Co-Teaching: Me, Myself and AI

The Problem

After a math check, teachers are often left with a stack of papers filled with many different student mistakes. Sorting these papers by hand to plan small groups can consume an entire planning period. As a result, guided math groups are frequently formed based on overall test scores rather than on what each student actually needs.

The Idea

Two students can miss the same number of problems for completely different reasons, meaning they require distinct instructional lessons. By giving a short quick check of two or three problems and uploading the student work to Gemini Notebook, the AI can find the first step where each student went wrong. The notebook then sorts students into targeted groups who need the same next lesson, allowing the teacher to check the analysis and teach the groups.

The Steps

Step 1. Give a Quick Check: Administer a short assessment of 2 to 3 problems sampling a skill at varying levels, requiring students to show every step.

Step 2. Upload Coded Work: Create a notebook and upload the answer key alongside photos of student work labeled with student codes (e.g., S01 through S13) rather than names.

Step 3. Generate Error Analysis: Ask the notebook to check each student's work against the key, identify the first step where work went wrong, and describe the misunderstanding in a table.

Step 4. Review & Correct Analysis: Inspect the uploaded photos and manually correct any misread handwriting or incorrect findings in the table.

Step 5. Form Small Groups: Instruct the notebook to organize students into 3 to 5 instructional groups based on shared learning needs, naming each group by what it needs to learn and placing students with no errors in an extension group.

Step 6. Request Mini-Lessons: Prompt the notebook to generate a 10-minute lesson for each group consisting of one worked example, three practice problems, and a one-problem exit check.

Step 7. Reassess & Adapt: After the next quick check, upload new student work to determine who resolved their error and update the small groups accordingly.

Four rules for Teachers

Rule 1. Use Student Codes Only: Upload work using anonymized codes (such as S01 through S13) and never use student names.

Rule 2. Verify the AI Analysis First: Always review the AI's table against the original photos and correct any mistakes, as AI can occasionally misread student handwriting.

Rule 3. Keep Groups Flexible: Ensure instructional groups remain fluid and change after every quick check based on current student progress.

Rule 4. Group by Misunderstanding, Not Scores: Organize students strictly by the specific lesson they need next, placing students who got every problem right into an extension group.

Try it this week

To put this into practice, start by administering a 2- or 3-problem quick check that samples a math skill across different difficulty levels, such as long division with no remainder, a zero in the quotient, and a remainder. Upload the answer key and photos of student work into a dedicated notebook using anonymized codes (S01 through S13) instead of student names. Prompt the notebook to generate a summary table detailing where each student went wrong, review the original photos to correct any misread handwriting, and request 3 to 5 instructional groups with 10-minute mini-lessons.

Gemini Notebook-Powered Guided Math Groups

The Problem

The Idea

The Steps

Four rules for Teachers

Try it this week

More in Module 4

Keeping Classroom Quizzes Fresh with Gemini Notebook

The Scoring Companion: Human-in-the-Loop Grading

Snap and Check Math Feedback