Building a Custom Math Tutor with ChatGPT GPTs

Personalized Learning via Custom GPTs

Phil Birchenall created a custom GPT to help his 12-year-old daughter, Daisy, overcome struggles with multiplying fractions and long division. By leveraging the ability to personalize ChatGPT for specific tasks and subjects, Birchenall developed a tutor that combined academic instruction with the personality of the family dog, Izzy, making the learning process engaging and effective.

Implementation of the Custom Math Tutor

To address the gap between modern teaching methodologies and traditional textbooks, Birchenall utilized the GPTs feature, which allows users to create tailored versions of the AI language model. The custom tutor was designed with two primary components:

• Subject Focus: The tutor was specifically tuned to teach multiplying fractions and long division to a 12-year-old student.
• Personality Integration: The AI was given the persona of the family dog, Izzy, incorporating dog-themed jokes and dog-biscuit themed math problems to maintain the student's interest.

Educational Outcomes and Impact

The use of the personalized AI tutor led to measurable academic improvement for Daisy. According to Birchenall, the student "smashed her SATs exam for maths" and received a certificate from her teacher acknowledging the significant progress she had made in the subject.

"Rather than just a, like a boring textbook revision guide. It kind of really, like, really brought it to life and it made it feel like part of the family like that had this thing that was an extension of our dog… You know, it’s just really about putting more of what you love into what you learn."

This case study demonstrates the potential for parents to use custom GPTs to transform tedious revision into an exciting, personalized learning experience by integrating a student's personal interests into the curriculum.