Summer Spark 2026

The AMATYC Summer Spark is a free, two-day webinar burst on June 25-26 featuring 10 engaging sessions designed to energize your teaching.

Browse the schedule and choose the sessions that fit your interests and availability - attend one, a few, or all of them. Once you register, you'll have access to every session!

We'll also have informal lunch sessions each day which are a chance to reconnect with colleagues and meet like-minded educators from across the country. Whether you find inspiration in a session or in conversation, there's space for both.

Summer Spark 2026 Schedule of Events

Thursday, June 25

11:00 AM Eastern / 8:00 AM Pacific

Summer Spark Opening

Opening statements by AMATYC president Eddie Tchertchian

11:10 AM Eastern / 8:10 AM Pacific

AI in the Math Classroom: A Novice-Friendly Guide
Carrie Lineberry

This presentation explores the practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI) for mathematics instructors. Learn how AI can assist with administrative tasks, generate creative activities, rewrite assessments, design syllabi, automate reminders, and more. Discover how to leverage AI as a novice user to enhance your teaching and streamline your workflow.

12:00 PM Eastern / 9:00 AM Pacific

Teaching Mathematics Through Puzzles, Games, Music, and Art
Miriam Harris-Botzum

Explore games, puzzles, musical activities, and artistic activities that make it fun to learn meaningful mathematical concepts, and help to build student interest and confidence in Discrete Mathematics and Liberal Arts Math. The presenter will showcase an active learning approach that makes mathematics more accessible to a wide variety of students.

12:50 PM Eastern / 9:50 AM Pacific

Changing Instructional Practice to Increase Learning, Balance, and Joy
Laura Schueller

Bring an open mind, and guided by numerous evidence-based frameworks, you will engage in identifying course policies and practices that are within your control to improve, investigating the process of making choices that support student success, and developing plans for creating classes that serve students well and bring you joy.

1:30 PM Eastern / 10:30 AM Pacific

Chat & Chew
Free time within the Zoom meeting to chat with other participants on a variety of topics

2:30 PM Eastern / 11:30 AM Pacific

Using ChatGPT to Support and Enhance Math Learning for Students
Marcelo Guerra Hanh

This presentation examines how ChatGPT can enhance math education by providing personalized support, simplifying concepts, and improving problem solving. It highlights practical applications of AI tools in the classroom, demonstrating their potential to make math more engaging, accessible, and effective for students at various learning levels.

3:20 PM Eastern / 12:20 PM Pacific

The Biggest Little Trig Activities
Cindy Moore
Tammy Sullivan

Presenters will share some of their favorite trigonometry activities that help students develop
deep understanding and recognize concept connections.

Friday, June 26

11:10 AM Eastern / 8:10 AM Pacific

Google and AI Resistant Precalculus Worksheets
Rob Eby

With the rise of easy to access AI and the explosion of online class offerings, we need some different questions to assess our students. Come explore what the presenter has developed and help the presenter and others expand the pool of questions.

12:00 PM Eastern / 9:00 AM Pacific

Flip Your Flipped Class into a BTC Class... Without Flipping Out
Kim Granger

Discover how flipped teaching can be implemented to free up class time for active learning. The presenter has been flipping for over a decade but has recently "flipped the flip" to implement the practices of BTC. Class activities and other resources will be shared.

12:50 PM Eastern / 9:50 AM Pacific

Probability Activities for Non-Math Majors
Barbara Boschmans
Brian Boschmans

Students in classes who are non-STEM majors typically struggle with understanding several
concepts of probability, especially those that seem counterintuitive. This session will present several classroom-tested and classroom-ready activities that will help your students grasp many of the concepts of probability that are often elusive to them.

1:30 PM Eastern / 10:30 AM Pacific

Chat & Chew
Free time within the Zoom meeting to chat with other participants on a variety of topics

2:30 PM Eastern / 11:30 AM Pacific

Alternative Assessments to Support Student Mathematical Understanding
Eileen Fernandez

How can instructors promote a strong mathematical foundation through alternative assessments, especially as they prepare incoming students for college level mathematics? In this session, the presenters will describe how they have explored creating and implementing alternatives to traditional assessments that have students collaborating, making connections, and considering different contexts for mathematics.

3:20 PM Eastern / 12:20 PM Pacific

Favorite Calculus Problems: Promoting Conceptual Understanding
Bob Cappetta

Designing innovative calculus problems is no easy task. Well-crafted problems can reveal to students that calculus is more than just memorization and imitation. In fact, problems that even challenge AI platforms can be particularly powerful. This presentation will showcase such problems--inviting attendees to explore, solve, and reflect on what makes them effective.

4:00 PM Eastern / 1:00 PM Pacific

Summer Spark Closing

Closing remarks by AMATYC"s PD Committee

The 2026 AMATYC Webinar Series is sponsored by McGraw Hill.