A Duoethnographic Study of Writing-With as a Mode of EFL Teacher Professional Development Practice in the Age of AI

Abstract

As digital tools become increasingly embedded in teacher professional development (TPD), teacher reflection is often mediated by institutional platforms, algorithmic suggestions, and artificial intelligence–assisted tools. This study explores how Writing-With, a self-developed stance toward dialogic teacher reflection, can reorient these tools from instruments of compliance into spaces of co-presence and ethical inquiry. Through a duoethnographic exchange, the authors reflect on three episodes involving learning management systems, teacher use of ChatGPT, and platform-based feedback. The duoethnographic exchange surfaced emotional labor, pedagogical ambivalence, and moments where digital tools both constrained and provoked insight. Rather than positioning technology as inherently limiting or liberating, the study shows how Writing-With enabled dwelling in dissonance, reclaiming teacher judgment, and reframing feedback as a relational practice. Findings suggest that Writing-With supports a form of TPD grounded not in performance metrics, but in mutual noticing, ethical presence, and care.