Lawrence Technological University hosts MathDance workshop for Roeper School students

Southfield, Mich. — On Thursday, Jan. 16, 22 students in grades 6-8 from The Roeper School in Birmingham, Mich., visited Lawrence Technological University for a hands-on MathDance workshop led by C.J. Chung, professor of computer science at LTU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

The workshop, designed to introduce early learners to fundamental concepts in AI and machine learning, featured Chung’s “MathDance” curriculum, which teaches students how computers can interpret and classify physical movements as mathematical expressions. Using software that recognizes users’ motions and sounds, students collected sample images representing mathematical functions, trained computers to recognize their hand movements, and created a game app using a programming language.

“With the growing adoption of AI across nearly every field, new career opportunities are emerging. Therefore, it is crucial for our education system to integrate AI into the curriculum as early as possible,” said Chung.

Assisting Chung during the workshop was Devson Butani, computer science and AI robotics lab manager at LTU, who reiterated the importance of early exposure of students to artificial intelligence education. “AI is getting more and more popular and everybody’s starting to use it. This workshop is about helping students adapt to using AI as a tool in their daily life,” he said.

Roeper students were accompanied by teachers Wendy Mayer and Sarah Shaya, along with high school students, Daniel Shapiro and Clare Norgard, who served as student helpers.

Mayer spoke positively of the experience and the breadth of the workshop’s curriculum. “AI is something that’s part of our lives and we need to start looking at it,” she said. “The students we have here today are pulling together a lot of concepts and connecting it to AI in a way I don’t think they had before.”

Norgard, a senior at Roeper and a dual enrollment student at LTU, added, “MathDance is an incredible way to introduce students to AI and its applications. Lawrence Tech has done an excellent job creating educational programs for all ages and making them easy to follow.”

Chung has previously taught the MathDance curriculum in LTU outreach programs for K-12 students, including the Robofest robotics competition he founded in 1999.

Recently, Chung worked with AI for Good, a global United Nations initiative organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), using the MathDance curriculum in a series of workshops to advance the ITU’s goal of identifying practical applications of AI and providing quality AI educational programs. His workshop video can be accessed on YouTube.

For more information about MathDance workshops at LTU, contact Chung at cchung@ltu.edu.

Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of the best Midwest colleges. And LTU is included in the Princeton Review’s “The Best 390 Colleges 2025 Edition,” a list of the nation’s top 15 percent of colleges and universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.