Her students’ enthusiasm and curiosity about AI as she integrated it into a spring 2024 course has inspired Dr. Lani Gao to explore further use of AI as a teaching tool.
Gao, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga professor of mathematics, first incorporated AI into her classroom via a graduate-level course, Applied Statistics Methods.
“The students were highly receptive and engaged with the AI components of the course,” Gao said. “They appreciated the practical, hands-on experience in weekly mini-projects and were keen to explore how AI can enhance their understanding and application of statistical methods.”
Students were required to apply AI techniques for data preprocessing, including data cleaning, imputation and visualization. Students compared the results with transitional preprocessing and interpreted the impact on the data quality. Students were encouraged to seek examples of R code provided by AI tools, which provided AI-enabled adaptive learning.
The module introduced foundational concepts of AI relevant to statistical analysis such as machine learning, deep learning and neural networks using large language models such as ChatGPT and Gemini.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the students’ adaptability and enthusiasm in integrating AI tools into their learning process,” Gao said. “The innovative applications using AI were impressive and exceeded my expectations.”
Students had to implement both traditional statistical models and AI-driven models (such as machine learning algorithms) for predictive modeling.
Students interpreted the results of statistical analysis, emphasizing the differences between traditional and AI-driven approaches, discussed the implications of the findings, then discussed the interpretation ability of the large language models they incorporated to receive their datasets.
“I plan to offer the course with these enhancements again” in spring 2025, Gao said, . “I am looking forward to further refining the course and exploring new AI applications with the students.”
Department of Mathematics at UTC
College of Arts and Sciences Dean Pam Riggs-Gelasco funded Gao’s proposal to incorporate AI into a course module with $500. Gao used this to purchase online textbooks and course material and to attend a training workshop focused on AI and statistics to enhance her expertise.
UTC undergraduate degree programs in Mathematics
UTC graduate degree programs in Mathematics
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