Save Time. Boost Impact. Stay Safe.
One of the things that was always a struggle for me was giving rich, timely feedback to my students on their work. It just takes time to review the work and give everyone that feedback in a meaningful way. Of course, giving students quality feedback is a critical step in the learning process. What if AI could do the heavy lifting—without sacrificing personalization or safety?
The good news is that it can! And I’ll share that it was a 7th grade student who first lead me to try this when she mentioned how she was asking AI to help her improve her writing assignments. With the right tools and smart prompts, you can automate much of your feedback process while staying in control of the tone, content, and accuracy.
Feedback Workflows You Can Automate
Here are a few common feedback tasks AI can help you streamline:
- Rubric-Based Commenting
Paste a student’s work and your rubric into ChatGPT or a tool like MagicSchool.ai or Curipod to generate strengths and areas for improvement. - End-of-Project Reflections
Let AI review a student’s reflection and suggest follow-up questions or next steps. - Feedback Banks
Ask AI to generate or sort reusable comments for common feedback themes (e.g., thesis clarity, text evidence, organization). - Google Docs Commenting
If your school allows this, you can use the Google Workspace AI tools to suggest improvements directly in student writing.
Sample Prompt for ChatGPT
Try this sample prompt to get started.
“You are a teacher grading middle school essays on persuasive writing. Use this rubric [insert criteria] to give strengths-based feedback on this student response [paste student work]. Make feedback warm, specific, and actionable so that the student understands what steps to take next.”
Want more prompts help? Try Magic Feedback Prompts or this Prompt Guide for Educators.
What about privacy? What’s Safe to Share?
It’s important you think through the privacy issues before sharing anything with AI. If your school uses FERPA-compliant tools like MagicSchool.ai or Diffit, stick with those. Typically these tools will have privacy policies and security systems in place ensure your data is safe. In any case, here’s a quick breakdown of what is and isn’t safe to share:
| ✅ Safe to Share | 🚫 Avoid Sharing |
|---|---|
| Generic student responses | Full names or identifiers, consider using pseudonyms |
| Rubrics and assignments | Personal anecdotes or records |
| Reflection responses | Grades or health info |
For more check out this article from Chalkbeat and this Student Data Privacy Primer from Student Privacy Compass.
Test Before You Trust
Always review AI-generated feedback before sharing it with students. AI is still mind blowing for some of us, but it can also make mistakes. You’re still the expert. AI is just your assistant. Be sure to review and make necessary edits.
Ready to Try It?
You can do this! Set a goal to experiment with automating feedback to just one student this week. Even if you decide not to use any of what it produces, dip your toes in and give it a shot. Your family and your students will thank you.
