The algorithms that drive artificial intelligence are rooted in sophisticated mathematical concepts. So, then, it might make sense that the marriage between AI and math instruction in K-12 schools would be a good one.
As it turns out, it is not that simple. Building a foundation of math knowledge and skills鈥攂eginning as early as preschool and continuing throughout high school鈥攔equires a lot of trial and error, development of foundational math skills, persistence, and good teaching. Simply dropping AI into the instructional mix without a smart strategy is unlikely to produce positive results.
In fact, a high school math teacher from Illinois told the EdWeek Research Center in a February survey of teachers that 鈥済enerally, it seems that AI is really bad at solving math problems.鈥
Complicating the potential partnership between math and AI is the fact that how kids learn math is a very personal experience鈥攚ith some mastering concepts much quicker than others. Average or struggling students, without access to effective learning tools that can help them master mathematical concepts at an appropriate pace, often fall behind, lose confidence in their ability to do math, and eventually shy away from taking more demanding classes in the subject.
As it is, there is little, if any, formal research that examines the effectiveness of integrating AI tools into math instruction. But teachers are building classroom strategies and tactics to experiment with artificial intelligence, see what works, and integrate the effective approaches into instruction.
To understand how teachers are using AI in their math classes, the EdWeek Research Center conducted a survey in February of 411 elementary, middle, and high school teachers from across the country. That survey included an open-ended question that asked: What鈥攊f any鈥攁pproaches for integrating AI into math instruction have you found to be most effective?
We received more than 100 responses to that open-ended question in the survey. A good number of responses were from teachers who simply said they had no approaches because they did not use AI in instruction. But many responses illustrated the variety of ways that teachers in elementary, middle, and high school are using AI in their math classes as well as the concerns they have about its use.
Following are 32 of those responses. They have been edited for length and clarity.
After the responses, see survey results on five questions we asked teachers about the use of AI in math instruction.
Elementary school: Craft lesson plans, teach problem-solving skills, help students with disabilities
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, elementary school | Alabama
鈥擭o subject identified, elementary school | Florida
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, elementary school | Florida
鈥擲pecial education, elementary school | Massachusetts
鈥擜ll subjects, elementary school | North Carolina
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, elementary school | Ohio
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, multiple grade spans | Nebraska
Middle school: Generate practice problems, reinforce skills, and differentiate instruction for English learners
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, middle school | Kansas
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, middle school | Nebraska
鈥擲cience, middle school | Ohio
鈥擲cience, middle school | Ohio
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, middle school | Tennessee
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, middle school | Vermont
High school: Identify AI鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses, help struggling learners, reteach core mathematical concepts
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | Arkansas
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | California
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | California
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | California
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | Florida
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | Illinois
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | Illinois
鈥-Science, high school | Indiana
鈥擟areer-technical education, high school | Louisiana
鈥擟areer-technical education, high school | Minnesota
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | New Mexico
鈥擲cience, high school | North Carolina
鈥擲cience, high school | Ohio
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | South Carolina
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | South Carolina
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | Texas
鈥擬ath/computer science/data science, high school | Texas
鈥擲cience, high school | Wisconsin
鈥擲pecial education, high school | Wisconsin
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.