Amanda Gantt Sawyer and Marcus Wolfe, JMU teachers Education collegewere recently honored by 2025 National Technology Leadership Initiative (NTLI) FellowshipAwarded by the association of Mathematics Teaching Educators. Their award -winning newspaper, “Explore the adaptations of teachers keeps mathematics programs created by Chatgpt: discover excessive confidence”Explored how future teachers, also known as conservation teachers, use AI tools such as Chatppt to create and adapt mathematics lessons.
University communications spoke with Sawyer and Wolfe to find out more about their results and what it means for students and educators.
What prompted you to study AI in education?
With the rise of online tools as teachers pay teachers and now Chatgpt, we have noticed that students were increasingly counting on resources generated by AI who did not challenge them to think deeply to plan the study program. When Chatgpt arrived in 2022, we saw this problem increase more. Individuals were now able to create their mathematics resources by simply causing the tool. However, we did not know how reliable these lessons created by AI were, and because critical thinking is essential in teaching, we started this research.
Can you describe your research?
We have created a unit to help students learn to critically assess the teaching material generated by AI. For the study, we examined how future teachers adapted the programs created by Chatgpt. We found that 64% of the appropriate lessons were only modified for the visual attraction without any more in -depth analysis of the content. This result validated our concern and underlined the need to teach future teachers how to think more critical of the use of AI tools in class.
What was the most surprising discovery of your study?
Even if the students had learned strategies to assess the resources, we have seen that many of them only made surface changes without questioning the content and if it were appropriate for elementary learners. It was revealing to see how confident students were in Chatgpt responses, even when the equipment was not fully appropriate.
It seems that AI will be part of our lives to move forward, for better or for worse. How can teachers effectively integrate AI?
Teachers can effectively integrate AI by first helping students understand its limits. It is important to show future educators that the content generated by AI can often be biased or inaccurate, even if it seems correct.
Teachers should also encourage students to be critical and carefully analyze the information created by AI instead of trusting him. AI can be a useful tool if conservation teachers learn to use it correctly and continue to develop solid teaching skills next to it.
How do prices like this have an impact as a teacher?
Receiving this award was significant for both of us. For Dr. Wolfe, at the start of his career, recognition is encouraging and helps to see new ways to grow and contribute to the field. For Dr. Sawyer, who began his trip to JMU in 2014, this prize is an honor that recognizes his commitment to mathematics teaching.
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