Professional learning · Teachers, Coaches, Leaders · 60 minutes
Feedback Partners: Peer Review in the Age of AI
Teachers run a glow-grow-question peer review on two AI-assisted drafts, questioning the AI's suggestions as hard as the writer's, then adapt the protocol for their own students.
When students revise with a generative AI tool, the tool's suggestions can quietly replace the most valuable feedback a writer gets: a real reader's question. This session puts peers back at the center. Participants act as students and give each other glow, grow, and question feedback on two fictional AI-assisted drafts. They also judge each AI suggestion (accept, adapt, or reject) and have to explain why. Then they debrief as teachers and adapt the protocol, with supports, for their own grade level. They finish by naming what a coach or leader would see in a classroom where this is working.
In this packet
- Handout A: Two AI-Assisted Drafts (reading)
- Handout B: Feedback Partner Log (organizer)
- Handout C: Protocol Adapter (worksheet)
TCEA ELE indicators
- T4.2 I can create opportunities for student collaboration and peer learning.
- T5.2 I can use questioning techniques to stimulate deep learning.
- T5.1 I know how to design lessons that promote higher-order thinking skills.
- T3.2 I can adapt my teaching methods to accommodate diverse learning needs.
- L2.1 I know how to support and evaluate effective technology integration practices.
Full facilitator guide: mglearn.github.io/eles/activities/feedback-partners-ai-drafts.html
Handout A for Feedback Partners: Peer Review in the Age of AI
Two AI-Assisted Drafts
Both drafts and all AI suggestions are fictional. Read the draft, then the AI's suggestions. Your job is to judge both.
1Draft 1 · Grade 5 science explanation (by Marisol, a fictional student). Prompt: Explain where a puddle goes on a sunny day. "After it rains there is a puddle by our portable. When the sun comes out the puddle gets smaller and smaller until it is gone. The water did not go into the ground because the blacktop is hard. I think the sun heats the water and it turns into water vapor that goes into the air. That is called evaporation. It happens faster when it is hot."
2AI suggestions on Draft 1 (the teacher projected a chatbot and asked for three ways to improve the paragraph). Suggestion 1: "Add an example of evaporation from everyday life to help the reader." Suggestion 2: "Replace 'gets smaller and smaller' with 'undergoes a gradual diminution in volume.'" Suggestion 3: "Strengthen your claim with data: 'Scientists have found that puddles evaporate 50% faster on blacktop than on grass.'"
3Draft 2 · Grade 11 or first-year college argument (by Theo, a fictional student). Prompt: Should our town keep the public library open on Sundays? "Our town should keep the Harlow Street library open on Sundays. For a lot of students, Sunday is the only day without work or practice, and it's the day big assignments get finished. When I worked on my history project last spring, the library was the only place with quiet, free printing, and a librarian who showed me how to find old newspaper articles. Some people say the money would be better spent on longer weekday hours. But weekday evenings are when many of us are working. A library that's only open when we can't go isn't really open to us."
4AI suggestions on Draft 2 (Theo asked a district-approved chatbot for feedback). Suggestion 1: "Address the counterargument more fully. What would budget-minded residents say, and how would you respond?" Suggestion 2: "Remove the personal anecdote about your history project to sound more academic, and replace it with general statements about library usage." Suggestion 3: "Consider ending with a call to action, such as urging readers to attend the next town council meeting."
5Protocol stems. Glow: "One specific thing that works is… because…" Grow: "One change that would help a reader is…" Question: "I wondered… / How do you know…? / Who is your reader?" Questioning the AI: "Where would that information come from? Can I trace it?" "Does this make it clearer for my reader, or just fancier?" "What would I lose if I took this suggestion?" "Is this still my idea and my voice?"
6Decision rule. For every AI suggestion, decide: Accept (it helps and it's true), Adapt (the idea helps, but you'll do it your own way), or Reject (it's wrong, untraceable, or makes the writing less yours or less clear). Write one reason for every decision.
Handout B for Feedback Partners: Peer Review in the Age of AI
Feedback Partner Log
Log your peer feedback first, then decide on each AI suggestion. Every decision needs a reason.
| Draft and item | Glow (specific) | Grow (one change) | Question (for the writer or the AI) | Decision on AI suggestion: accept / adapt / reject, and why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft 1 · peer feedback | — | |||
| Draft 1 · AI suggestion 1 | — | — | ||
| Draft 1 · AI suggestion 2 | — | — | ||
| Draft 1 · AI suggestion 3 | — | — | ||
| Draft 2 · peer feedback | — | |||
| Draft 2 · AI suggestion 1 | — | — | ||
| Draft 2 · AI suggestion 2 | — | — | ||
| Draft 2 · AI suggestion 3 | — | — |
Handout C for Feedback Partners: Peer Review in the Age of AI
Protocol Adapter
Adapt the protocol for one real assignment in the next few weeks.
The assignment, grade level, and what kind of draft students will bring:
Does AI belong in this task? If yes, how will it be used (teacher-projected or student tool), and how will students disclose it? If no, why not?
Your protocol steps and stems, rewritten for your students' age and language:
At least two supports so every student can give and receive feedback (stems, audio or sketch options, home language, partner choice, shorter drafts):
What students turn in as evidence of thinking (the log, a revision note, a decision with a reason):
What would a coach or principal see and hear that shows this is working? Write two or three look-fors: