The purpose of this research note is to introduce and overview both the teaching and research applications of autobiographical essay writing. Grounded in occupational socialization theory and teacher reflection, the authors propose that autobiography can be a powerful tool in helping preservice and in-service teachers more deeply reflect on their…

Automated Essay Scoring (AES) technologies provide innovative solutions to score the written essays with a much shorter time span and at a fraction of the current cost. Traditionally, AES emphasized the importance of capturing the "coherence" of writing because abundant evidence indicated the connection between coherence and the overall…

One of the challenges of discussing validity arguments for machine scoring of essays centers on the absence of a commonly held definition and theory of good writing. At best, the algorithms attempt to measure select attributes of writing and calibrate them against human ratings with the goal of accurate prediction of scores for new essays.…

Generative AI has prompted educators to reevaluate traditional teaching and assessment methods. This study examines AI's ability to write essays analysing Old English poetry; human markers assessed and attempted to distinguish them from authentic analyses of poetry by first-year undergraduate students in English at the University of Oxford. Using…

Inspired by Rebecca Oxford's thought-provoking reflections on language learning strategies, and particularly her orchestra metaphor on how the strategies work together, I conducted a study that seeks to understand how non-native writers employ, configure, sequence and combine individual writing strategies when creating a text in the target…

There is a current debate about the extent to which ChatGPT, a natural language AI chatbot, can disrupt processes in higher education settings. The chatbot is capable of not only answering queries in a human-like way within seconds but can also provide long tracts of texts which can be in the form of essays, emails, and coding. In this study, in…

This paper discusses the implementation of exemplar essays within an undergraduate first-year diagnostic radiography module to encourage active learning and the development of academic literacies. Nine essays ([approximately]400 words each) were provided over six sessions, using lecturer-guided discussion to explore the academic virtues and…

Automatic essay scoring (AES) is an essential educational application in natural language processing. This automated process will alleviate the burden by increasing the reliability and consistency of the assessment. With the advances in text embedding libraries and neural network models, AES systems achieved good results in terms of accuracy.…

A personalized system of instruction is one of the strategies to personalize instruction. It is a technique that allows the student to move from one unit to another according to his own pace and his potential. Although this system is distinguished with activity and effectiveness to master the instructional subject, it lacks evaluation of the essay…

To develop students' critical thinking is one of the primary goals of a modern democratic school system. However, what is to be developed has been the matter of long-standing debate. One particular area of conflict has been what role is played by the knowledge concerning the object to be critically thought about. The 'specifists' have asserted…

Automated essay scoring (AES), where natural language processing is applied to score written text, can underpin educational resources in blended and distance learning. AES performance has typically been reported in terms of correlation coefficients or agreement statistics calculated between a system and an expert human examiner. We describe the…

This study investigates the developmental trajectory of progressive construction among Chinese and Japanese EFL learners through a usage-based approach. A total of 600 written essays, produced by EFL learners from China and Japan with proficiency levels ranging from elementary to upper-intermediate, were analyzed. The findings reveal that advanced…

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 this study, we explore the effects of self-reported or suspected generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) use in essay writing on peer assessment and revision patterns among a group of early student adopters. The data were collected from a higher education course, where students engaged in a group peer assessment activity, and analysed using…

This study explores the use of large language models (LLMs) to generate feedback on essay-type assignments in Higher Education. Drawing on a seminal feedback framework, it examines the pedagogical and psychological effectiveness of LLM-generated feedback across three cohorts of MBA, MSc, and undergraduate students. Methods included linguistic…