3.3 GenAI-Sensitive Assignment Design: Pedagogical Reflections for Human-Centred Teaching and Learning

Marci Prescott-Brown, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, New College Writing Centre, New College, FAS       
Paola Bohórquez, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Woodsworth College

Finding the Frequency: Clarity, Purpose, and What Matters Most               

As Writing Centre Directors at UTSG (one a new contributor and one returning), we are uniquely positioned to observe first-hand how course instructors across disciplines are rethinking assignment design to navigate the impacts of Gen-AI on student learning. It is a delicate dance that requires us to assess the risks and potential affordances of AI tools without compromising the development of critical reading, writing, and research skills. It requires, as this CFP notes, “amplify[ing] the signals that foster deep learning, equity, and engagement,” while refusing the “noise”—the “overwhelm[ing]” or “mislead[ing]” hype around GenAI that can lead to misaligned or counterproductive teaching practices.

Informed by Writing Studies and grounded in current observations of assignment-design, this in person or hybrid Jam session will facilitate an interactive exploration of crucial aspects of student learning that may be missed or obscured when Gen-AI is framed exclusively as an Academic Integrity challenge. We argue that broadening the frame to position writing as a technology for learning enables the development of process centred, student centred, and context responsive pedagogical approaches to GenAI in the classroom.

Through a review of sample assignments, we will introduce adaptable strategies and discipline specific considerations. Whether an instructor has begun integrating GenAI or has avoided it entirely, this session offers practical guidance for clarifying pedagogical purpose, centring student learning, and making deliberate, values aligned choices in a rapidly shifting educational landscape. In doing so, this session directly supports the aims of the Finding the Frequency: Clarity, Purpose, and What Matters Most stream.