ASU launches ‘AI-Informed Writing Classroom’
“Talking to AI 2.0” symbolizes the interactions between humans and current AI tools, which reflect and sometimes distort human input. Image by Yutong Liu & Kingston School of Art/Better Images of AI/CC-BY 4.0
“How do I know what I think until I see what I say?”
This question, attributed to novelist E.M. Forster, alludes to the role of writing in discovery and cognition.
Research: AI's persuasive power
ASU is a co-host of the 2026 RhetAI Coalition Summit: Training AlphaPersuade 2.0 on March 26 in Irvine, California. The gathering will feature experts from across industry, academia, government and not-for-profits who are working together to address AI’s increasingly nuanced ability to persuade human behavior. Learn more.
In 2026, the existence of large-language model AIs may seem to render the teaching of writing as obsolete. But scientific studies have confirmed what Forster was articulating. The act of writing can itself extend the thought process and help construct mental models — it can even help bypass working memory and access resources from long-term memory for more profound learning.
In essence: Writing is thinking. This fact means that two things are simultaneously true: 1. Students continue to need writing instruction. 2. Students must learn how to traverse the ever-shifting terrain of generative language technology.
Students at Arizona State University will soon be part of a major overhaul of the university’s first-year writing curriculum aimed at creating a new learning paradigm with the above duality in mind. Going forward, most ASU Writing Programs courses will integrate generative artificial intelligence.
Dubbed The AI-Informed Writing Classroom, the project began in January. The first phase involves structured AI-learning opportunities for faculty who teach writing at ASU and focus groups for ASU students. The second phase involves implementation.
A focus on meeting students where they are
Professor of English Roger Thompson is the director of Writing Programs in the Department of English, which administers all Tempe campus English 101 and 102 courses, as well as some specialty courses, both in person and online, like English 302: Business Writing and English 216: Persuasive Writing. Thompson is also co-director of the RhetAI Coalition, a research working group made up of academics and industry representatives that investigates “the persuasive power of AI.”
Thompson is outspoken about the need to embrace and not avoid AI, as a way to both remain “in the conversation” and to influence further iterations of the tools.
“Because nearly all students come through first-year writing, we see this as a profound responsibility,” Thompson said. “We recognize that students are fully immersed in technologies that shape their daily lives and decision-making.”
He likened the situation to students being caught in an AI “riptide,” at the mercy of the persuasive power of new tech tools.
“We can’t just urge students to swim to shore, or even swim parallel to the shore,” he said, extending the ocean metaphor. “We need to get out in the water with them. And we need to show them how to build their own boats.”
The Writing Programs’ initiative is guided by the ASU Provost’s Office AI course design policy already in place, which emphasizes “responsible innovation” and includes sample syllabus language and self-paced courses for faculty, staff and administrators.
The AI-Informed Writing Classroom goes a step further. This spring, the program initiated a colloquium series that invites local, national and international AI experts to ASU for conversations and training with writing faculty and staff. Topics to be explored include computational rhetoric, writing assessment and what Thompson calls “digital wellness” — an AI safety-focused module.
The first session took place Jan. 28 and featured Justin Reich, the director of the Teaching Systems Lab at MIT. Reich gave an accessible AI primer, calling his presentation “A Guide for the Perplexed.” On Feb. 4, Karl Bakeman, head of AI strategy at W.W. Norton, shared how AI is affecting the publishing industry.
“Generative AI and LLMs, in particular, are language and literacy technologies,” said Thompson. “And because we are frontline language and literacy faculty, we offer one of the best opportunities to ensure our students are supported.”
Writing Programs faculty, staff and students are invited to join working groups to consider specific emerging issues, and the program will host town halls for open discussion.
During the remainder of this spring, the project will be in exploration mode. Writing Programs will both gather and share information about research-informed practices. Discipline-specific training and access to enterprise-level tools are available to writing faculty so they may level up technology skills and help test products for future use.
In addition, a cohort of ASU Online undergraduates are co-principle investigators on a research grant funded by The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ OURS program. The students are helping test and evaluate a set of AI writing technologies.
Redesigning — not reinventing — the wheel for the 21st century
By fall 2026, Thompson expects to implement curricular changes, which may include lesson plans for ethical use of generative AI, shared modules for exploring AI in writing classrooms, and strategies for using new AI tools in the writing process — including how best to disclose such use.
“Our hope is that by equipping students to engage literacy technologies in ethical ways,” Thompson said, “we build a stronger community of learners.”
Rigorous explorations of AI have been part of some writing classes since at least 2023. In 2024, Department of English researchers successfully completed a National Endowment for the Humanities-funded project exploring integration of AI into a few select business writing courses. That effort was led by Humanities Institute Director Ron Broglio and then-Writing Programs Director Kyle Jensen, a professor of English who is now assistant dean of AI and emerging digital technologies in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Using gen AI led to reduction in grammar and surface-level errors; however, the typical issues with coherence and development persisted.
Kathleen HicksDirector of online programs, ASU Department of English
“Working at ASU is exciting because there is a broad network of support from the Provost’s Office and Enterprise Technology for the types of initiatives that Roger is proposing,” Jensen said. “Writing teachers have been integrating cutting-edge tech into their classes for many years. This support affirms our longstanding commitment to preparing students for 21st-century writing environments.”
Director of Online Programs Kathleen Hicks, who incorporated AI into business writing classes as part of the 2024 NEH study, presented some of her findings at the inaugural Future of Learning Community Fest in 2024, including how students who used AI to help with writing struggled to articulate their own ideas effectively.
“Using gen AI led to reduction in grammar and surface-level errors; however, the typical issues with coherence and development persisted,” she said.
Hicks shared these findings with colleague Andrea Dickens, an associate teaching professor in Writing Programs. Dickens then updated several modules of the online business writing course, which now includes hands-on training in, and discussion of, issues surrounding generative AI.
“Our students have been curious about what they’ll see AI used for in the workplace, and it’s exciting to give them the space to explore,” Dickens said. “Helping them develop AI prompting skills has given them a confidence boost as they prepare for internships and jobs.”
With the critical mass of AI expertise at ASU coupled with the university’s access mission — designed to meet the needs of learners at scale — Thompson sees a clear path forward.
“Be with students. Be with students. Be with students,” he exhorted Writing Programs faculty at a January kickoff event.
“We are a vibrant community of learners, scholars and teachers who have students' best interests at heart. We are aligned as a program.”
And a return to the ocean metaphor: “We have a special role to play in helping our students navigate all this.”
More Arts, humanities and education
ASU English professor wins NAACP Image Award for fiction
Nnedi Okorafor can’t imagine writing a book that wasn’t personal to her.In fact, Okorafor, a professor of practice in Arizona State University’s Department of English, knows she wouldn’t be…
A loaf of bread, a sense of community
It’s just past 8:30 on a Wednesday morning and already more than 50 people are in line waiting for Barrio Bread bakery in Tucson, Arizona, to open.The doors to the bakery, located just east of…
ASU Gammage unmasks new Broadway season with return of 'Phantom of the Opera'
ASU Gammage has unveiled its 2026–2027 Desert Financial Broadway Across America-Arizona Broadway season with a dynamic blend of Tempe premieres, beloved classics and acclaimed new hits.It’s launching…