The Potential and Implications of AI-Generated Feedback for Primary School Composition Writing

Abstract

Effective writing instruction requires regular and detailed feedback; however, it is not always easy to provide effective feedback and the provision of such feedback can be taxing for teachers (Bai et al., 2013). Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE) has leveraged Artificial Intelligence (AI) – in the form of automated writing evaluation (AWE) systems in language classrooms – to provide basic feedback on students’ writing in areas such as spelling and grammar which will allow teachers to focus on “guiding students in the more complex aspects of language construction, and to develop higher-level skills like creative expression, persuasiveness and tone” (MOE, 2023). In this paper, we are taking a critical and evaluative look in a richly contextualised setting at whether Generative AI (GAI) platforms, such as Gemini, can indeed fill the gap to provide feedback on higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and organisation (Gupta et al., 2024). We address two research questions: (1) To what extent can GAI provide effective feedback on continuous writing tasks for primary school students in Singapore? (2) What are the potential implications of GAI-generated feedback on writing instruction? In our analysis of feedback patterns, GAI consistently focuses on content and style, suggesting improvements such as richer vocabulary and stronger conclusions, without actually providing clear examples. GAI also exhibits a lack of personalisation, not using personal pronouns or highlighting student strengths. Additional prompts from teachers are required to elicit more granular feedback and a more positive tone. Lastly, while GAI can assess essays based on a given rubric, it struggles with evaluating narrative structure, requiring further teacher guidance. Overall, GAI has the potential to be a valuable tool in language and writing classrooms, offering a starting point for feedback that requires both teacher expertise and teachers’ digital literacy to personalise and refine.