AI was ruining my college philosophy classes. So I assigned a new kind of essay
6 hours ago
- #Collaborative Learning
- #AI in Education
- #Philosophy Teaching
- A philosophy professor at the University of Chicago redesigned essay assignments to combat AI-generated cheating by having students collaborate on a single, class-wide essay.
- The approach involved the professor acting as a co-writer and 'Philosopher King,' guiding continuous discussions, revisions, and collective decision-making with students.
- Students chose their essay topic through voting and a coin flip, ultimately selecting artificial intelligence as the subject, and produced a 10,000-word philosophical essay together.
- Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive, with many noting increased effort, deeper learning, and a sense of doing 'real' philosophy rather than just working for a grade.
- The professor recommends this collaborative method to other educators as a way to preserve the essay format, engage students authentically, and reduce reliance on AI tools.