Creative Force Dispatch · Math as a Creative Force

Creative Force Dispatch

AI labs now claim math results by the hundreds, but on WBUR’s On Point, Steven Strogatz named where the machines still fall short: they are “subhuman at asking good questions.” Posing the question is the creative act in mathematics, and in a math classroom it’s daily work: the problem set.

This week it’s pulled two ways: Teachers Pay Teachers plans to ban AI-generated resources, while most teachers who use AI tell Gallup it frees time for what matters most. So who should write the problems your students solve?

THE FIVE

[Radio · 40 min] WBUR On Point: AI is steamrolling through math. Why does that matter? OpenAI claims solutions to 16 questions tied directly to Fields medalist Hugo Duminil-Copin’s research, and Harvey Mudd’s Francis Su answers: “Math is understanding.” If Su is right, a class built around the answer key is teaching the part the machines just took.
[Essay] Terence Tao’s blog: Will it be a golden age or a dark age for mathematics (and science)? UT Austin math chair Francesco Maggi reports a prevailing view among mathematicians he’s spoken with: a strong result, by itself, “can no longer be taken as convincing evidence” of a student’s independent ability. He doesn’t know if that’s overblown, but if it isn’t, certifying understanding is now every math department’s problem.
[News] Chalkbeat: Teachers Pay Teachers to ban AI-generated classroom resources as changes to platform spark backlash. After Chalkbeat found apparent AI slop, including an alphabet coloring worksheet missing the letter F, TPT says seller material “should be unique, expertly crafted, and AI-free.” If human-made becomes the mark of quality, teachers who draft with AI will have to show where their judgment went in.
[Report] Gallup: Teachers Using AI Say It Frees Up Time for What Matters Most. In a Walton Family Foundation–Gallup survey of 1,952 educators, 59% used AI last school year, including to make materials and assessments, and nearly two-thirds of users say it freed time for what matters most. Overall, 85% say helping a student through something difficult makes them feel they matter a great deal, which is the trade-off on offer: AI drafts the worksheet, you take the struggle.
[Podcast] APM Reports, via The Hechinger Report: Sold a story: It’s not just reading. Emily Hanford’s second season moves beyond reading to teaching itself, starting with Zig Engelmann, the outsider who taught his 4-year-old twins basic algebra and developed Direct Instruction. As the scripted-lesson fight heats up again, math teachers should ask whether a script leaves room for a student’s own idea.

THE QUESTION

Who should write the problems your students solve? Vote below, then tell us about one problem set you wrote, borrowed, or generated this semester, and what you had to fix. Can’t pick? Tell us what it depends on.

I write them. Posing problems is the job.

AI drafts; I rework every one.

AI writes; my time goes to students.

Students pose their own.

I get most of mine from our curriculum.

0 votes

1 comment

Creative Force Dispatch