On the podcast today we speak with Lana Steiner about all things assessment! Lana is from the Horizon School Division in Saskatchewan and she’s been working with teachers to deepen their assessment strategies to learn how to capture and rely on observations and conversations in the math classroom. Stick with us and you learn How teachers can rely on their professional judgement to assess students; why Steven Leinwand says “4 Is The Magic Number” When Assessing; why starting with assessment will ...
Aug 23, 2021•45 min•Ep. 143
In this episode Kyle and Jon dive deep into a problem based task and unpack it so you can make math moments every day in your classroom. You’ll Learn: The teacher moves we need to make before starting a task with our students; The elements that are necessary to build a great problem based lesson; What a problem based unit looks like over the course of 5 days; and, Where purposeful practice fits in to your lesson. Resources: https://makemathmoments.com/tasks/ Love the show? Text us your big takea...
Aug 16, 2021•47 min•Ep. 142
We chat with Jordan Rappaport - a teacher from Toronto, Ontario. Jordan’s journey stretches from traditional teacher to Make Math Moment Academy member to regional presenter and most recently, a new member of the Make Math Moments Curriculum Writing Team. In this episode Jordan shares his expertise on how to begin the transformation from an “I do, we do, you do” lesson structure to a problem based lesson format, where and how to get started with problem based lessons, and he shares a strategy yo...
Aug 09, 2021•57 min•Ep. 141
On the podcast today we speak with Isis Spann on why building a strong home-school relationship is important to ensure all students can achieve at high levels! Isis is an early years educator dedicated to helping families get a “leg up” when it comes to helping their children with math. She shares her thoughts on the best tools for connecting with families; how we can elevate the importance of numeracy in the home; and, strategies to build mathematics into what we are already doing at home. Let’...
Aug 02, 2021•39 min•Ep. 140
We’re back for our third installment of our How To Start The School Year Off right! In this episode Kyle and Jon share their tips and strategies on how to prepare for the coming school year from the first day all the way to the last. In episode 36 and episode 88 we’ve shared the activities you could do in the first week to build the classroom culture that is needed to fuel the thinking you want your students to do all year. In this episode we share what structural pieces you’ll need to prepare t...
Jul 26, 2021•54 min•Ep. 139
Today we speak with Nick Rhodes who has been teaching online in one of the largest cyber schools in America. Nick shares his story from transforming from a rock band front man to working in accounting to teaching math to being a founding member of our Make Math Moments Academy to becoming a rockstar online teacher! Nick wonders how to adjust his assessment practices so they line up with his problem based approach to teaching. This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode where we talk with a mem...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 138
On the podcast today we speak with Norma Gordon on how you can create a less stressful math classroom through mindfulness. Norma has successfully transformed her classroom and helped numerous teachers embed mindfulness in their routines. Stick around and you’ll hear Norma walk us through a mindfulness activity and share how to add mindfulness to your mathematics classroom, how to connect mindfulness to the math practice standards, why you need to use the Focus Five in your class; and how you can...
Jul 12, 2021•43 min•Ep. 137
In this episode of the Making Math Moments That Matter Podcast, Jon and Kyle discuss 5 Tips to Guide You to Summer Growth. These tips are great ways to take your mathematics professional development into your own hands while not interfering with all of the important aspects that go with our well deserved summer vacations: family, friends, rest and relaxation. Go ahead and hit that play button and be sure to check out the resources section to access all of the links to get you started! What you’l...
Jul 05, 2021•39 min•Ep. 136
Today we speak with Christina Michaels - a teacher for over 24 years from Tucson Arizona. Christina has just taken our online course The Concept Holding Your Students Back: Unlocking the Key Understanding of Proportional Reasoning and is implementing many of the strategies she has learned. The pebble in Christina’s shoe is around the question: “When is the right time to show my students a model that they can use to represent their thinking?” This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode where we...
Jun 28, 2021•45 min•Ep. 135
Today we bring on our old friend Alex Overwijk from Ottawa Ontario who shares his teaching journey and transformation from a pretty typical high school math teacher to an engaging activity based thinking classroom advocate! In our discussion we learn the answers to how to engage your students with activity based learning, why finding a teaching partner who is willing to make change with you is so important, why you should be “all in” on a Thinking Classroom, how to draw senior students in to you...
Jun 21, 2021•49 min•Ep. 134
Today we have a special treat for your ears! We recently held a live panel discussion at the annual OAME Conference (Ontario Association of Mathematics) on de-streaming the grade 9 math program here in Ontario with some pretty special guests! We were honoured to host Dr. Christine Suurtamm who is a Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Ottawa, Hema Khodai, an Instructional Resource Teacher with Peel District School Board, Mark Chubb, a classroom teacher and past instructional c...
Jun 14, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 133
Today we speak with Caitlyn Sloan, a high school geometry teacher who is currently in the role of leading a math support class for students who require additional support. In this conversation, you’ll hear Caitlyn reflect on her challenge to stay true to her investigative, problem based approach to teaching mathematics given that her students have been pre-taught to mimick the rules, steps, and procedures. Listen in to see how she might be able to bridge the gap! This is another Math Mentoring M...
Jun 07, 2021•53 min•Ep. 132
Today we speak with Theresa Wills, the author of the new book Teaching Math At A Distance. Theresa is an assistant professor of mathematics of education at George Mason University and a past middle school math teacher. Stick around to hear how to run math routines online with success, optimal strategies for engaging students online, how we collaborate online in meaningful ways, how we can use the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematical Discussion in an online space, and guidelines ...
May 31, 2021•46 min•Ep. 131
Today we speak with Thomasenia Lott Adams from the University of Florida --- Go Gators! Thomasenia is a mathematics teacher educator/researcher with numerous accolations for teaching and the work she does with pre-service teachers. We speak with Tomasenia today about how we can use students’ cultural capital to empower learning, why promoting student voice is so important in math class, and why increasing the number of meaningful “touch points” in math class helps amplify student voice. You’ll L...
May 24, 2021•53 min•Ep. 130
Today we speak with Tom Marker, a 14 year veteran sixth grade teacher from Ohio! Tom reached out to us to tackle the big struggle of trying to convince his students to avoid rushing to standard algorithms and instead value strategies that can be more meaningful outside the classroom. This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode where we talk with a member of the Math Moment Maker Community who is working through struggles and together we brainstorm possible next steps and strategies to overcome...
May 17, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 129
Today we speak with Liesl McConchie! Liesl is a former math teacher with nearly 20 years of experience training school leaders and teachers across the globe. She has partnered with over 300 schools to implement the science behind what really improves achievement for all students as well as co-authored two books on brain science and learning. In our discussion we learn the answers to what is brain-based learning and why we need to use it in our teaching; why there’s no such thing as a motivated s...
May 10, 2021•53 min•Ep. 128
Today we speak with Jason Garner, a veteran teacher of 13 years and currently teaching 5th grade. Jason has been diving deep into changing his classroom over the last year. He’s taken the Making Math Moments That Matter Workshop and is currently applying what he’s learned with great success. He chats with us about how to take his learning to the next level. This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode where we talk with a member of the Math Moment Maker Community who is working through struggle...
May 03, 2021•57 min•Ep. 127
Today we speak with George Garza - a high school teacher who strives to make a difference in his students' lives is struggling with engagement, pacing, and reaching his students who are falling behind. In this conversation you’ll hear George reflect on his practice and realize where he needs to focus his efforts. Stay with us to hear his epiphany! This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode where we talk with a member of the Math Moment Maker Community who is working through struggles and...
Apr 26, 2021•54 min•Ep. 126
Today we speak to Kat Hendry a teacher from Jon’s hometown of Kingston Ontario! Kat has shown her passion for MANY areas of mathematics education, however in particular, she’s very keen on the importance of diagnostics and descriptive feedback in math class and has been digging into why we need to focus more attention in this area. Stick around and you’ll learn: how to start your journey to implement diagnostics and descriptive feedback effectively without keeping up at night worried with overwh...
Apr 19, 2021•52 min•Ep. 125
Do you find students give up too easily when working on math problems that are unfamiliar? Do you find yourself stuck pre-teaching concepts to students BEFORE they have a chance to truly engage in the problem solving process just so they can “get through the problem”? Our constant pre-teaching of concepts is just one of the reasons students struggle with word problems and throw their hands up in frustration. In this episode, you’ll learn 5 reasons students struggle with word problems and what we...
Apr 12, 2021•38 min•Ep. 124
In this episode we catch up with Nathan Vaillancourt who was on episode 28 of the podcast. This time around Nathan unpacks where he was in his journey the last time we spoke and the progress he’s made since then. He also shares how he’s transitioned to more of a standards based grading practice to help him with instruction and the creation of assessments. This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode where we chat with a teacher like you who is working through some problems of practice and toget...
Apr 05, 2021•52 min•Ep. 123
This is Michelle Rinehart from HowWeTeachMath.com. Michelle is an innovative educational leader who pushes us to take action to empower female students to take risks, encourages us to add math talks to our daily routines, and how you can shift your practice in manageable ways. You’ll Learn: How to empower female math students to become risk takers. Why math talks are necessary for high school students, not just elementary students. How to shift your practice in manageable ways; Resources: https:...
Mar 29, 2021•52 min•Ep. 122
Today we speak with Sheldon Eakins from The Leading Equity Center blog and podcast. Sheldon L. Eakins, Ph.D. is an accomplished K-12 educator and administrator. He has taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels during his career in the states of Florida, Louisiana and in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. We speak with Sheldon today about how to be a culturally responsive educator, how to avoid giving all of your students a red pair of size 8 high heels; and why discipline needs to be r...
Mar 22, 2021•56 min•Ep. 121
In this mentoring moment episode we speak with Adam Love; a first year teacher from Myrtle Beach South Carolina. Adam shares what his first few weeks have looked like in his classroom. Like many teachers he wonders how to generate curiosity and engagement around abstract math concepts in senior classes. This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode where we talk with a member of the Math Moment Maker Community who is working through struggles and together we brainstorm possible next steps and st...
Mar 15, 2021•53 min•Ep. 120
Erica Heinzman joins us to discuss important aspects of pre service programs for math educators. She highlights the importance of humanizing mathematics and how those big ideas help define how a teacher structures their classroom. Stick around while Erica helps you see the parallels of teaching pre service teachers and teaching our own students. You’ll Learn: How we can transform secondary mathematics classrooms to be a place of human endeavour and life-affirming; How teaching pre-service teache...
Mar 08, 2021•53 min•Ep. 119
Hey there, In this episode we’re sharing two assessment strategies that are widely used every single day in math classes everywhere that we should stop using. These two strategies hinder our goal of building a math classroom that allows all students to think and access to mathematics! Stick with us and you’ll learn: two assessment practices you need to stop using and what you can do instead You’ll Learn: Two assessment practices you need to stop using and what you can do instead Resources: https...
Mar 01, 2021•51 min•Ep. 118
We’re speaking with Danitte Kozai today about how to prevent that student who shows up to your online class for attendance and then disengages and walks away from the computer. We’ll brainstorm with Danitte on how to engage students while teaching online through the use of low floor high ceiling tasks. This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode where we talk with a member of the Math Moment Maker Community who is working through struggles and together we brainstorm possible next steps and str...
Feb 22, 2021•55 min•Ep. 117
Christina Lincoln-Moore an innovative Constructivist educational leader who is tenacious and profoundly dedicated to mindful project-based learning to engender formidable mathematics identities. She is currently an Assistant Principal as well as a featured speaker focused on the humanization of mathematics for traditionally marginalized students. Her professional presentations include the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and California ...
Feb 15, 2021•54 min•Ep. 116
In this episode we hear from the members of the Math Moment Maker Community. Numerous educators share daily routines that we teachers use to keep us healthy, loving our jobs, or frankly just keep us sane in this crazy time. You’ll hear about morning routines to kick start their day; routines to use in the classroom to spark discussion and thinking; and routines that end those tiring days! You’ll Learn: Daily routines that we teachers use to keep us healthy, loving our jobs, or frankly just keep ...
Feb 08, 2021•46 min•Ep. 115
Today we speak with Adrianne Burns - a middle school math coach and interventionist from Wisconsin. During our chat with Adrianne, we discuss a challenge that is on her might right now and we’re sure is on yours too! What issue are we talking about? Well, that HUGE issue of student absenteeism and what we can do to help students who’ve missed that problem-based lesson that sparked curiosity and fueled the sense making in the rest of your students. This is another Math Mentoring Moment episode wh...
Feb 01, 2021•56 min•Ep. 114
