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AI-Proof Assignments?

Julianne Horowitz

I am only just scratching the surface of what AI can do for me as a teacher, but it seems students are wayyyy ahead in the race of what AI can do for them as students. I totally get that it can be an amazing tool when used in class the right way, but let's face it: without holding students' hands, most are not using it the "right" way for their school work. At this point I am trying to be as creative as possible and come up with AI-proof assignments. 

Even my go-to artsy "one-pagers" are not as AI-proof as I thought (learned the hard way)!  

I'm wondering if anyone has a few tasks up their sleeve that are hard for kids to accomplish without some original thought and effort?

    ??

  • I’m not sure anything is fully AI proof. However, I do find that when I create assignments that require students to tie their evidence back to specific lessons, worksheets, and slides, I almost always get original work. 

  • I don't think I'm bold enough to claim that I've figured out anything AI-proof, but some things do seem to be more AI-resistant. Some ideas include:

    • analysis of primary documents (hard copy)
    • simulations/debates/hands-on activities
    • prompts that require reflection
    • assignments with creative/visual elements...although now you've got me second-guessing this with your mention of one-pagers!
    • prompts that emphasize analysis, reasoning, and explanation

    This is definitely a moving target as AI evolves and students get more savvy with it. Let's keep this conversation going!

  • in reply to Anne Koschmider

    I can take any picture now of anything and AI can analyze it for me.  An object, or even my whole classroom.  But, having kids analyze what each other is saying, that's AI proof.  Sort of (if they dont record the audio).  Basically you can't send anything home "to do" that can't be done with AI.  Homework is studying something WITH every resource, including AI, and we discuss it in school to demonstrate learning.  We all need to remember the basics, we as teachers assess kids knowledge, not work.  We shouldn't assess, or grade, work ever.  We record what they know and understand.  That can really only ever be done when they have to talk about what they've learned.  They can talk about WHY their essay looks good, or what the purpose of the writing was, or how it convinced or didn't convince others, but writing the essay isn't the skill they'll need to learn anymore.  The final results we look for isn't the essay itself, but what the kid understands about the impact of the communication on others. Evaluation of writing will be around forever, but writing as a skill by itself is passé.

  • in reply to Anne Koschmider

    It's a "moving target" for sure! It's especially hard early in the year because I haven't gotten to know all the students' academic or creative strengths yet. 

    It's really the best and worst tool in the classroom at the same time. Great list though - I'm definitely doing al lot more of these types of tasks with my classes this year.

  • in reply to Bryan Dibble
    Bryan Dibble said:
    but writing the essay isn't the skill they'll need to learn anymore.

    I'm not sure I agree 100% here, after all, so many critical thinking skills go into the writing process, and those skills are transferable across disciplines and art forms.  I'm not ready to jump ship on assessing writing, however, I agree that the emphasis needs to shift more toward evaluative assignments and activities. I am fully on board for more visual and verbal demonstrations of what students are learning, and I'm figuring out the hard way that the at- home work I used to assign doesn't serve that purpose anymore.

  • in reply to Adriane Musacchio

    very true  !

    Also - paper. Lots and lots of paper. Joy

  • in reply to Julianne Horowitz

    I definitely agree  on how difficult this is and how things are constantly changing. I'm trying to just do as much work in class where it would be limited usage. When I do need to have students submit longer written assignments like a research paper, I'm using Turnitin to detect AI usage which limits the amount of AI work I get since they don't want to get caught using it.

  • Hi, Julianne!

    Everything that I have read and all the materials I have researched echo that there is no reliable AI detector to help us flag AI generated writing. In many cases, emerging bilingual kids are falsely flagged because of their developing syntax. 

    Although there are several tools, like Draftback and Brisk Teaching, that create videos for you to see a writer's process in a document from their revision history, that doesn't mitigate a student possibly using two devices to "game" us.

    It seems to me, so far, that the only way to ensure that a student is using their faculty is to invest more in the writing process rather than the finished product. Graphic organizers, diagrams, notecards, etc. can be used to watch the process come together, then you might be able to pick up the arc of the kids' thoughts and how they breathed life into on their own. 

    Sorry, I wish I had a better answer for you! In the end, the key is creating assignments that demand genuine personal engagement, critical thinking, and contextual understanding that AI cannot easily simulate.

  • in reply to Curtis Greeley

    Spoken like a true Guru,  .

    Fun fact: I asked ChatGPT to design an assignment that ChatGPT can't do for a student.  Wasn't impressed with the response, although I agree that it made it a little harder.

    The step-by-step writing approach is definitely best, when time permits. Crazy world we are teaching in, right!!??