TEA at the AMS 2025 Meeting in New Orleans

The morning opened with Alesia Mickle Moldavan (Georgia Southern University), who
demonstrated how MagicSchool.ai can help elementary teacher candidates design open-ended
mathematical questions that promote productive struggle and rich classroom discourse. Her
presentation set a reflective tone that carried through the day. Building on that, Jeremy F. Strayer
and Ivan Lozano (Middle Tennessee State University) described a classroom activity in which
preservice teachers iteratively refined mathematical definitions through conversation with
ChatGPT. Their work revealed how structured AI dialogue can sharpen conceptual precision while
nurturing students’ ability to reason formally. Next, Zheng Yang and Michael Todd Edwards
presented their study on AI-enhanced learning of Taylor series, demonstrating how an adaptive AI
tutoring system, examined through the Pirie–Kieren framework, helped students build deeper, more
confident conceptual understanding through iterative reflection.

In the afternoon, Carlos A. López González (TEA) discussed the design of the AI tutoring agent
featured in Yang’s study, focusing on how prompt engineering shapes the agent’s behavior and
pedagogical role. Through a live interaction with the system, he illustrated how carefully crafted
prompts can turn AI into a learning partner, an “other” capable of reflection, while opening a
broader dialogue about the role of AI in education. Theodora Beauchamp(SMU/Rice University)
examined how K–9 math teachers used MagicSchool.ai to personalize word problems around
students’ real interests, such as music or games. Their study showed how AI can serve as a creative
planning partner while underscoring the need for teacher oversight to ensure clarity, accuracy, and
meaningful learning. Closing the session, Michael Todd Edwards (Miami University) presented
“ChatGPT Meets the Gaokao”, comparing the reasoning of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and
DeepSeek on complex tasks from China’s Gaokao examination. His analysis offered a lively glimpse
into how prompt design shapes mathematical thinking across both human and machine learners.
The session concluded in an atmosphere of collaboration and curiosity, highlighting shared efforts to
integrate AI thoughtfully into mathematics education. Across all talks, participants emphasized the
promise of generative tools to deepen understanding and creativity while reaffirming the essential
role of human judgment in guiding their use.

 

Thanks for being part of this journey — onward together!

— The TEA Editorial Team