Trace Pedagogy: Grade the Trace, Not the Guess 

When AI can polish any final product, a flawless essay no longer proves that learning happened. In Trace Pedagogy: Grade the Trace, Not the Guess, published by Society & AI on 18 October 2026, I argue that educators should stop policing AI use and start making student reasoning visible. Trace Pedagogy turns open, peer-visible work into evidence of learning and uses exams to confirm it rather than to deliver a verdict. Drawing on stigmergy, the way ants coordinate by leaving marks in a shared environment, the approach has been tested over four years with more than 200 university students. It offers a practical response to AI and academic integrity, formative assessment and visible learning in higher education. 

#AIinEducation #AcademicIntegrity #TracePedagogy #HigherEducation #FormativeAssessment