For many of our students and teachers, math is a source of deep anxiety. This may stem from negative experiences throughout their life and education, leading to the idea they are not “math people” and they can never improve. When this feeling takes root in teachers, they feel unprepared to help their students in one of the most important areas of their high school equivalency.

AI has contributed to many advancements in mathematics, from disproving conjectures to finishing decades old proofs. But how useful is it in a classroom? Can it help with this significant problem by helping instructors and students alike face their anxiety and become” math people?”

In this interactive session, we’ll take a look at how math anxiety manifests in the classroom, and look at ways that instructors can use artificial intelligence to handle challenging topics. Attendees will leave with multiple ideas for how they can use AI to reduce math anxiety for their students and themselves.

As part of this presentation, participants will discuss their relative levels of math comfort and math anxiety. Participants will discuss how “math people” and non-”math people” differ and what, if anything, might be valuable to recognize in those distinctions.

Then participants will move into what AI is and what it isn’t. We’ll address the difference between language prediction models and computational engines. We’ll look at how AI can hallucinate math logical errors with absolute confidence. From this will move to the practice of using multiple tools for verification.

Shifting from a focus on “solving problems” to “verifying solutions,” participants will look at multiple tools that can help design lessons to engage critical thinking in students. Using free tools, participants will make visuals and predict misconceptions so they can help address gaps in learning. Participants will also practice with tools that can provide a “Socratic tutor” that can guide them through strategies and ways of thinking so they can use AI as a coach to fill in what they’re missing instead of just going for an easy answer. Participants will apply a “Two Tool Rule” to verify what their “coach” is saying and then discuss how to best employ these tools and rules in their own classroom environments.