The chapter describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of repeated peer review assignments in a health sciences program. Details of the assignment, quantitative and qualitative indirect assessments, and considerations for implementing this type of assignment in other courses are provided.

We use a continuous improvement model to evaluate an information design assignment by analyzing 120 student drafts and finals alongside instructor feedback. Using data from across sections (N = 118), we illustrate a process focused on improving student learning that other technical and professional communication program administrators and faculty…

Many previous studies have compared automated analyses to writing experts' assessments, and less is known about the relationship between such features and content instructors' assessments of writing. The data analysed in this study is part of a larger study investigating growth in academic writing skills during undergraduate study. In this…

Reflective Learning Journals are used to engage students in the learning process. To motivate students to complete the Reflective Learning Journal it is common practice to allocate marks and it is in this area that problems arise. To address the problems rubrics have been used however, most rubrics are based on assigning marks to very…

One of the most significant and yet often overlooked challenges for university students is decoding what their instructors expect from their assignments. Better understanding those expectations and the vocabulary and grammar needed to achieve them are the motivations behind this investigation. Eleven experienced instructors within an Australian…

This essay examines the potential impact of paid-for or premium language models, where some students may be able to afford advanced models generating superior outputs while others could face inequities due to financial constraints. It explores how this dynamic can exacerbate the digital divide, challenge traditional as well as more recent…

Background: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) represents a potentially powerful, time-saving tool for grading student essays. However, little is known about how AI-generated essay scores compare to human instructor scores. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the essay grading scores produced by AI with those of human…

In fewer than two years, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has transformed the educational experience for both students and faculty. Writing feedback and evaluation tools like MyEssayFeedback, EssayGrader, and Markr have been released with the promise that faculty will be able to focus more on teaching than simply grading. However, the…

Student plagiarism has challenged educators for decades, with heightened paranoia following the advent of the Internet in the 1980's and ready access to easily copied text. But plagiarism will look like child's play next to new developments in AI-based natural-language processing (NLP) systems that increasingly appear to "write" as…

A longstanding criticism of traditional high-stakes writing assessments is their use of static prompts in which test takers compose a single text in response to a prompt. These static prompts do not allow measurement of the writing process. This paper describes the development and validation of an innovative interactive writing task. After the…

Although peer review has been widely used for formative assessment in writing instruction, there remain concerns about whether assessors are at a sufficient writing performance level that would allow them to identify major problems in the reviewed work and provide helpful feedback to improve draft quality. Little empirical research has examined…

This study explores undergraduate students' use of ChatGPT when writing essays. Three students were tasked with writing two essays each for a coursework component for a Cambridge qualification facilitated by access to ChatGPT. After writing the essays, they participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences of using the technology.…

Feedback is crucial in the learning process, yet many students struggle to engage with teacher feedback effectively. This study explores the potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence (gen-AI) to enhance student engagement with feedback in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing. Using a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and…

Despite the popularity of automated writing evaluation (AWE) that has provoked an increased scholarly interest, synthesized research to comprehensively understand its pedagogical effects is still in paucity. To fill the gap, this study aims to meta-analyse the overall effect of AWE on learners' writing skill development and whether the effect…

Recent developments in AI technologies and the increasing accessibility of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, have raised concerns about academic integrity in higher education. Thus, this research aims to shed light on the challenges faced by English as a Second Language (ESL) lecturers in identifying AI-generated texts, and highlighting the skills and…