Magma Math helps teachers spark richer mathematical conversations by analyzing student work and generating ready-to-use discussion routines. Based on student responses, Magma automatically generates discussion questions and highlights student solutions that best support each conversation, making it easier to facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse.
What Are Discussion Routines?
Discussion Routines are AI-generated classroom conversations built from:
The assignment problem
Student solution strategies
Common misconceptions
Patterns in student responses
Each discussion routine includes:
AI-generated discussion questions
Automatically highlighted student solutions that best support the discussion
Teachers can use these routines to:
Facilitate whole-class discussions
Guide small-group conversations
Highlight mathematical reasoning
Address common misconceptions
Support lesson planning
Available Discussion Routines
When viewing a problem, teachers can choose from four AI-generated discussion routines.
General Discussion
Generates broad discussion questions based on overall student thinking. Magma automatically highlights student solutions that best support the generated discussion prompts, helping teachers explore a variety of approaches and reasoning.
Common Error
Identifies common misconceptions and mistakes made by students. Magma highlights representative student solutions so teachers can address misconceptions using authentic student work from the class.
Good Calculations
Highlights strong examples of mathematical reasoning, accurate calculations, and effective solution strategies. These examples help teachers showcase successful thinking and reinforce best practices.
Same but Different
Highlights two students who arrived at the same correct answer using different strategies. This routine encourages students to compare approaches, discuss efficiency, and recognize that multiple solution paths can lead to the same result.
How to Use Discussion Routines
Open an assignment.
Open the Heatmap.
Select a problem to open the Problem View.
Choose one of the four discussion routines:
General Discussion
Common Error
Good Calculations
Same but Different
Review the AI-generated discussion questions.
Use the highlighted student solutions to guide your classroom discussion.
How Teachers Use Discussion Routines
Teachers commonly use Discussion Routines to:
Launch mathematical discussions
Explore common misconceptions
Compare multiple solution strategies
Celebrate effective mathematical reasoning
Encourage students to explain and defend their thinking
Make classroom conversations more relevant by using authentic student work
Because each discussion routine is generated directly from your students' responses, every conversation is grounded in your class's current understanding.
Important Notes
Discussion Routines are only visible to teachers.
Students cannot view the discussion questions or pinned solutions.
Magma automatically highlights suggested student solutions for each discussion routine. Teachers can still manually pin any additional student solutions they want to feature during discussion.
Discussion questions cannot currently be edited within Magma.
Teachers can copy discussion questions into lesson plans, slides, or other instructional materials if desired.