Negative numbers and chatbots
Introduction
In this workshop you will explore how chatbots can be used as learning partners in mathematics, rather than tools that simply provide answers.
The activities come from a teaching sequence designed for 6th grade students working with negative numbers and generative AI.
The sequence focuses on three learning goals:
- Students learn how to prompt a chatbot
- Students learn how generative AI can be used for learning – not cheating
- Students develop an understanding that a chatbot builds its responses based on the information it is given
Presentation (slides)
Activity 1 | Walk & talk with Villy
In this activity students explore negative numbers by talking to a chatbot about their surroundings. In classrooms this often happens at a computer, but students can also use a mobile phone and talk with the chatbot while walking around. Here you can simply look around you and start a conversation with the chatbot.
Goal
Learn how to prompt a chatbot.
Task
- Open the chatbot Villy here
- Start a conversation with Villy.
- Tell Villy where you are and what you see around you.
- Talk about where negative numbers appear in everyday life.
Did the conversation help you notice negative numbers in everyday situations? What examples did you think of?
Activity 2 | Compare chatbots
In this activity students explore how different chatbots help with mathematical thinking.
Goal
Explore how generative AI can be used for learning – not cheating.
Chatbots
1️⃣ Chatbot 1 | 2️⃣ Chatbot 2 | 3️⃣ Chatbot 3
Tasks about negative numbers
Use the tasks from the worksheet → kortlink.dk/2u87x
Task
- Open chatbot 1, 2 and 3.
- Ask them to help with some of the tasks about negative numbers.
- Try the same tasks in all three chatbots.
- Compare how they respond.
Chatbot 1
How does the chatbot help you think? What works well? What works less well?
Chatbot 2
How does the chatbot help you think? What works well? What works less well?
Chatbot 3
How does the chatbot help you think? What works well? What works less well?
Reflect
- Which chatbot helped you think the most?
- What differences did you notice between 1, 2 and 3?
Activity 3 | Design a learning chatbot
In this activity students design a chatbot and explore how its behaviour depends on the prompt.
Goal
Develop an understanding that a chatbot builds its responses based on the information it is given.
Step 1 – Build your chatbot
Go to schoolhub.ai and log in or create a free account.
Create a mathematics teacher chatbot that helps students think about mathematics instead of giving them answers.
Your prompt should describe:
- how the chatbot responds to students’ questions
- how it asks follow-up questions
- its personality
You are a mathematics teacher for primary school students. Your goal is to help students understand mathematical problems and learn from mistakes.See full example prompt (you can copy and modify it) → kortlink.dk/2u87f Step 2 – Share your chatbot Copy the link to your chatbot. Add your chatbot link to the shared document → kortlink.dk/2u88c Choose a row under the discussion language you prefer. Step 3 – Test another chatbot Open the chatbot in the same pair as yours in the shared document. Ask it to help with a task about negative numbers. Pay attention to how the chatbot guides the student’s thinking. Step 4 – Guess the prompt Try to guess what the creator emphasised in their prompt.
Chatbot name:
How does the chatbot respond to students’ questions?
How does it ask follow-up questions or ask for clarification?
What is the chatbot’s personality like?
Anything else you noticed?
Step 5 – Reveal the prompt
Find the creator of the chatbot and compare your guess with the original prompt.
How close was your guess?
Which part of the prompt seemed to have the biggest effect on the chatbot’s behaviour?