Intentional Teaching, a show about teaching in higher education Peer and AI Review of Student Writing with Marit MacArthur and Anna Mills
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Today on the podcast, we learn about one initiative that offers a path forward for AI and writing instruction. It’s called the PAIRR Project, where PAIRR stands for peer and AI review and reflection. This approach takes the well-established peer review pedagogy used in writing instruction and adds a layer of AI-generated feedback on student writing. PAIRR has been developed and tested by dozens of faculty at public colleges and universities in California, and I’m excited to have two of those faculty on the podcast today to tell us about it.
Marit MacArthur is a continuing lecturer in writing at the University of California at Davis and one of the principal investigators on the PAIRR Project. Anna Mills teaches writing at College of Marin, a community college, and brings her experience with open educational resources to the project. Marit and Anna and I talk about student voice, AI literacy, metacognition, the importance of prompt testing, linguistic justice, and more.
Episode Resources
The PAIRR Packet, https://pairr.short.gy/packet
The PAIRR Project, https://writing.ucdavis.edu/pairr
Marit MacArthur’s faculty page
“Peer and AI Review + Reflection (PAIRR): A Human-Centered Approach to Formative Assessments,” Lisa Sperber, Marit MacArthur, Sophia Minnillo, Nicholas Stillman, and Carl Whithaus, Computers and Composition, June 2025
“Comparing the Quality of Human and ChatGPT Feedback of Students’ Writing,” Jacob Steiss et al, Learning and Instruction, June 2024
“What Past Education Technology Failures Can Teach Us about the Future of AI in Schools,” Justin Reich, The Conversation, October 2025
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