AI writing collaborator: option generator

This Bento Box engages students at the beginning of a writing activity by prompting AI to generate multiple options and ideas for an introduction. Students are guided to evaluate the ideas and synthesise insights to their own writing, acknowledging the use of AI. This approach can seed students’ thinking, build evaluative capacities and help them to find and test the direction they wish to take for the writing task. Finally they share and discuss with their peers the opportunities and challenges of using AI as a writing optioneer.

This Bento can be used alongside other AI-themed Bentos that correspond to different stages of the writing process, such as AI writing collaborator: feedback partner and AI writing collaborator: research assistant.

AI writing collaborator: option generator	Contains:	Content to prepare:
	Learning activity overview: description for students Task 1: Use AI responsibly as a Monash student Task 2: Craft your prompt (H5P) Task 3: Generate multiple drafts  (Microsoft Copilot) Task 4: Evaluate drafts (H5P) Task 5: Write your version (H5P) Task 6: Discuss with your peers (Forum)	Specific writing task or essay topic
Estimated time to set up: 10 minutes

Key pedagogical principles

Bento Boxes are grounded in constructivist learning theory, where students build their own understanding through active engagement and interaction.

• Inclusive design: AI technology offers multiple representations (e.g., text, examples, analogies, and possibly audio). Students can interact with either text or audio accommodating different communication preferences, aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
• Student agency and self-regulation: Students set goals, monitor drafts for utility and synthesis options,  engaging in metacognitive practices and taking ownership of their learning.
• Academic literacy: Students evaluate and compare written examples and apply insights to their own writing.
• Critical AI literacy: Students are encouraged to assess the strengths and limitations of AI-generated content, and practice acknowledging the use of AI, promoting responsible and informed use of AI in education
• Dialogic learning: Peer discussion about the use of AI for writing fosters collaborative meaning-making and critical comparison of experiences, enriching the learning process.
• Scaffolded inquiry: The structured “Bento Box” framework provides guided stages for engaging with feedback, supporting deeper inquiry and critical thinking.

Whether learning from reading or other models, our writing is influenced by engaging with examples and precedents. Using AI we can quickly produce several variations of texts to evaluate and use the appealing and unappealing portions of the variants to help shape the direction of the written piece.

Explore this Bento in Action

Instructions to set up your Bento Box

	Prepare content Identify a specific writing task for the activity. The included activity is focused on drafting an introduction for an essay. This focus can be modified for any written task specific to your discipline, industry or professional role.
	Update the learning activity overview Update the activity name and description to contextualise the activity within your unit. Outline connections to learning outcomes or assessment tasks to make the purpose of the activity clear to students.
	Update Task 2: Create your feedback mentor  Provide specific details and instructions (from step 1), as either text or a link to documents for students to access. Student will use these details for prompt crafting. They are directed to review Learn HQ crafting effective prompts that outlines the PARTS (persona, aim, recipients, theme, structure) approach.
	Engage in the forum discussion Review student posts, provide feedback, and prompt deeper critical evaluation (e.g., accuracy, bias, usefulness, and how they used the AI output).

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