ELA & AI: The Obstacle Course of Future Pedagogy

Generative artificial intelligence (genAI) is disrupting, if not overthrowing, five thousand years of human communication, encompassing the entire existence of the English language. ELA educators must clearly understand the role genAI will play in our classrooms and adapt to technological trends in a vigilant yet open manner.

This session will highlight numerous areas of genAI and how they correspond with English education. Additionally, the presentation will discuss and question our current understanding of genAI and how that affects our understanding of what it means to educate students.

One of the main goals of the presentation is to critically examine the correct role for genAI in ELA education and tangle with the philosophical implications of this moment, and seek the middle ground between accepting all technological innovations without thought and living in a neo-luddite, sequestered classroom space.

Session materials: Slides