According to a recent news release, the AI Math Coach, a tool for planning, assessment and instructional support designed by math coaches and facilitators within ALN, focuses on teacher expertise rather than student-facing interventions.
At a time when 32 percent of U.S. public schools can’t fill math teaching positions and many districts face tight budget constraints after the sunsetting of pandemic-era federal funds, ALN said they view the current state of American learning outcomes as a “math achievement crisis.” This reality, ALN stated, requires meaningful and scalable improvements to teacher practices, rather than direct student support.
“We’ve been focused on the wrong side of the equation,” ALN CEO John Tapper said in a public statement. “Research proves the most powerful lever is teacher expertise, not student-facing interventions. High-quality coaching works but takes time and resources to scale — coaches spend two to three hours preparing for a single session. AI Math Coach solves that.”
The tool reflects a shift in how math improvement efforts are approached, Tapper added.
The news release described Math AI Coach as a research-based software that “provides personalized, on-demand support that builds both content knowledge and pedagogical expertise.” One component, the Pedagogy Assistant, is designed to help teachers deepen their understanding of math concepts and develop instructional strategies that prioritize student reasoning over procedural memorization.
For example, teachers can ask the Pedagogy Assistant for advice on helping their students with a specific lesson, and it will offer suggestions rooted in research on how students at that age learn math concepts.
Another feature, the Intervention Assistant, analyzes student work to identify misconceptions and generates personalized intervention plans using ALN’s internal resources.
“We do not promote instruction where the teacher ‘shows’, ‘demonstrates,’ or ‘models’ math procedures,” Tapper said. “AI Math Coach, like all our professional development, focuses on students developing math strategies and approaches that make sense to them. ... This isn’t about replacing human coaches or professional development. It’s about extending their reach. Every teacher deserves access to high-quality support for their own learning.”
