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Title
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Collaborating with “Ceci”: How a Teacher-Designed Chatbot Supports Writing Confidence in Grade 9 Girls
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Author
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Mary Jane Kennedy
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Year Published
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2026
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Description
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This action research study examined how a teacher-designed chatbot (“Ceci”) supported writing confidence in 14 Grade 9 girls (14–15 years old) in an English classroom. This project was driven by a recurring revision challenge: students often identified issues in their writing but did not always know what to do next, and individualized feedback was difficult to provide consistently in real time. Data were collected across four structured revision sessions through surveys, chatbot transcripts, and classroom observations; writing artifacts were collected in the first two sessions and a focus group was conducted at the end of the study. Findings suggest that students saw Ceci as an extension of, rather than a replacement for, teacher feedback, using the chatbot for individualized support while still centering teacher expectations as they worked. Students’ writing confidence was most often expressed as procedural clarity, or their sense that they knew the next steps to take in revision. Although students sometimes found Ceci’s feedback frustrating or confusing, many demonstrated persistence by testing options, adjusting prompts, and making strategic decisions about how to apply Ceci’s feedback. Finally, Ceci’s relational design (name, avatar, gender, and tone) appeared to support both students’ engagement during revision and their willingness to admit uncertainty. Overall, these findings suggest implications for how a teacher-designed chatbot can extend revision support beyond a traditional classroom setting. A subsequent action-research cycle could standardize implementation and evaluate whether revisions strengthened clarity and connections in addition to confidence.
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Tags
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Technology, Teaching and Learning
