Rethinking Textbooks for Mathematics Education
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I like the open mathematics textbook project because it brings together several things I care about in my work: the potential for direct and visible social impact at scale, the use of technology I am passionate about, particularly STACK, and the possibility of an initiative developed in a low-resource environment growing into something with global relevance.
This playlist follows the journey of the project, from its origins in Kenya and the challenges of making it a reality, through the open technologies and ideas behind it, to AI, teacher involvement and its potential to contribute to mathematics education much more widely.
If you would like to support the project and help us, and our partners in Kenya, continue this work, you can contribute to our crowdfunding campaign here.
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David Stern talks to Dr. Michael Obiero from Maseno University about their inspiring joint initiatives in educational reform. They delve into the challenges and achievements in developing digital, competency-based mathematics textbooks aimed at the Kenyan education system. Michael shares insights on the innovative methods deployed by the interns working on this project, the integration of various educational tools, and how this effort is expected to transform mathematics education in Kenya and potentially other countries too.
David and Mike discuss Kenya's new competency-based curriculum and a UK-backed campaign to create innovative digital textbooks. They delve into the challenges and potential solutions, highlighting the role of PreText and STACK technologies in revolutionising education across Africa.
Michele Pancera and David Stern critically discuss a recent Google paper on AI-augmented textbooks. They consider the paper's proposal of AI-generated personalised learning materials and how it compares to existing deterministic tools like STACK. The conversation highlights the differences between surface-level and deep personalisations, the importance of human involvement in AI processes, and the potential of AI in supporting teachers and enhancing education systems globally. They explore the vision of a customisable, community-driven textbook ecosystem that leverages AI to reduce educational inequalities while maintaining high-quality human interaction.
Access the paper from Google here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13348
Santiago and David provide an in-depth look at PreTeXt, an open-source authoring tool designed to separate the roles of authors and publishers. David recounts his early interactions with PreTeXt founder Rob Beezer and discusses the evolution and principles behind the tool. They highlight the importance of modularity, separating content from presentation, and emphasize the tool's relevance for creating interactive, adaptable educational resources. The discussion also touches on PreTeXt's integration with other tools like STACK and the broader vision of combining multiple open-source technologies to address diverse educational needs.
How do textbooks function differently across educational systems, and what happens when those systems operate in low-resource environments? Following on from previous episodes on the CBC open textbooks project in Kenya, Lucie Hazelgrove-Planel and David Stern discuss textbooks more generally. They discuss the different roles textbooks play in different educational contexts, and how a lack of contextualisation can block learning. They consider how an open textbook model, where they can be adapted into different variants without requiring an entirely new publication, could revolutionise the way textbooks are produced and used globally.
Following previous episodes on Kenyan maths textbooks, Santiago and David reflect on the project from IDEMS’ perspective. They discuss the rapid push to complete open Grade 10 mathematics resources, driven by urgent teacher needs under the new curriculum and growing interest from the Kenyan Ministry of Education and CEMASTEA. They outline the core tools: a PreTeXt textbook designed for multiple variants, minimal STACK integration for mastery-focused interactive questions and feedback, and Moodle courses that combine short teacher training with learning-objective-based topic courses and forums for peer exchange and certification.
David and Kate examine the idea of digital sovereignty through the lens of communities rather than nation states. Reflecting on recent discussions around AI governance and digital infrastructure, they explore why community ownership, local adaptation, and collaboration may be just as important as national strategies in shaping the future of technology.
David and Kate discuss the Farm Hack Box and the new possibilities it suggests for community-owned digital infrastructure. While conceived for farming communities, they explore how the same ideas could reshape education and other social impact contexts, enabling local AI, greater digital sovereignty, and technologies that communities can truly own and adapt.
In the second of three episodes reflecting on the International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS), David and Lily discuss the growing influence of AI on statistics education. They reflect on how the community is responding to rapid technological change, and explore why educators should play an active role in shaping AI tools that support responsible, accessible, and equitable learning.
In the final episode of this three-part series reflecting on the International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS), David and Lily discuss the reception of IDEMS’ open textbook initiative within the statistics education community. They explore how new approaches to adaptation, accreditation, and collaboration could strengthen open educational resources, enabling communities to build on one another’s work while preserving the expertise and contributions of original authors.
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