Data for analyzing the impact of GenAI-facilitated writing pedagogy on EFL students' self-assessment literacy and writing performance

The dataset was used to investigate how GenAI-facilitated writing instruction influences English as foreign language (EFL) students’ self-assessment literacy and writing performance at a university in China. Students’ writing self-assessment literacy was empirically examined across four dimensions-knowledge, attitude, behavior, and critique-within a conceptual framework. A mixed-method approach with a quasi-experimental design was employed, involving two intact classes of 103 participants. The experimental group received GenAI-empowered writing instruction, while the control group received ordinary writing instruction without purposefully designed AI pedagogy. Data were collected through pretests and posttests, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews.  Results demonstrated that GenAI-facilitated instruction significantly improved students’ self-assessment literacy and writing performance. It was also found that, among the four dimensions of students’ self-assessment literacy, knowledge and behavior showed the most significant improvement in the experimental group. However, no causal link was found between self-assessment literacy and writing performance. These findings highlight the potential of GenAI tools in enhancing students’ self-assessment literacy and writing performance, suggesting proper integration of GenAI into the EFL writing pedagogy.