Harnessing AI to customize math materials

As a math teacher, Chelsea Kirschbaum enjoys the challenge of finding solutions to complex problems. 

She takes a lot of pride in going through the mathematical teaching process on her own and helping her students feel similar satisfaction with the subject. But the reality of a packed school day often means there simply aren't enough hours to create the learning experiences she envisions for each of her sixth-grade students at Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School in Iowa.

“I bet a lot of teachers are in my position, where we’re not used to using other resources that make our lives easier or faster,” Kirschbaum said. “We’re used to just taking it all on and adding it to our to-do list.”

That's where Math Tailor has made a real difference. Kirschbaum was among the educators who took part in the pilot of Math Tailor through Gradient Learning’s Innovation Hub and its partner Render. 

Math Tailor is an AI-powered classroom application by Render that creates customized materials to support teachers in their existing lesson plans and allows teachers to meet the diverse needs of their students and learning styles. Math Tailor leverages the content of Illustrative Math, a widely-used open educational resource, to empower teachers like Kirschbaum to create customized learning materials in a fraction of the time typically required.

“It helped a lot because it took me 30 seconds to create a new resource for my students instead of me searching online for another worksheet or surface area and coming up with problems myself,” Kirschbaum said. “I loved that it was specifically connected to my curriculum. I loved the ease of use and all of the options I could tailor it with.”

A ‘mindset shift’

Kirschbaum was also excited to see how Math Tailor enriched the curriculum for her high-achieving students. Her school's goal is to challenge these learners, and Math Tailor helped her quickly create resources to meet this need through its use of AI.

“It’s almost like a mindset shift because I feel like I’ve always taken everything on myself, but I need to remember, ‘Oh yeah, Math Tailor can help me with this,’” she said.

Kirschbaum emphasized that the teacher remains in control and AI is used as a tool to enhance their instruction and not replace it altogether. 

“When it’s used in this way, it’s such a great resource,” Kirschbaum said.

Kirschbaum also enjoyed how Math Tailor was able to personalize math problems based on student interests. 

“It was really fun to see them excited because it was based on what they liked,” she said. “Like when I handed one student a worksheet and they were like, ‘This is on Minecraft!’ It blew their mind that something school-related was cool.”

She also recalled how one student’s interest in geology and gemstones led to a math worksheet that focused on percentages within those topics. Kirschbaum said that connecting math to students’ real-world interests helped spark more curiosity and engagement in her classroom.

Co-building with teachers

Beyond the immediate benefits for her students, Kirschbaum also valued being a part of the co-design process with Gradient’s Innovation Hub and Render. She believes that incorporating teacher voices is essential for the success of educational tools. 

“I’ve been really impressed with all of the data that they’re taking from teachers,” she said. “It’s definitely important because I feel like the things that fail are the things that are implemented by people who maybe aren't teachers or don't have a lot of data from teachers.”

Kirschbaum encourages other Gradient Learning educators to participate in similar pilot programs through the Innovation Hub going forward. She said these types of collaborations are vital to shaping the future of education.

“I hope that Math Tailor continues to be developed into something that’s available to all educators because it’s so valuable,” said Kirschbaum, who said the pilot response has been positive among her fellow math teachers within Holy Family Catholic Schools in Iowa. “It’s been so cool to see how useful it is and how it can help connect math to the real world for my students.”