EdTechnical Adding It Up: Dan Meyer on Math, Tech & AI Scepticism
Dec 11, 2025
Dan Meyer, a math educator and VP at Amplify, brings his unique perspective on the intersection of technology and education. He highlights the importance of inviting student thinking and developing it through social interactions, emphasizing that motivation stems from these connections. Meyer critiques the limitations of AI in education, arguing it often misses the nuances of classroom dynamics. He discusses how AI can enhance teaching through better analytics and reflects on the modest adoption of AI tools in real classrooms, all while advocating for creative, engaging math practices.
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Teacher Returns To Classroom To Stay Grounded
- Dan returns regularly to teach to stay sharp and learn how lessons actually run in real classrooms.
- He observed students often hide understanding and require tenacity and desk presence to surface real thinking.
Invite Then Develop Student Thinking
- Dan distils effective math teaching to two verbs: invite and develop student thinking.
- He stresses teachers must surface students' raw materials before formal instruction.
Probe Intuition Before Formal Instruction
- Use tasks that feel unstructured to reveal students' embodied and intuitive knowledge rather than relying solely on binary diagnostics.
- Teach toward those revealed resources instead of assuming students lack prior materials.