Learning Quadratic Functions with ChatGPT: An Innovative Experience in High School Mathematics Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46328/ijemst.5074Keywords:
ChatGPT, Mathematics Education, Adidactic situations, Artificial intelligenceAbstract
The present study explores the possibility of using ChatGPT as a tutor, to support the teacher’s work in creating solid didactic and adidactic situations in the mathematics classroom, employing qualitative analysis methodologies. The study was based on a didactic experiment carried out in a 10th-grade class in Portugal, involving 26 students who were obtained through purposive sampling. Data sources included submitted student work in the classroom, responses to scripted questions, and answers to open-ended questionnaires. Data were analyzed thematically. Findings show that ChatGPT has a potential to enhance learners’ development of critical thinking and mathematical reasoning when used as an assistant tutor in a mathematics classroom. Additionally, the study highlights the limitations of ChatGPT-3.5 when used as the assistant tutor in a mathematics classroom. The study underscores the need to balance pedagogical and technological approaches, addressing the constrains of tools like ChatGPT.
References
AlAfnan, M. A., Dishari, S., Jovic, M., & Lomidze, K. (2023). ChatGPT as an educational tool: Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations for communication, business writing, and composition courses. Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Technology. https://doi.org/10.37965/jait.2023.0184
Antunes Ribeiro, A. R., Rosotti Navarro, E., & Kalinke, M. A. (2024). O uso do ChatGPT para resolver problemas matemáticos sobre grandezas direta e inversamente proporcionais. Revista Pesquisa Qualitativa, 12(30), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.33361/RPQ.2024.v.12.n.30.716
Bagno, E., Noah, D.-P. T., & Reches, S. (2024). ChatGPT in teaching linear algebra: Strides forward, steps to go. Open Education Studies, 6, 1. https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2024-0031
Bayaga, A., Mthethwa, M. M., Bossé, M. J., & Williams, D. (2019). Impacts of implementing GeoGebra on eleventh grade students’ learning of Euclidean geometry. South African Journal of Higher Education, 33(6). https://doi.org/10.20853/33-6-2824
Binti Misrom, N. S., Muhammad, A. S., Abdullah, A. H., Osman, S., Hamzah, M. H., & Fauzan, A. (2020). Enhancing students’ higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) through an inductive reasoning strategy using GeoGebra. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 15(3), 156–179. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v15i03.9839
Botana, F., & Recio, T. (2024). Geometric loci and ChatGPT: Caveat emptor! Computation, 12(2), 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/computation12020030
Botana, F., Recio, T., & Villar, M. P. (2024). On using GeoGebra and ChatGPT for geometric discovery. Computers, 13(8), 187. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers13080187
Brousseau, G. (2021). Introdução ao estudo das situações didáticas: Conteúdos e métodos de ensino (C. Borgéa, Trans.). Editora Ática.
Brousseau, G. (2002). Theory of didactical situations in mathematics: Didactique des mathématiques, 1970–1990 (N. Balacheff, M. Cooper, R. Sutherland, & V. Warfield, Eds.). Springer. (Original work published 1997)
Canonigo, A. M. (2024). Leveraging AI to enhance students’ conceptual understanding and confidence in mathematics. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 40(6), 3215–3229. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.13065
Chen, X., Xie, H., Zou, D., & Hwang, G.-J. (2020). Application and theory gaps during the rise of artificial intelligence in education. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 1, 100002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2020.100002
Chiu, T. K. F., Xia, Q., Zhou, X., Chai, C. S., & Cheng, M. (2023). Systematic literature review on opportunities, challenges, and future research recommendations of artificial intelligence in education. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 4, 100118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2022.100118
Cobb, P. (2000). Handbook of research design in mathematics and science education. In A. E. Kelly & R. A. Lesh (Eds.), Handbook of research design in mathematics and science education (pp. 307–334). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ding, L., Li, T., Jiang, S., & Gapud, A. (2023). Students’ perceptions of using ChatGPT in a physics class as a virtual tutor. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 20, 34. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-023-00434-1
diSessa, A. (2000). Changing minds: Computers, learning, and literacy. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/1786.001.0001
Dos Santos, J., Silva, J. C., & Lavicza, Z. (2024). GeoGebra Classroom na formação inicial de professores de matemática. In A. Amélia et al. (Eds.), Universidade de Coimbra (pp. 162–172). Centro de Estudos Interdisciplinares.
Egara, F. O., & Mosimege, M. (2024). Exploring the integration of artificial intelligence-based ChatGPT into mathematics instruction: Perceptions, challenges, and implications for educators. Education Sciences, 14(7), 742. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070742
Fadel, C., & Bialik, M. (2019). Artificial intelligence in education. Independently Published.
Fischer, G., Lundin, J., & Lindberg, O. J. (2020). Rethinking and reinventing learning, education and collaboration in the digital age—from creating technologies to transforming cultures. International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 37(5), 241–252. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-04-2020-0051
von Garrel, J., & Mayer, J. (2023). Artificial intelligence in studies—Use of ChatGPT and AI-based tools among students in Germany. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10, 364. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02304-7
Goel, A. K., & Joyner, D. A. (2017). Using AI to teach AI: Lessons from an online AI class. AI Magazine, 38(2), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v38i2.2732
Gouia-Zarrad, R., & Gunn, C. (2024). Enhancing students’ learning experience in mathematics class through ChatGPT. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 19(3), em0780. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/14614
Hernández, A., Perdomo-Díaz, J., & Camacho-Machín, M. (2020). Mathematical understanding in problem solving with GeoGebra: A case study in initial teacher education. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 51(2), 223–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1587022
Huang, M.-H., & Rust, R. T. (2021). Engaged to a robot? The role of AI in service. Journal of Service Research, 24(1), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520902266
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1998). Learning together and alone (5th ed.). Pearson.
Joshi, D. R., & Singh, K. B. (2020). Effect of using GeoGebra on eighth-grade students’ understanding in learning linear equations. Mathematics Teaching-Research Journal, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4886310
Lameras, P., & Arnab, S. (2022). Power to the teachers: An exploratory review on artificial intelligence in education. Information, 13(1), 14. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13010014
Luckin, R., & Holmes, W. (2016). Intelligence unleashed: An argument for AI in education. UCL Knowledge Lab.
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x
Neuendorf, K. A. (2018). Content analysis and thematic analysis. In The content analysis guidebook (pp. 211–223). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315517971-21
OpenAI. (2024). GPT-4 technical report. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2403.05530
Selwyn, N. (2019). Should robots replace teachers? AI and the future of education. Wiley.
Simon, M. A. (1995). Reconstructing mathematics pedagogy from a constructivist perspective. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 26(2), 114–145. https://doi.org/10.2307/749205
Steffe, L. P., & Thompson, P. W. (2000). Handbook of research design in mathematics and science education. In A. E. Kelly & R. A. Lesh (Eds.), Handbook of research design in mathematics and science education (pp. 267–306). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Tong, D., Tao, Y., Zhang, K., Dong, X., Hu, Y., Pan, S., & Liu, Q. (2024). Investigating ChatGPT-4’s performance in solving physics problems and its potential implications for education. Asia Pacific Education Review, 25(5), 779–794. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-023-09913-6
Uwurukundo, M. S., Maniraho, J. F., & Tusiime, M. (2020). GeoGebra integration and effectiveness in the teaching and learning of mathematics in secondary schools: A review of literature. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences, 16(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajesms.v16i1.1
Williamson, B. (2017). Big data in education: The digital future of learning, policy and practice. SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529714920
Williamson, B., & Eynon, R. (2020). Historical threads, missing links, and future directions in AI in education. Learning, Media and Technology, 45(3), 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1798995
Yohannes, A., & Chen, H.-L. (2023). GeoGebra in mathematics education: A systematic review of journal articles published from 2010 to 2020. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(9), 5960–5978. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.2016861
Yoon, H., Hwang, J., Lee, K., Roh, K. H., & Kwon, O. N. (2024). Students’ use of generative artificial intelligence for proving mathematical statements. ZDM – Mathematics Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-024-01629-0
Yunianto, W., Lavicza, Z., Kastner-Hauler, O., & Houghton, T. (2024). Investigating the use of ChatGPT to solve a GeoGebra-based mathematics + computational thinking task in a geometry topic. Journal on Mathematics Education, 15(3), 1027–1052. https://doi.org/10.22342/jme.v15i3.pp1027-1052
Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education: Where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16, 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Articles may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Authors alone are responsible for the contents of their articles. The journal owns the copyright of the articles. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of the research material.
The author(s) of a manuscript agree that if the manuscript is accepted for publication in the journal, the published article will be copyrighted using a Creative Commons “Attribution 4.0 International” license. This license allows others to freely copy, distribute, and display the copyrighted work, and derivative works based upon it, under certain specified conditions.
Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to include any images or artwork for which they do not hold copyright in their articles, or to adapt any such images or artwork for inclusion in their articles. The copyright holder must be made explicitly aware that the image(s) or artwork will be made freely available online as part of the article under a Creative Commons “Attribution 4.0 International” license.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
