JMU professors Amanda Gant Sawyer and Marcus Wolf University of EducationIt was recently awarded 2025 National Technology Leadership Initiative (NTLI) FellowshipAwarded by the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. Their award-winning papers, “Mathematical curriculum Investigating ChatGpt Adaptation in Preservice Teachers: Discovery of Overconfidence”a future teacher, also known as a Preservice teacher, explored how to create and adapt mathematics lessons using AI tools such as ChatGpt.
University Communication We talked with Sawyer and Wolfe to learn more about their discoveries and what it means for both students and educators.
What inspired you to study AI in your education?
The rise of online tools like teachers paid teachers, and now ChatGpt found that students increasingly rely on AI-generated resources that did not challenge them to think deeply to plan their curriculum. When ChatGpt came into the market in 2022, we found this issue to increase even more. Individuals were able to create mathematical resources simply by encouraging tools. However, I didn’t know how reliable these lessons created by AI could be. We also launched this study because critical thinking is essential to education.
Can you explain your research?
We have created a unit to help students learn how to critically evaluate AI-generated educational materials. This study examined how future teachers adapted the curriculum created by ChatGpt. It was found that 64% of the adapted lessons were changed only for visual appeal, without further analysis of the content. The results examined our concerns and highlighted the need to teach future teachers how to think more critically about using AI tools in the classroom.
What was the most surprising finding from your research?
Although students were taught strategies for assessing resources, it was found that many people made surface-level changes without questioning the content and simply on whether it was suitable for elementary school students. It was eye-opening to see how confident ChatGpt responds, even if the material wasn’t perfectly suited.
AI is likely to become a part of our lives, for better or worse, moving forward. How can teachers integrate AI efficiently?
Teachers can efficiently integrate AI by helping students understand their limitations first. It is important to show future educators that even if they appear to be correct, the content generated by AI is often biased or inaccurate.
Teachers also need to encourage students to be critically critical and carefully analyze information created by AI rather than blindly trusting them. AI can be a useful tool when Preservice teachers are taught to use it correctly and continue to develop powerful educational skills along with it.
How does such awards have an impact as a teacher?
Winning this award makes sense for both of us. For Dr. Wolf, this recognition is encouraging and helps him see new ways to grow and contribute to the field. For Dr. Sawyer, who began his journey at JMU in 2014, the award is an honor to recognize his commitment to the field of mathematics education.
