Richard Velasco, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, College of Education

Richard Velasco, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the University of Florida’s School of Teaching and Learning. His teaching and research examine how generative artificial intelligence can support meaningful, equitable, and humanizing mathematics learning. At UF, he co-developed and teaches MAE 5675: AI for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, a graduate course that prepares mathematics educators to critically evaluate, design, and implement AI-supported learning experiences. He has also investigated AI integration in his History of Mathematics for Educators course, examining students’ experiences navigating course AI policies and guidance and using those experiences to inform more thoughtful approaches to AI-supported teaching and learning. His scholarship has further explored chatbot technologies for engaging students in mathematical reasoning and sociopolitical issues. Drawing on more than a decade of mathematics teaching experience, Dr. Velasco is particularly interested in how AI can enhance student reasoning, teacher expertise, and meaningful engagement with mathematics.