With AI鈥檚 ability to solve complex math problems in a matter of seconds, it may feel to teachers like the technology is rapidly changing鈥攐r will soon鈥攈ow math is taught.
When free and widely available tools can solve complex word problems, what math do students need to learn? How can teachers leverage this technology in their math classes while avoiding potential risks?
Education Week put these questions to Jeffrey Bush, an assistant research professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in its Institute of Cognitive Science. Bush studies the use of technology in K-12 STEM education with a focus on math and AI. He鈥檚 also a former high school math teacher.
Math teachers may be better prepared to meet this moment than they think. Students still need a strong foundation in core math concepts, Bush said, and this is a subject that has a history of weathering technological disruption.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How should teachers integrate AI into math instruction in ways that are meaningful and age-appropriate?
In terms of lesson prep, I鈥檝e talked with a number of teachers, and I鈥檝e heard some really interesting and creative applications through [my research]. One that comes to mind is an instructor wanted examples of what types of misconceptions or emerging understandings should they expect from this type of problem.
These generative tools can automatically come up with lots of examples and suggestions. You can also turn to them as a coach [and ask], what are some other ways to explain this to someone?
The other side is putting it in students鈥� hands, which I haven鈥檛 seen concrete data on, but from my experience in the math classrooms that I have been in in the last 15 years, even before generative AI, these things [advanced technologies] are not as often put in the hands of youth. I didn鈥檛 experience anything more than a graphing calculator until I was in the second year of a mathematics minor in undergrad.
So, there鈥檚 lots of ways that AI can be leveraged, and I think it鈥檚 really effective when teachers are explicit: 鈥淗ere鈥檚 an AI assignment, here鈥檚 what I鈥檓 asking you to do on AI. I want you to share what your prompts were, what your outputs were, how you re-engineered your prompt.鈥�
It鈥檚 not a nefarious back shortcut. It鈥檚 a learning tool that鈥檚 being brought into the classroom, and we鈥檙e learning how to use responsibly. That promotes AI literacy, and it also creates a transparent classroom environment.
What are the potential pitfalls of using AI in math instruction?
Inaccuracy, particularly inaccuracy that comes with bias. Both have the potential to do harm. And in an era where information is becoming harder to verify than it has been in the past, AI seems to provide expertise and rigor but hides some of the mistakes and biases behind its reputation. I鈥檝e had plenty of instances myself in doing research鈥攊f I look to AI and then I verify things, I can sometimes be quite surprised at the confidence with which information is presented that is wrong.
In addition to that being a concern, I think it鈥檚 a call to action around AI literacy. We need to be able to understand, how do we check the sources? How do we know where these things come from? What are the types of things that we should and shouldn鈥檛 be asking AI, or should be asking and skeptical about? That鈥檚 extremely important and can help mitigate some of the problems.
Are you concerned that with AI鈥檚 abilities, kids will come to see math as something that is done by robots, not humans?
I think the position that math is in鈥攖hat鈥檚 unique compared to social studies, English/language arts, and computer science鈥攊s that robots have been doing math for a long time, and there鈥檚 a deep and long history of the automation of mathematical products and progress over time. And these AI tools have new capacities, especially capacities around writing and programming, but also new capacities around math.
I think is a great touch point in this, an example in math history, is the film 鈥淗idden Figures.鈥� The characters in that movie are asked to be computers. They were doing calculus. Now, all of that work is automated, but at the time, in the era of the space race, people doing that work was extremely important. Being able to do the math and understand what鈥檚 going on sets those people up for upskilling and reskilling. It鈥檚 not like once a computer was invented, they were out of work. They had great skills. And knowing how to do calculus means you can understand change, and you can understand complicated systems, and you have confidence around solving problems that applies to a lot of other contexts.
I think be transparent about why we鈥檙e doing what we鈥檙e doing. [Students] know when they鈥檙e being deceived and told, 鈥測ou鈥檙e going to have to do this long division when you grow up.鈥� They鈥檙e probably not doing long division, but understanding the base 10 number system is an important way to develop your brain to learn how to think.
Understanding the foundations鈥攖he number sets, the mathematical literacy鈥攊s more important than ever because this critical thinking is something that AI has not yet been able to replace in humans.
