Professors Fight AI Cheating With Pen And Paper

The Unfolding Challenge of AI in Academia

In world history classrooms like Melissa Ryckman’s, designed for non majors, the rise of AI tools such as ChatGPT has presented a novel challenge. Ryckman, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee Southern, initially hoped that short, weekly 100 word assignments asking for critical, opinion based responses—like whether students would prefer to be hunter gatherers or farmers—would encourage original thought. The goal was twofold: engage students with the material and sidestep AI generated submissions. However, she found students still turned to AI for these opinion pieces.

This realization is pushing Ryckman to reconsider her approach for the upcoming semester. She plans to have students complete these responses in class, potentially even requiring them to be handwritten. "I’m leaning towards that, but I’m also like—ugh, handwriting," she confessed, acknowledging the increased policing such a method might entail, even if students were to type in her presence.

A Wider Shift The Return of Pen and Paper

Ryckman's dilemma is not unique. Across higher education, numerous professors are contemplating or already implementing a return to handwritten assignments. This trend, discussed widely including on platforms like Reddit, aims to counter the ease with which students can use ChatGPT and similar generative AI tools for their coursework. Some faculty now mandate handwriting for specific assignments, while a few have transitioned all written work to be done by hand.

The revival extends to traditional examination methods as well. The Wall Street Journal recently reported a surge in sales of blue exam booklets at institutions like Texas A&M University and the University of California, Berkeley, indicating a tangible shift back to pre digital assessment techniques.

Addressing the Hurdles of Handwritten Assessment

Despite its potential benefits, the move towards handwriting is not without its challenges. Educators and institutions must consider several critical questions: How can students with disabilities requiring assistive technology be accommodated? How does the slower pace of handwriting compared to typing affect assignment scope and completion time? What is the recourse if students resist handwriting or express dissatisfaction in course evaluations? And perhaps most crucially, what if this method doesn't entirely solve the problem, with students merely transcribing AI generated text by hand?

Tricia Bertram Gallant, an expert in academic integrity and author of The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI (University of Oklahoma Press, 2025), emphasizes the necessity of secure evaluation methods as AI tools become more prevalent. "We’re not just in the business of facilitating learning; we’re in the business of certifying learning," Gallant stated. "There has to be secure assessments to say to the world, ‘This is a person who has the knowledge and abilities we are promising they have.’"

‘Rotten Tomatoes’ and The Quest for Academic Integrity

Handwriting is the latest in a series of strategies professors are employing to curb the unauthorized use of generative AI. Other tactics include designing AI resistant assignments, learning to identify the hallmarks of AI written text, and attempting to instill in students an appreciation for original work.

However, as AI technology becomes more sophisticated and widespread, combating AI driven cheating grows increasingly complex. There's also a counter argument that since students will likely use AI in their future careers, educators should integrate tools like ChatGPT into their teaching, rather than banning them.

Sara Gallagher, a professor at Durham College in Ontario, Canada, highlighted this pressure. "We’re sometimes pushed to incorporate high tech tools in our classroom, and this can be difficult to resist," she said, noting mandatory pro generative AI seminars at her college that left her questioning how to detect cheating.

Unexpected Upsides Engagement and Connection Resurface

Many educators who have embraced handwritten work, often completed in class, report significant positive changes in student work quality and their overall attitude towards learning.

Monica Sain, an English professor at Mission College in California, began her "digital detox" shortly after ChatGPT's debut. She started by requiring students to manually highlight and annotate readings to prove engagement beyond AI summaries. When students were observed using AI during class discussions, she banned laptops and phones. More recently, she mandated that the midterm argumentative essay be handwritten in class over several periods.

"When I first told them, I was like, ‘OK, guys, don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me,’" Sain recalled of her students' initial reactions, which ranged from disbelief to fear. To mitigate this, she allowed them to bring printed sources and provided a structural cheat sheet. The outcome was surprising. "After they got it done, the students were like, ‘Oh, that wasn’t so bad,’" she shared. "Some students told me they preferred handwriting... because they said they felt distracted a lot of the times that they did it on the computer."

Sara Gallagher observed a similar revival in her classes after implementing in class handwritten essays and increasing the grading weight of attendance. "When students are using ChatGPT... they become disengaged from the work and they just stop caring," she explained. "One thing I’ve noticed is that that engagement is back. The wanting to ask questions, the wanting to learn... That’s something that disappeared in my classroom for up to a year."

Gallagher noted that while some assignments still require digital tools like infographics, which she believes are harder for AI to produce effectively or allow laptop use in class for observation, handwritten work has had an outsized impact. Students are not only more engaged with the material but are also connecting more with each other, reminiscent of classrooms a decade ago. "The classroom was a space for learning, but it’s also a space for connecting," she added.

Pedagogical Innovations The Flipped Classroom

Academic integrity expert Tricia Bertram Gallant suggests that the flipped classroom model—where students learn content outside class and apply it through in class activities and assignments—is one of the most effective ways to ensure secure assessments. "People are starting to realize that we are no longer in the business of delivering information... we are in the business of facilitating human to human learning environments," she argued. "Writing is so hard, right? So why do we make novice writers do it alone... when we could do it with them and provide coaching in the moment?"

Finding a Sustainable Balance

Professors like Gallagher and Sain have encountered some of the anticipated difficulties. Illegible handwriting can be an issue, though Sain found most students' penmanship better than expected, and Gallagher's skill in deciphering it has improved. Accommodations for students with disabilities are managed; Sain allows technology for note taking if needed and provides proctored environments for essays.

However, the shift isn't without trade offs. Gallagher noted that teaching the comprehensive research process, traditionally tied to long form essays, becomes challenging when essays are entirely in class. She now uses final presentations, which also offer some AI proofing as students must answer questions on the spot.

A significant concern voiced on social media is the time required for professors to adapt their courses. Gallant believes institutions should support faculty with time, training, and instructional design assistance to navigate these changes.

For Professor Ryckman at UT Southern, the central question is how to balance in class handwritten work with lectures and discussions. "I don’t know that doing an annotated bibliography in class is going to be possible without sacrificing a bunch of stuff," she mused. "That balance is going to be tough, I think."