Math 371 Technology for STEM Educators

       Almost everyone has been in a math class where the teacher or professor has warned the class about the picture or diagram on a certain problem is not drawn to scale properly. For me, these problems mess with my head because I use visual aids to check if my answer makes sense. At the same time when doing problems such as those I look around the room and it seems many students could care less about the picture. After these observations, I wondered if diagrams make a difference for students in the classroom and why textbooks cannot have better pictures with the technology we have today.        When I started looking for information on this topic, I found that the use of proper diagrams in the math classroom is an understudied topic, and most of the articles you can find will tell you that. The article that aligned most with what I have observed is linked below the blog. This article talks about how all students, whether they have a learni...

Are you ever scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or an equivalent social media platform and come across a post of an elementary math problem asking you to solve it? The post often provides viewers with an example of a problem with an answer found using basic order of operations and even sometimes give multiple choices for what the solution could be. When you work through it and are confident in your answer, you head to the comments to check to see if you are right. You find, though, to your dismay, that the responses are flooded with differing answers and agitated social media users. They note, “The result is infinite,” “12?,” “2,” “64,” “Both B and C are valid answers,” “to bad ur wrong,” “Isn’t it 1 no matter what you do” and even, “Why can’t anyone ever answer these math questions without a debate? Our education system is a FAILURE.” Not only do these responses make you question your knowledge and retention of information from your math education, but they also might m...

As we begin a new semester of Math 371, Technology for STEM Educators, I want to add information about how teachers can use AI in their classrooms. I know that many use it to create lesson plans, but I also want to include other ways that you can incorporate technology. Have any of you used AI with your preservice math teachers?  If so, how did you use it? I am looking for ideas and would love your help. So, what did I do? I put the following prompt into Chat GPT (free version), “ List some ways that AI can help preservice mathematics teachers .” And here is the response from ChatGPT: AI can play a significant role in supporting preservice mathematics teachers in various ways. Here are some examples: Personalized Learning: AI can analyze individual learning styles and preferences to tailor instructional materials, ensuring that preservice teachers receive personalized support and resources. Adaptive Assessments: AI-driven assessments can identify specific areas of strength and we...