Identity Building with GenAI: Leveraging AI to Increase Student Voice and Choice

Use AI in ways that protect student identity, not erase it.

DR. KELSEY HAMMOND
Lead Professional Development Advisor

This eighth installment of the Teaching Writing in the Age of AI series explores the risk of generative AI "flattening" student identity and voice by bypassing the essential, messy process of self-authorship in writing. To counter this, I propose three strategies for using AI as a scaffold—crafting self-inviting prompts, exploring multi-modal translations, and acting as an "identity mirror"—to ensure technology amplifies rather than erases the human writer.

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​In my previous article, Writing is Identity Building, I explored how writing serves as a site for self-authorship and identity construction. Drawing on Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s foundational metaphor, I argued that writing can function as a "mirror," allowing students to see their own lives and experiences reflected back. By prioritizing voice and choice—as supported by scholars like Mary Ryan—we move beyond "boring," mechanical prompts toward a pedagogy that treats writing as a series of personal decisions about how students construct and represent themselves to the world.

Building on this foundation, the accessibility of generative AI introduces a significant risk of automation that can undermine these aims. When students rely on AI to generate text, they risk adopting a "robotic and flattened style" that abandons their unique voice and linguistic rhythm. This "flattening" effect often occurs because AI models are trained on vast datasets that can amplify Western-centric viewpoints, potentially erasing the cultural and linguistic rhythms that make individual student voices vital. 

Instead of the active "meaning-making" and self-affirmation found in authentic writing, an over-reliance on AI may lead to a loss of agency, where the tool misrepresents the student's personal values and diminishes the relational connection between the writer and their audience. And, by bypassing the "messy middle" of composition, students may inadvertently opt out of the very process where identity is explored and constructed. 

In this article, I propose three ways that generative AI can move from a tool of generic imitation to a scaffold for identity building and imagination. 

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Using AI to Craft Self-Inviting Prompts

Teachers can leverage AI chatbots to help craft "self-inviting" prompts, then choose the very best ones that they think will connect with their specific students, ensuring the writing invitations remain grounded in their students’ own experiences, values, and identities. 

​Example Prompts for Teachers

• Bridge personal experience and content: "I am teaching [Topic/Concept] and the standard question is [e.g., 'How does the setting affect the mood?' or 'What caused the decline of this system?']. Can you give me 5-10 versions of a 'self-inviting' prompt that first asks the student to describe a moment in their own life where they felt a similar [Force/Tension/Emotion]? Ensure the prompt requires them to bridge their personal memory back to the academic concept."
• Activate student connection​: "My students are studying [Event/Theory/Decision]. Give me 5-10 “do-now” prompts that could be responded to in about 5 minutes by a student in [grade]. The goal is to create personal relevance for my students about why this topic is important and/or connected to their own lives, experiences or interests. Based on what I know about my students, they are particularly excited by [interest area].
• Explore personal relevance​: "The essential question of this unit is [question]. Generate 5-10 'personal relevance' prompts that ask students to write about their own experiences with this question before we dive further into the content.”

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​Using AI to Play with Multiple Modalities

​The idea here is simple: when we change the way we share information, we change how people understand it. Moving an idea from a written page into a new format—like a podcast, a script, or a visual guide—forces us to think more deeply about what we are trying to say and who we are saying it to. Both teachers and students can use AI to do this "translation" work.

For a teacher, it’s a way to take a difficult topic and deliver it in a way that feels more like a story. For a student, hearing their own essay turned into a podcast helps them realize, "Oh, that part of my argument actually sounds a bit confusing," or "I didn't realize that point was so important!"

​Example Prompts

• For Teachers: I have a long, difficult text about [Insert Topic, e.g., Photosynthesis]. In NotebookLM, upload the text. Then, use the button function to turn the text into a [e.g., Podcast or Study Guide or Video Overview] that you can give students to help them engage with the content in a new modality. 
• For Students: “Upload your written draft into NotebookLM and create an Audio Conversation. Listen to the two hosts talk about your ideas. Afterward, write down: Did they understand your main point? Did they make your argument sound more exciting or more boring than you intended? Use what you heard to revise your writing. 
• For Teachers and Students: “Once you’ve used NotebookLM to turn your writing into something new (like a podcast or a guide), ask yourself: “How does it feel to hear my ideas instead of just reading them? Did changing the format communicate my ideas better, or did some of my original meaning get lost in the shuffle?”

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What is NotebookLM?

Think of NotebookLM as a digital notebook that only knows what you tell it. You upload your own files (like a lesson plan, an article, or a student essay), and it helps you turn that information into something new. It can create:

• Audio Conversations: A podcast-style talk where two "hosts" discuss your specific topic.
• Study Guides: A simple breakdown of the most important terms and facts.
• Briefing Docs: A clean, professional summary of the main ideas.
• Outlines: A step-by-step plan that you could use to make a poster or a presentation.

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Using AI as an Identity Mirror

​Instead of asking the AI to write for you, you are asking the AI to look at what you’ve already written and tell you what it sees. This helps students (and teachers!) build a sense of authorial identity. It’s about finding your "style" and seeing how it fits into the wider world of literature and ideas.

​Example Prompts

• What defines my voice?​: "I am going to paste a few things I’ve written recently. Based on these samples, how would you describe my writing style? What are some patterns you notice that make my writing unique and special?” 
• Who writes like me?: "Based on my interests and the way I structure my arguments, which published authors write in a similar style to me? Who should I read to continue developing my own voice? Also, point me toward three books or articles that cover the same topics I seem to care about most."
• Where could I go next?: "You’ve seen my style and my interests. What is a 'new direction' I could take my writing that would challenge me but still feel like 'me'? Is there a genre or a specific type of project (like an investigative report or a personal memoir) that you think would help me grow based on the strengths you see in my work?"

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​The proposed goal of integrating these generative AI prompts into the writing classroom is not to simplify the process, but to help human beings in their journeys of identity building. By using these tools as bridges to relevance, play for new modalities, and mirrors for self-reflection, we ensure that technology serves the student's voice rather than erasing it. 

When we move away from the "flattening" effect of automation and toward these intentional, identity-building engagements, we protect the "messy middle" of composition where true meaning-making happens. AI becomes a powerful collaborator that helps students and teachers see themselves more clearly, allowing them to navigate the curriculum not just as consumers of information, but as authors of their own unique stories.

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