A Taxonomy of Literacy Practices for Engaging with Artificial Intelligence: Reading and Writing in the Age of Generative AI

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming reading and writing practices in and out of educational contexts, yet few frameworks exist to support students' responsible engagement with these tools. This conceptual paper proposes a taxonomy of literacy practices for engaging with AI, grounded in the new literacies of online reading comprehension (Leu et al., 2004, 2015); Coiro, 2021). Using Leu et al.'s (2015) five processing practices and Coiro's (2021) multifaceted heuristic as an analytical lens, we identify seven interconnected practices students enact when reading and writing with AI. We conceptualize these not as hierarchical competencies but as socially situated practices enacted differently across contexts and purposes. For each practice, the taxonomy provides a description, an observable indicator, and ethical considerations embedded as intrinsic dimensions. This framework extends established new literacies scholarship into AI-mediated environments, providing educators with language and observable markers for supporting students' evolving literacy practices.