From an Abstract Lesson to a Meaningful Professional Skill

As stated by Teacher Buket in her interview, vocational high school students couldn't find a piece of themselves or their professions when they opened their textbooks. This rendered mathematics an "incomprehensible and abstract lesson," fundamentally shaking their learning motivation.

The project's core philosophy is hidden in its slogan: “Every Profession Speaks Its Own Mathematics.”

The aim was not to simplify mathematics, but to make it functional. For a student in the plumbing department, trigonometry was placing a solar panel at the most efficient angle. For a student in the Motor Vehicles department, it was the camber angle of a wheel. For an Electrical-Electronics student, the distance between two points meant nano seconds determining the signal transmission efficiency in a circuit. So, how would this vision be realized in practice? At this point, Madlen became, in Teacher Buket’s words, “a magic wand handed to her.”

Solution: A Personalized and Profession-Focused Learning Experience with Madlen

Unlike many artificial intelligence tools on the market, Madlen provided Teacher Buket Topuzoğlu with a blank canvas where she could reflect her imagination and pedagogical vision instead of ready-made templates. The MATH4MESAI project, which started with 74 students, was entirely built on Madlen’s flexible and rich toolbox.

So, how did this “magic wand” work in practice?

• Customized Content with Podcast Creator: Teacher Buket created content that explained mathematics in students' own languages for each department. For example, she prepared a podcast explaining how priceless works in the Louvre Museum were preserved with climate control systems for plumbing students. Thus, students grasped not only pipe slopes but also the importance of their profession in the world.

• Interactive Videos: A relevant YouTube video turned into an interactive lesson with Madlen. Students were no longer passive viewers, as they became active participants in the learning process by filling in blanks, answering true/false, or multiple-choice questions at crucial moments in the video.

• Real-World Connections: The backbone of the project was to show the real-life relevance of mathematics. With Madlen’s “Real-World Connections” tool, countless examples, from aerodynamic calculations in Formula 1 races to Amazon's logistics optimization, became part of the lesson.

• Instant Tracking and Motivation: Teacher Buket could instantly track which student completed the content and which questions they struggled with. This situation was not only a control mechanism but also a source of motivation. Students felt that their work was seen and valued by their teachers.

Result: Eagerly Anticipated Mathematics Lessons

The most striking result of the project was the 180-degree change in students' attitudes. Before the project, students who asked, "How will this be useful to us?" began asking their teachers during the project: “Teacher, aren’t we going to see any content from Madlen today?”

This question was the clearest evidence that the project had achieved its goal. The comments from students summarized this transformation:

"I learned a topic for the first time knowing what it was for."

"For the first time, I solved a math problem and said, 'This will be useful for me.'"

"If mathematics had always been explained in connection with the profession, maybe I would have been interested in this lesson from the beginning."

Discover the Full Story

What we've shared here is just a reflection of this wonderful project. If you want to read in her own words how Teacher Buket embarked on this journey, the creative examples she prepared for each section, and all the details of the project, here’s the link: https://samandiramtal.meb.k12.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/34/40/967499/dosyalar/2025_06/07171552_math4mesai.pdf?CHK=79b4126aae695ab75d093964a556aeff

So, what does Teacher Buket's story tell us and you?

When we read about Buket Topuzoğlu's MATH4MESAI project, what impacts us the most as the Madlen team is seeing how the vision of a teacher transforms into magic when it meets the right tools. This project is living proof of what a teacher's passion, not a software, can achieve.

If you also want to take your lessons a step further and capture that glimmer of curiosity in your students' eyes, here are a few tips we've gleaned from this journey that we think will inspire you:

1. There Are No Limits to Your Dreams. The Canvas is Yours.

Madlen does not provide you with a ready-made lesson plan; it offers you the opportunity to be the director of your own lesson. Like Teacher Buket did, you can either tell a story from the Louvre Museum or teach trigonometry by talking about the aerodynamics of an F1 car. You can bring to life that creative idea that connects even the niche and most special topics you see to your students' world. Remember, the canvas is yours, the brush is yours.

2. Bury That Famous Question in History.

We've all heard the question, “Teacher, how will this be useful to us?” We are here to create moments that will make it unnecessary to ask this question. Madlen enables you to build bridges that connect even the most complex formulas to your student's future profession and interest areas, i.e., the "real world." You become the one who not only transmits knowledge but also makes it meaningful and “functional.”

3. Capture the Attention of Even the Student in the Back Row.

Students are never indifferent to content that speaks their language and resonates with them. What we have seen is that an interactive video, an engaging podcast, or an example that catches their curiosity can sometimes be much more effective than the longest lesson delivery. At that moment, you will see even the student sitting in the back row leaning toward you.

4. Keep Your Finger on the Pulse of Your Class.

With Madlen, you don't just send content; you also take a real-time X-ray of your class. Who understood, who needs a little more support, who is struggling with what? This data gives you the power to be a personalized guide for each student and a companion on their learning journey.

In short, the MATH4MESAI project is not just a successful case study for us; it is an inspiring story of what a visionary teacher can achieve with the right tools.

Now it’s your turn. Are you ready to meet that famous question with the strongest answer?

“It will be useful for everything because this is now your mathematics.”