Lots of teachers might be interested in how Chat GPT utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) in its functioning or what the underlying mathematical concepts and algorithms used in Chat GPT's natural language processing capabilities are… this is not a blog post for that. This blog post will help address how Chat GPT can be utilized to enhance math education in the classroom - especially if you teach students who struggle with 6-12th grade mathematics.
I also feel the need to say, I am not an AI expert or a Chat GPT know it all. I do however love exploring chat GPT and using AI to help teachers save time. I am constantly learning new things about AI for teachers, specifically how math teachers can use chat GPT to plan effective lessons. You may know more about AI than I do, or you might have no experience with chat GPT at all, that’s okay! We’re all learning together.
So with that said, lets dig into how AI can be used to enhance math education in the classroom
How to use AI for math teachers
Step 1: Set Up An Account
I’ll be focusing on the free tool, chat GPT and you can get a free account here.
Step 2: Ask Questions
The more you use chat GPT the better it will perform for you as it gets to know your style and what you’re looking for. Here’s a prompt you can try for starters:
“Give me 4 questions about _________ (topic you’re teaching next week)”
To help you with what to ask, here are some questions I’ve asked Chat GPT...
Questions to ask chat GPT for math teachers
Create 5 systems of equations that result in whole number answers for x and y
Create 3 systems of equations problems like this y=3x+14 and y=-4x
Give me two systems of equations with one equation in standard form and one in slope intercept form for each problem
Give me 2 systems of equations where one is in standard form and one starts with x=
Give me 5 example problems of a DOK level 2 that address math standard CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.B.5
And here are some of the responses I've gotten...
Pretty cool right?
AI prompts for math teachers
Give me __ example problems of a DOK level __ that address math standard ____
Give me __ questions about _________
Give me __ more questions just like this, _________
Give me __ questions about _______ that result in ________
Give me __ questions about _______ using _________ form
What are students likely to struggle with when teaching _________?
Step 3: Revise Your Questions
If you don’t get the response you want, tell chat GPT.
For example, I asked chat GPT, “Create 5 quadratic functions to solve with a = 1 that result in whole number answers” I got all positive numbers for b and c, but that’s a little too easy. So the next comment I typed into chat GPT was, “I want 3 of them to have negative numbers.” Chat GPT fixed it right away and gave me a mix of positive and negative values for b and c.
Step 4: Plan Your Lessons
If you teach students who struggle with math, I believe in the importance of modeling extremely similar questions to the ones you’ll ask your students to complete independently. When we do an example asking, “solve: 3x = -15” and then ask them to work independently on a question like, “solve” x + 5 = 4” you will completely lose your students who struggle. The two questions, although both one step equations, are completely different in the eyes of students who struggle. They will give up and act out, leaving you feeling frustrated. You can learn more about strategies to teach students who struggle in my free mini-workshop, Secrets to Engage Apathetic Students, right here.
But for this blog post about AI for teachers, I would suggest using chat GPT to help you come up with similar problems for the examples you model and the problems you have students complete independently. For example, ask chat GPT to “Create 4 problems with similar difficulty to __________ (give an example problem).” Then create 2-4 “chunks” of content for your lessons each with 4 problems of similar difficulty and ta-da you’ve got yourself a lesson plan!
Step 5: Beyond Math Lesson Planning
Chat GPT can be used for more than just helping with the mathematics parts of your lesson planning. It’s a powerful tool to search for ideas to build community and help your students who struggle with math succeed with you as their teacher. For example, I asked chat GPT, “I teach students who struggle with math, what are 5 things I should do the first week of class to help them succeed with me.” I was amazed at the response…
Another question I asked chat GPT was, “Give me 5 examples of activities I could do with high school students who have failed math for many years that Build a Positive Learning Environment.” Here was the response…
What do you think? Would you use any of these activities? Tell me over on instagram which ones sound the best to you.
AI for teachers is complicated and should be used with a grain of salt. Use it for ideas, but put your own teacher style into it and make it your own before using any of its ideas with your students. I hope this post has encouraged and inspired you to use AI like chat GPT to save you time as a teacher by never having to start from scratch. How does this inspire you to use chat GPT and AI for lesson planning? Send me a DM over on instagram and tell me!
Do you teach 6-12th grade math students who struggle?
Don’t leave without getting your FREE copy of my most popular guide, “10 Powerful and Easy Math Intervention Strategies.” You can get your free guide by clicking here.