April Crenshaw, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Chattanooga State Community College, has developed a custom AI tutor that she is currently using in her online precalculus course.
The interface that Crenshaw has designed includes three levels of scaffolding to support metacognitive development. Students can request a quick hint, step-by-step guidance, or a detailed explanation. Step-by-step guidance is set as the default to encourage balanced support that promotes learning without providing complete solutions immediately. This tiered approach requires students to assess their own understanding and choose appropriate support levels. Students can choose to receive support in English or Spanish, with English as the default. This language option is particularly important for supporting multilingual learners and students whose first language is Spanish. Students can enter questions by typing, copying and pasting text, or uploading images of problems.
To create a comprehensive learning ecosystem, Crenshaw integrated a built-in Desmos calculator to reduce the need to switch between tools, a direct link to schedule Math Center appointments (reinforcing that AI complements rather than replaces human support), and a “report a problem” button that sends technical issues or mathematical errors directly to her for quick resolution. Students can use the AI tutor for homework support and quiz corrections, but not for tests. This distinction helps maintain academic integrity while providing formative assessment opportunities. The tool creates a low-stakes environment where students can practice problems, receive immediate feedback, and identify knowledge gaps before high-stakes assessments. This is particularly valuable for students who feel intimidated about asking questions in traditional settings. By providing equitable access to academic support the AI tutor fosters a sense of belonging, signaling that student success matters and that barriers to learning can be addressed through thoughtful course design.
Digital Resources
OpenAI API (custom interface explicitly developed for precalculus content), Claude Code, Desmos online scientific calculator
Crenshaw cautions that substantial time investment is required for developing and testing the API integration, building an intuitive interface with multiple input methods, ensuring language translation accuracy, and integrating complementary tools. Other considerations and recommendations from Crenshaw include:
- Pilot and iterate by starting with one section to gather feedback from students and colleagues, and refine before scaling. Pay particular attention to testing image uploads, translation accuracy, and how students engage with scaffolding levels.
- Thoughtful integration means positioning the AI tutor within your institution’s existing support ecosystem (embedded scheduling links, integrated calculators) rather than as a standalone tool. Consider what complementary resources your students need and gather them all in one place.
- Clear boundaries must be established with explicit guidelines distinguishing appropriate use (homework, studying, quiz corrections) from prohibited use (tests). Frame the AI tutor as supporting learning while maintaining integrity.
- Quality control and monitoring through the “report a problem” feature are essential for maintaining accuracy. Be prepared to respond promptly and collect usage data to understand how students engage with different features.
Digital Enablement
As the pilot of the AI tutor use progresses, Crenshaw plans to collect usage data to assess impact on student quiz performance, confidence levels, and course success rates, particularly for students from historically underserved populations. Thus far, benefits of utilizing the AI tutor in precalculus include:
- Removing access barriers by providing 24/7 support for students with work schedules, caregiving responsibilities, or transportation challenges. This is particularly critical in online courses where students may be geographically dispersed or working nontraditional hours.
- Flexible input and language options which allow students to type, paste, or upload images of problems and receive support in English or Spanish. This accommodates different devices, accessibility needs, technological comfort levels, and language preferences.
- Promoting metacognition through scaffolding by offering three assistance levels (quick hint, step-by-step guidance, detailed explanation) that require students to assess their understanding and choose appropriate support. The step-by-step default encourages productive struggle while preventing over-reliance on complete solutions.
- Integrating the AI tutor with the campus ecosystem through a built-in Desmos calculator, embedded Math Center scheduling link, and “report a problem” button which create a seamless learning environment that connects AI support to human resources and ensures quality control.
- Supporting diverse uses by allowing students to use the tool for homework support and quiz corrections (but not tests), creating formative assessment opportunities while maintaining academic integrity. Immediate feedback helps students identify knowledge gaps in real time.