Process Feedback: An easy tool for encouraging students to self-reflect and be original in the age of AI

Educators today are confronted with a challenge in addressing students' growing reliance on AI. In particular, educators teaching fundamental skills such as writing, communication, and computer programming feel powerless. Many students, fascinated with all the AI tools that excel at these basic skills, are inclined to use AI prematurely. In this short piece, I will introduce Process Feedback, an innovative educational tool designed to encourage students to engage in insightful writing or coding and to reflect on their work.

Process Feedback is a resource for both students and educators. When students use its online editor to complete their work, it visually shows process-related details such as breaks taken during the writing or coding process, typing fluency, copy-paste events, time spent on each paragraph, time allocated to revision versus content creation, and other relevant information. The tool not only enables students to self-explore and self-learn from their processes but also allows them to download all data and visuals as a comprehensive PDF report to share with their educators. The Process Report includes a link to an interactive report, enabling educators to delve deeper into the data as needed. Armed with the Process Report, educators can offer personalized feedback to students, focusing not only on the outcomes but also on the processes involved.

Our pilot study involving hundreds of students across various educational institutions shows us that the adoption of process-oriented tools such as Process Feedback enhances students' learning experiences and empowers educators (publication under review). Contrary to our initial concerns, we found that students are willing to share their process with educators when informed of the tool's benefits. Moreover, we found that the use of such tools does not impede grading efficiency; instead, they enable educators to grade more quickly by providing instant access to critical details such as time spent, copy-paste events, and revision time.

In future posts, we will discuss how tools such as Process Feedback can enhance students' higher-order thinking, a skill much needed in the age of AI.

Image credits: Subodh Dahal (not AI)