Speakers and Abstracts

Morning Session

Keyote Session: AI in the Service of Pedagogy, Students and Society

Abstract: When ChatGPT showed up in November 2022, it didn’t strike many mathematics instructors as particularly useful for our teaching with its mediocre mathematical skills. But in just two years, the free version of ChatGPT graduated from elementary school, now solving college-level math with surprising accuracy and showing its potential as an educational tool. Meanwhile, many other new AI tools are emerging at astonishing speed, often designed to solve problems we didn’t even realize we had.

Despite AI’s significant potential to benefit society, the speed of its development has far outpaced the ethical and responsible planning needed to guide its use. Generative tools in particular were unleashed on society without proper guardrails and have ushered in a new era of challenges for teaching. They disrupt student learning, raise concerns about environmental impact, widen the digital divide, and more.

This session will be a collaborative, investigative conversation to explore the current reality of AI: its possibilities, its challenges, and the contexts we’re navigating. We’ll consider how AI can be incorporated into the classroom in an effective and responsible manner to help students not only use these tools wisely, but also prepare to shape their future development ethically.

Bio: Feryal Alayont is a Professor of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University. Her recent work focuses on combinatorics, graph theory, and the scholarship of teaching and learning, exploring topics such as ethical reasoning, undergraduate research, and generative AI in the mathematics classroom. She uses discovery-based and guided inquiry approaches in the classroom and is a co-author of an inquiry-based OER textbook titled An Inquiry-Based Introduction to Linear Algebra and Applications. She is also a founding organizer of the International Mathematics and Statistics Student Research Symposium, a virtual conference for students to present their research in mathematical sciences.

Active Parallel Sessions

Title: When the Answer is "Sort of Right": Teaching Students to Question AI in Calculus Problem-Solving

Facilitator: Binan Gu (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

Time: 1:00-1:35pm

Abstract:

In the age of generative AI, students increasingly consult tools like ChatGPT to “help” with their homework—often without understanding that these engines are not infallible or even particularly principled when it comes to mathematical reasoning. This presentation proposes a framework for inquiry-driven interaction with AI, aimed not at banning these tools but at cultivating the critical reflexes students need when using them.
I focus on three core habits: (1) recognizing when something might be wrong or "off" in an AI-generated solution, (2) teasing out the correct answer through comparison, error analysis, or analogical reasoning, and (3) asking clarifying or targeted follow-up questions to resolve ambiguity. These skills mirror the kind of mathematical maturity we want students to develop regardless of AI—and perhaps especially because of it.
Using calculus examples, I share how students can be taught to detect common AI pitfalls (like surface-level correctness masking conceptual confusion), and how instructors can frame AI not as an answer machine but as a Socratic interlocutor—one that sometimes needs a nudge (or a full correction). Ultimately, I argue that the goal isn't to stop students from using AI, but to stop them from stopping at its first answer.
(This abstract is AI-generated -- but wait until you see the detailed prompt I gave it)

Title: “Am I Supposed to Be Here?” Identity, Persistence, and Departure in Undergraduate Mathematics

Facilitator: Jesse Combs (Lesley University )

Time: 1:00-1:35pm

Abstract:

This session draws from my recent autoethnographic study as a first-generation, low-income student pursuing an undergraduate degree in pure mathematics at a small liberal arts school in the Appalachian Mountains. Rooted in Tinto’s (1993) theory of individual departure, this session invites participants to explore how academic, social, and institutional factors intersect with students’ identities in ways that influence persistence (or departure) from mathematics and secondary math education pathways.
Rather than offering solutions or strategies, the session creates space for honest and critical reflection about how institutional belonging or invisibility shows up in students’ academic lives. Participants will engage with narrative excerpts from the study, reflect on their own identities, institutional contexts, and practices to contribute to a shared conversation about equity in mathematics education centering lived experiences.

Title: What is your favorite number? Mine is the mysterious number 6174

Facilitator: Charles Wibiralske (University of Massachusetts, Boston)

Time: 1:00-1:35pm

Abstract:

Many non-STEM students enter 100-level college math courses, such as Quantitative Reasoning, with a deep-seated skepticism toward mathematics. They often perceive math as irrelevant, overly abstract, and disconnected from their lives. This session explores strategies to shift that mindset by fostering curiosity, engagement, and a sense of wonder—starting with something as simple and intriguing as a favorite number.
Through collaborative, hands-on activities, participants will experience the student perspective in an active learning classroom. We will model ice-breaking exercises that spark interest and build community, helping to combat the “back row syndrome” of passive learning. The session emphasizes how participatory structures and playful mathematical exploration—like the mystery of the number 6174—can transform math into a subject that is not only useful, but also fun, lovable, and mysterious.
Attendees will leave with practical tools to create inclusive, curiosity-driven environments that encourage student buy-in and reshape attitudes toward mathematics.

Title: Students Deciding When/How to use AI

Facilitator: Christine von Renesse (Westfield State University)

Time: 1:45-2:20pm

Abstract:

In this session, we will discuss how to help students decide when/how to use AI or Math Apps for their learning. I will share prompts to facilitate a class activity, as well as ideas for assignments that allow appropriate AI usage while optimizing student thinking and reflection.

Title: Promoting Equity in Mathematics Classrooms through Autoethnography and AI

Facilitator: Becky Norton (Massachusetts Maritime Academy) and Kyle Evans (Assumption University)

Time: 1:45-2:20pm

Abstract:

I recently published an autoethnography. Writing it was a difficult, but meaningful experience that gave me insight into the contributions that I wish to make as a mathematics educator. This active session will introduce autoethnography as a tool for researching yourself as a mathematics educator, including, perhaps, why you are drawn to teaching with inquiry and/or active learning. During the session, participants can expect to engage with others, interact with ChatGPT, and do some writing as they begin gathering data for their own potential autoethnography. Discussion will be driven by participant interest, and may include topics such as using autoethnography to promote equity in research and in teaching, whether and how AI’s ability to stimulate ideas and provide structure promotes equity, and how the experience of working with other attendees compares to working with AI.

Title: The Feelings Activity

Facilitator: Debbie Borkovitz (Boston University)

Time: 1:45-2:20pm

Abstract:

For the last few semesters, I’ve been doing, “The Feelings Activity” on the second day of most of my classes (on the first day I do a math activity). The activity is based on the How We Feel App. Students select several adjectives in various categories to describe how they typically feel in a math course and how they would expect to feel if this class is great. Then they discuss in small groups, between small groups, and as a whole class.
The activity is a great ice-breaker – students are genuinely curious about each other’s experiences. It’s also a way to set expectations for the course (Will you really be inspired EVERY minute if the class is great?), and later it’s a frame for self-reflection.
In the workshop we’ll do a teacher-focused version of the activities ourselves and think about what ideas it elicits for participants to use in their own classes.

Title: Prompting Reasoning and Engagement in AI-Supported Math Tasks

Facilitator: Eva Politou and Megan Selbach-Allen (Harvard University)

Time: 2:30-3:05pm

Abstract:

In this interactive session, we will share findings from our study on student engagement with an AI tutor in multivariable calculus, focusing on how different AI prompt types influence student thinking. Drawing on the ICAP framework, we’ll discuss both the potential of AI to support learning and the risk of cognitive offloading when students rely too heavily on it. Participants will then work in small groups to redesign sample assessment tasks or AI interactions in ways that preserve the need for student reasoning. The session will close with a group discussion on strategies for encouraging active engagement in AI-supported math learning.

Title: Contemplation, Somatic Writing and Bibliotherapy as Tools of Healing and Connection

Facilitator: Maria Fung and Alivia Glynn (Worcester State University)

Time: 2:30-3:05pm

Abstract:

In this session, we will get participants to reflect on their beliefs about mathematics, learning, mathematics anxiety, and belonging. We will be using self-help tools that could deepen one's understanding of implicit beliefs and trauma. These practices can serve as a basis for creating classrooms of connection and compassion, where mathematics anxiety could be alleviated and learning improved.

Title: Exploring Inquiry and Inclusion with AI

Facilitator: Ileana Vasu (Smith College), Viktoria Savatorova (Central Connecticut State University) and Lauren Rose (Bard College)

Time: 2:30-3:05pm

Abstract: Explore how AI tools like ChatGPT can deepen reasoning, inquiry, and belonging in math. Participants will engage in hands-on, student-style tasks and discuss how thoughtful design can shift the focus from cheating worry to inquiry, curiosity, creativity, and voice.

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