Balancing ethics and support - Peer tutors’ experiences with AI tools in student writing

Oct 15, 2026

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Study the challenges peer tutors encounter when addressing generative AI use in student writing and the strategies they apply. Using a focus group with peer tutors and analysis of a collaborative document co-developed by them, results show difficulties when students use tools like ChatGPT covertly, ethical concerns about concealing AI involvement, and inconsistent faculty policies that hinder uniform guidance. Peer tutors respond by encouraging disclosure, exploring motivations, discussing benefits and limits, promoting rewriting and revision, and advising adherence to instructors’ guidelines.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages15

Reading Time38 min

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Traditional writing center tutoring practices

OPEN ACCESS Research Article Contemporary Educational Technology, 2025, 17(3), ep587 ISSN: 1309-517X (Online) Balancing ethics and support: Peer tutors’ experiences with AI tools in student writing Maria Eleftheriou 1* 0000-0001-5453-0590 Muhammad Ahmer 2 0009-0002-6832-5752 Daniel Fredrick 1 0000-0003-0921-0621 1 College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 2 College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES * [Corresponding author:](Corresponding author: meleftheriou@aus.edu)[ meleftheriou@aus.edu](Corresponding author: meleftheriou@aus.edu) Citation: Eleftheriou, M., Ahmer, M., & Fredrick, D. (2025) . Balancing ethics and support: Peer tutors’ experiences with AI tools in student writing. Contemporary Educational Technology, 17(3), ep587. [https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/16554](https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/16554) ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT | Received: 10 Nov 2024
Accepted: 22 May 2025
INTRODUCTION | Like many student writing centers, the American University of Sharjah Writing Center is seeing arise in student reliance upon generative AI (GenAI) tools, which are artificial intelligence systems capable of generating human-like text. Peer tutors frequently seek guidance on how to approach student papers involving GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, yet writing centers have offered relatively little direction on this emerging issue. Our study examines the challenges peer tutors encounter when addressing AI use in student writing, as well as the strategies they employ to navigate these issues. A focus group discussion with peer tutors and an analysis of a collaborative document co-developed by the peer tutors provided insights into their experiences. Findings reveal that peer tutors encounter difficulties when students use ChatGPT covertly, struggle with ethical concerns about hiding AI involvement, and report inconsistencies in faculty policies regarding AI use, making it difficult to offer consistent advice to their students. To address these challenges, peer tutors encourage students to disclose their use of AI, explore their motivations for using it, and discuss both the benefits and limitations of AI tools. They emphasize students’potential, encourage rewriting and revising AI-generated content, promote learning and independence over AI reliance, engage in discussions about ethical considerations, and advise adherence to professors’ guidelines. This research will contribute to developing practical guidelines for responding to AI in writing centers and provide peer tutors with the tools they need to navigate these changes. The study’s findings will also contribute to the evolving dialogue on academic integrity and the role of AI in higher education.
Keywords: generative AI, GenAI, AI, AI tools, writing center pedagogy, ChatGPT in education, academic integrity, AI in student writing | | --- | --- | At the American University of Sharjah (AUS) Writing Center, we have been grappling with the increasing prevalence of generative AI (GenAI) (or AI) use in student academic writing, a trend mirrored in writing centers around the world (Lindberg & Domingues, 2024). Writing centers face new opportunities and challenges as AI tools like ChatGPT become more common. These tools can offer students immediate help with their writing, but they also raise questions about how peer tutors should approach sessions when AI tools have been involved. As part of a Facebook group of writing center directors from across the world, I have noticed that many centers are currently navigating these changes, with discussions on AI becoming a frequent topic of concern (Directors of Writing Centers Facebook, n.d.) . Despite these conversations, few resources address GenAI use in writing centers; most focus on the use of Grammarly (Bryan, 2023; Zhang et al., 2020) . In the Fall of 2023, peer tutors at the AUS Writing Center began raising dai

FAQs

What is the study focused on regarding AI tools in student writing?

It examines the challenges peer tutors face when dealing with generative AI in student papers and the strategies they use to handle these situations.

What difficulties do peer tutors report when students use ChatGPT covertly?

They struggle with students hiding AI involvement and with ethical concerns connected to non-disclosure, which makes consistent support harder.

How do peer tutors suggest responding to AI use in writing center sessions?

They encourage students to disclose AI use, discuss motivations, review both benefits and limitations, promote rewriting and revising AI-generated content, and follow instructors’ guidelines.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by OmBimo