Making Math Moments That Matter
Making Math Moments That Matter is a podcast for K-12 math teachers and district leaders, hosted by Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr, founders of MakeMathMoments.com. The show offers coaching on effective mathematics pedagogy, lesson planning, and classroom strategies to engage students in sense making. Over 19 years of experience, the hosts share a six-step plan to cultivate a strong mathematics program. The podcast aims to help educators transform their math curriculum and build confidence in teaching practices.
Episodes
Is Productive Struggle One Of Your Math Classroom Pillars? Should It Be?
What do you fundamentally believe about how students learn mathematics? More importantly, do the everyday experiences in your classroom actually reflect those beliefs?K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherence-compass
Graham Fletcher: Are We Making Math More Disjointed Than It Needs to Be?
Monday is make a ten. Tuesday is doubles. Wednesday is doubles plus one. Add a completely different context each day, and we may be making it harder for students to see how the mathematics connects. K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makem
From Classroom Observations to a Focused Math Improvement Plan
Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman unpack a three-day school visit and share how a K–12 team used a Math Coherence Compass, classroom observations, focused instructional moves, and short-term key results to build a sustainable math improvement plan.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without
Zak Champagne: Creating Curious Kids in the Math Classroom
Jon Orr interviews Zak Champagne, author of Curious Kids in the Math Classroom, about practical ways to foster student curiosity through classroom community, authentic questioning, task design, and small shifts to existing math lessons.Register for free for the 2026 Make Math Moments Virtual Summit. K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders,
Math Wars: Why Conceptual vs. Procedural Is the Wrong Math Debate
The math wars often focus on conceptual understanding versus traditional algorithms. Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman explore a deeper challenge: understanding the prerequisite mathematical ideas students need to access new learning.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding anothe
Peter Liljedahl: Can We Teach Students to Be Resilient?
We want students to be curious, persistent, and resilient problem solvers. But what if those aren't qualities students simply bring into our classrooms? What if we can actually create the conditions for them to emerge? K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another
How to Spiral Your Math Curriculum: A Better Alternative to Cramming and Reteaching
Ever reach the end of the semester only to feel like you're reteaching everything from September? If students learned it once but can't retrieve it months later, the problem may not be the original lesson. It may be how—and when—they encountered mathematics. K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned in
Rewarding Student Thinking: An Interview with Dr. Pamela Seda
We say we want students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and mathematical reasoners. But do the systems in our classrooms and schools actually reward those things—or are we still rewarding speed, compliance, and correct answers? K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—witho
How Strong Math Teams Turn Decisions Into Action
Your math team meets regularly. You strategize, make decisions, and talk about improving mathematics. But when everyone leaves the meeting, does the work actually move forward? Too often, teams spend more energy making decisions than putting those decisions into action. K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned
Why Do Students Struggle With Math Word Problems and What To Do About It
We’ve all heard it: “My students can do the math—they just struggle with word problems.” They can perform the calculation when it’s presented directly, but put that same mathematics inside a context or multi-step problem and suddenly things become much more difficult. The instinct might be to give students more word problems to practice, but what if the real challenge lies somewhere deeper? K-12 M
Do This To Start Sustainable Math Improvement in Your School or District
If you could wave a magic wand and walk into any math classroom five or ten years from now, what would you hope to see? What would students be doing, saying, and thinking? How would the room feel? Those questions can reveal far more than a list of instructional strategies—they can help a team uncover what they truly want mathematics teaching and learning to become. K-12 Math Leaders: Download our
How Do You Support 30 Schools at Once as a Math Coordinator? A Math Mentoring Moment
Stepping into a new math leadership role can feel exciting and overwhelming at the same time—especially when your responsibility suddenly expands from supporting one school or district to supporting dozens. Where do you begin when every district is at a different place, has different needs, and may already be working toward different mathematics goals? That's exactly the challenge facing one
STOP Rushing Math Improvement: Lessons From This School District
School and district leaders often feel pressure to create widespread change as quickly as possible. But sustainable math improvement doesn't happen by trying to reach everyone at once—it starts by building the capacity of the people who will eventually lead the work.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned
Why Teaching Math Is Hard—and Improving Achievement Is Even Harder
Why do so many mathematics improvement efforts begin with energy and optimism, only to lose momentum months later? Schools invest in professional learning, adopt high-quality instructional materials, launch coaching cycles, and create pacing guides—yet lasting instructional change often remains frustratingly elusive.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates
Math Homework in 2026-2027: What Should It Really Look Like?
Homework has long been a part of the mathematics classroom, but opinions about its value continue to vary. Should students be completing pages of practice each night, or is there a better way to extend learning beyond the classroom?K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding
Is Math Intervention Working? Learn to Build A Better Fence
Every school system wants to improve student achievement in mathematics. Yet when students struggle, the immediate response is almost always the same: more intervention, more support programs, more people working at the bottom of the cliff. While these efforts are essential, they often come at the expense of investing in the work that could prevent students from struggling in the first place.K-12
What Should You Grade in Math Class?
Assessment is one of the most powerful tools teachers have—but it's also one of the most misunderstood. Too often, every task, activity, or game is expected to produce a grade, making it difficult to distinguish between supporting learning and evaluating it.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instruct
The Two-Level Math Training You Haven’t’ Yet Considered To Strengthen An Entire District
Many school systems want better mathematics outcomes, but few struggle because of a lack of effort. More often, the challenge is figuring out how to create meaningful change at scale—without overwhelming teachers, coaches, and leaders along the way.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practice
How to Build Deep Fraction Understanding K-12
Few math concepts seem to create as much anxiety as fractions. For students, parents, and even educators, fractions often carry a reputation for being difficult, confusing, and disconnected from everything else students learn in mathematics.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—withou
Atomic Habits For Math Educators & Coordinators: Why Summer Is Your Secret Weapon
Summer is often seen as a time to step away from school, recharge, and reset. But it can also be an opportunity to strengthen your mathematical thinking, explore new ideas, and build habits that support your growth as an educator—without turning your break into more work.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned
How One School Designs Math PLC Time That Actually Shifts Instruction
Many schools want to improve math instruction, but few have a clear process for deciding what to focus on, how to measure progress, and how to align professional learning around a shared vision. Without that clarity, improvement efforts can quickly become fragmented and difficult to sustain.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educ
Stop Waiting for Math Test Scores: A Better Way to Measure Improvement
Many school systems measure success in math education by one thing: math test scores. But what if waiting for scores to improve is actually slowing down meaningful change?K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherence-com
How to Design Math Improvement That Survives Staff Turnover
Every school system wants sustainable improvement in math instruction. But in education, there’s one reality we can’t ignore: people are constantly stepping on and off the system. Teachers change roles, leaders move positions, and new staff enter every year. So how do you build improvement efforts that actually last?K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates
How to Design High Quality Low Floor High Ceiling Math Tasks
Not all math tasks are created equal. Some lead to deep thinking, rich discussion, and meaningful learning—while others fall flat. So what actually makes a math task effective?K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherenc
A Better Approach to Small Group Tier 2 Math Intervention
Small group instruction is a common part of math classrooms—but when it comes time to actually sit down with a group of students, many teachers are left wondering what they should be doing. Should you reteach the lesson? Provide more practice? Or try something completely different?K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators crea
Improved Math Achievement: Here’s What It Actually Takes!
Improving math instruction and student achievement is something every school and system wants. But despite that desire, real, lasting change often feels out of reach. Not because educators don’t care—but because the work required to get there is harder than expected.K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned inst
3 Barriers to Improving Math Instruction and Student Achievement
Improving student achievement in mathematics is a goal shared by schools, districts, and systems everywhere. Yet despite years of effort, many classrooms still aren’t seeing the shifts in instruction or outcomes that we’re aiming for. If the goal is clear, why does progress feel so inconsistent?The challenge isn’t a lack of effort. Teachers are working hard, and schools are investing time into pro
How to Unpack Standards for Better Lesson Planning in K-12 Mathematics
In math education, there are a lot of terms that get used interchangeably—unpacking standards, planning units, designing lessons. But for many teachers, it’s not always clear how these pieces fit together. Are they all the same thing, or is there an important difference that impacts how we teach?At first glance, it might seem like lesson planning is simply following a resource or turning the page
Initiative Fatigue is Real! Learn How to Avoid it in Math Education
In schools today, it can feel like there’s always something new being introduced. A new initiative, a new priority, a new expectation. And for many teachers, especially in math classrooms, it raises a familiar question: why this, and why now? After years of seeing initiatives come and go, it’s easy to feel skeptical about whether the next one will actually make a lasting impact.But what if the iss
How to Start Connecting Mathematical Representations in Classrooms
In today’s math classrooms, there’s a growing expectation: students should be able to use and connect multiple mathematical representations. From visual models to symbolic notation, this practice is becoming a key part of high-quality math instruction. But for many teachers, this shift feels challenging—especially when their own experience with math was primarily abstract and procedural.So what ha
How to Overcome Push-Back in Math Education
In math classrooms, there’s something that shows up again and again: resistance. It can come from students, from teachers, and sometimes even from the school system itself. And over time, it can start to feel like your job is to constantly push against it—trying to convince, redirect, and move people forward.But what if we’ve been thinking about resistance all wrong? What if it’s not something peo
How To Protect Instructional Time in Math Class in a World of Disruptions
In math classrooms, what is the most common frustration that keeps showing up? Not enough time. Interrupted lessons. Lost instructional minutes. The constant feeling of trying to cover more math than the time allows. It’s not just about lost time. It’s about lost momentum. Lost focus. Lost thinking. At the same time, schools are balancing another priority—community and culture. Assemblies. Events.
Conceptual vs Procedural Math: What Effective Math Instruction Looks Like When You Stop Picking Sides
In this episode, hosts Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman unpack a tension that’s been debated in math education for decades: conceptual understanding vs. procedural fluency.Yvette shares a powerful realization from her math classroom experience: in striving to teach conceptually, she may have unintentionally neglected opportunities for students to build automaticity and recall. Meanwhile, Jon highlights t
The One-Shift Strategy to Improve Your Math Lesson Planning
We talk about planning all the time in math education. But here’s the question:How much time should you realistically be spending planning your math lessons each day?Because the reality is—you’re not just planning math. You’re planning multiple subjects or courses, managing everything else on your plate, and at the same time trying to make sense of a new math curriculum, new models, and new expect
What Should Tier 2 Math Intervention Actually Look Like For Maximum Impact?
You’ve got protected time for Tier 2 math intervention……but what are you actually supposed to do during that time?This is one of the most common questions we hear from teachers and leaders. You know Tier 2 matters—but without a clear vision, it can quickly turn into reteaching the same lesson, louder and slower.In this episode, we unpack what effective Tier 2 math instruction really looks like, so
What Does “Strong Tier 1 Math Instruction” Actually Mean?
We talk about Tier 1 instruction all the time in math education.But here’s the question:Do we actually have a shared understanding of what strong Tier 1 math instruction looks like… or are we all picturing something slightly different?Because when terms like rigorous, engaging, and grade-level instruction aren’t clearly defined, things start to drift.In one classroom, students might be working thr
End-of-Year Math Strategies: Finishing the School Year Strong Without Cramming
It’s April, and in math class the countdown is on.There is limited time left before standardized math testing or the end of the school year—and many math teachers are feeling the pressure to either rush through remaining math content or coast to the finish.This time of year creates a real tension in math instruction. Teachers want to maximize the time that’s left, but they also know that flying th
Math Testing Season and Anxiety: How Teachers Can Build Confidence Without Adding Pressure
As math testing season approaches, many teachers and leaders feel the tension. We want students to succeed. We know they’re capable. But too often, that message turns into stress, anxiety, and even math avoidance.So how do we walk the line between pushing for excellence in math and protecting student confidence?In this episode, we unpack the difference between high expectations and pressure in mat
Should You Teach Standard Algorithms First? A Better Way to Build Math Fluency
If the standard algorithm is the final goal in math, why not just teach it directly?This question came up during a recent math leadership summit while discussing fluency and strategy development in math classrooms. One teacher asked a question many educators are quietly wondering: if students ultimately need to use the standard algorithm in math, why spend time exploring other strategies first?Thi
What Is Conceptual Understanding in Math? And Why It Matters for Fluency
What if one of the most common terms in math education — conceptual understanding in math — isn’t actually understood the same way across schools, systems, or even math classrooms?A recent podcast sparked a big question: is conceptual understanding in math poorly defined? The challenge wasn’t just the definition itself, but the claim that conceptual understanding in math may be getting in the way
Should Students Show Their Work in Math? What Teachers Should Actually Assess
Some math teachers insist students must always show their math thinking. Others argue that if the math answer is correct, that should be enough. When math grading practices don’t align with math learning goals, frustration grows — for math students and parents alike. The real issue isn’t compliance in math. It’s clarity about what we are assessing in math.In this episode, we explore:The difference
Tier 2 Math Intervention: How Coaches and Teachers Can Use Small Groups More Effectively
You’re teaching math to 34 students. You slow math pacing to support the middle, but you can feel yourself losing students who are ready to move.A listener emailed us after our episode on rigorous Tier 1 math instruction: they don’t want to create opportunity gaps by slowing math down—but they also don’t know how to actually run small group math instruction after the main lesson. We also connect t
How to Prepare for Standardized Tests In Math Class Without Test Prep Mode
Testing is around the corner—and teachers are asking: “Do I stop everything and switch into test prep mode?”Many teachers spend weeks reviewing, drilling, and assigning packets. But students don’t remember what was “taught” months ago, review feels like pulling teeth, and anxiety spikes. The firehose approach overwhelms students and often leaves teachers feeling like they have no choice but to cra
Don’t Let March Kill Your Momentum: When Planning for Next Year Hurts This Year
It’s March. The weather is shifting. Spring break is coming. And quietly, many math leaders have already started thinking about next year.Budgets. Staffing. PD planning. Testing season. Fatigue.It becomes easy to let this year wind down early—to shift staff meetings to logistics, to soften expectations, to delay the hard work until September. But when we ease off the gas in March, we slow the math
How to Help Students With Word Problems in Math—and Coach Teachers to Do the Same
If your students can calculate but collapse in math word problems, the issue often isn’t the numbers—it’s the structure.Many schools default to keyword hunts, graphic organizers, and “pick the operation” routines. But those tools can accidentally train students to guess instead of model what’s happening. The result: multi-step math problems feel like a maze.In This Episode, You’ll LearnWhy “keywor
How to Teach Grade-Level Math Without Leaving Students Behind
If you wait until every student has mastered a math concept, you might still be in Unit 1 in December.Many teachers feel they can’t move on until students demonstrate mastery—especially after recent learning gaps. But staying in one math unit for weeks or months often creates a different problem: reduced access to grade-level math, missed standards, and growing opportunity gaps for the entire clas
“I Want to Strengthen Math Fact Fluency”—But I Don’t Know Where to Start
You know math fluency is more than timed tests… but what does that actually look like in your classroom tomorrow?Many teachers are at the awareness stage: they’ve read, listened, attended PD, and now understand fluency includes flexibility and strategy—not just accuracy and efficiency. But knowing that doesn’t automatically translate into action. Where do you start if you don’t yet know what to as
“We Want Number Sense and Fluency”—So Why Are You Skipping Data?
Why does data always feel like the thing we don’t have time for in math?Teachers and leaders say they want students who can think critically, reason mathematically, and engage with real-world problems. But when time gets tight, data is often the first strand to go—seen as extra, wishy-washy, or disconnected from “real math.” In this episode, Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman challenge that thinking and ar
Learning Goals In Math Are Ineffective? — You’re Using Them Incorrectly
If math learning goals are so important, why do they feel like a checkbox?Research tells us that learning goals are critical for effective math instruction—but in classrooms and professional learning, they’ve become compliance: restated math standards, chapter titles, or “I can” statements posted for visibility but disconnected from the mathematics of the lesson. The result? Task-based math lesson
Your Math Results Are Stagnant: Why Improvement Keeps Stalling
Every year, schools and districts roll out a new math improvement plan. The language sounds right: teacher voice, coherence, sustainability, research-based practice. But the results don’t change. New curriculum is dropped with little support. Big goals are set without the conditions to meet them. Top-down decisions are labeled collaboration. In this episode, Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman name the unco
It Feels Like Chaos: Making Peace With a Noisy Math Classroom
Ever felt like your math classroom is too noisy, too messy, or too chaotic when students are working on open-ended tasks?You're not alone. Many math teachers—and leaders—grapple with this tension: we want students to engage deeply, but we’re uncomfortable when that engagement doesn’t look like quiet order. In this episode, we unpack a listener's concern: “Open tasks feel chaotic. This is
Stop Wasting Teachers’ Time: Making Math PD Practical, Coherent, and Ongoing
Have you ever left a math PD session thinking, “This all sounds great… but what does it actually mean for my class tomorrow?”Teachers are hungry for professional learning that respects their time and improves student learning—but too often, math PD stays stuck in big ideas, vague theory, and system messaging. When there’s no clear connection to curriculum, classrooms, or follow‑up support, trust e
What About the Students Who Already Get It? – Supporting Advanced Learners Without Accelerating
What do you do when students already know the math before you even teach it?This question came straight from a listener—and it’s one we don’t talk about enough. While so much attention in education focuses on supporting students below grade level, we often miss a critical (and underserved) group: the students who already “get it.”Without meaningful mathematical thinking and cognitive challenge, th
“Thanks, But No Thanks”: Coaching Math Teachers Who Don’t Want Help
What do you do when a teacher says, “I’m good—I don’t need help”?This real-life math coaching dilemma came straight from a listener. And if you’re a math coach or instructional leader, chances are you’ve been there too. Whether it's past initiative fatigue, fear of judgment, or a perceived mismatch between PD and practice—resistance is rarely about apathy. It’s about experience, belief, and t
How to Design a Math Improvement Plan That Has Coherence From The District Office to the Classroom
Is your math team using the same words—but interpreting them in totally different ways?In schools and districts across the country, math leaders are working hard—but progress still feels fragile. Despite shared goals and common language, initiatives stall, teachers burn out, and PD efforts don’t translate into classrooms. Why? Because shared language doesn’t mean shared understanding. And without
When Parents Push Back on “New Math”: Building Trust Through Clarity and Confidence
Have you heard a parent ask, “Why are we making math so complicated?” You're not alone.Many teachers want to move beyond rote procedures—but hit resistance when families raise concerns about “new math.” From social media posts to parent-teacher conferences, the pressure to revert to traditional instruction is real.But the issue isn’t just parent perception. Often, teachers aren’t yet confiden
MTSS: Fixing the Disconnect Between Tier 1 and Tier 3 Student Support
Are your Tier 3 supports disconnected from Tier 1 math instruction?You’re not alone. Many schools implement math intervention with the best intentions—yet students continue to miss critical Tier 1 instruction, feel left behind, and fail to make meaningful gains.The root issue? Most systems treat Tier 3 like a separate math program instead of a coordinated extension of Tier 1. When intervention is
Teaching Resilience in 2026: What Teachers, Leaders & Coaches Can Do When Students Shut Down
Students quitting when the math gets hard? You're not alone.In math classrooms everywhere, teachers want to promote thinking, reasoning, and productive struggle—but are met with disengagement when tasks become challenging. In this episode, the Make Math Moments team explores the deep-rooted beliefs, structures, and messages that make resilience hard—and what we can do to change that.Listeners
When There’s Too Much Math to Cover: Why Teachers Need Permission & Support to Innovate
Ever feel like you’d love to try a new strategy—but you’re too afraid to fall behind?You’re not alone. Math teachers often want to innovate but feel stuck between pacing pressure, new resources, and competing priorities. In this episode, the Make Math Moments team talks about what’s really holding math teachers back—and what school and district leaders can do to help.Listeners will:Understand why
Lessons Teachers & Leaders Need To Learn About Coaching Math in 2026
You’ve spent thousands on high-quality math curriculum and inspiring PD — yet instructional practices barely shift. Why?In this episode, Jon Orr tackles the elephant in the room: why good PD still fails to create consistent math instruction. It’s not a teacher problem — it’s a system design problem. Backed by research and real district stories, Jon shows why instructional coaching is the missing l
Tired of Calling on the Same Few Students in Your Math Classroom? Fixing Math Discourse Fatigue
Why is it so hard to get more students talking in math class? In this episode, the team digs into a common challenge: when just a few confident students dominate math class discussions, while others stay silent. Drawing from personal experience and real classroom coaching, we explore how small, intentional shifts—like silent signals and think time—can completely transform math classroom discourse.
How Do I Teach Grade-Level Math When My Students Are All Over the Map?
Struggling to meet the needs of every math learner in a single classroom?Many teachers feel overwhelmed when students show up with wildly different entry points—especially when they're trying to teach to grade-level standards with integrity. This episode dives into a familiar challenge: how to support diverse learners in Tier 1 math instruction without lowering expectations or relying on inte
Avoid this Mistake When Teaching Multiplication: An Interview with Dr. Alex Lawson
In this eye-opening episode, math researcher and educator Dr. Alex Lawson challenges one of the most common approaches to teaching multiplication: introducing it as “groups of.” Drawing on years of classroom-based research, Alex reveals why this method might actually be limiting student understanding—and how rethinking multiplication through the lens of rate, quantity, and context can transform le
The Most Critical Math Improvement Planning Insights for 2026
You’ve made big moves in your math program—but something still feels stuck. Why?After a full year of supporting school and district teams, we’re reflecting on the shifts that created real traction—and the patterns that quietly stalled progress. Whether you're leading math at the classroom, school, or system level, this conversation names the challenges we’ve seen most often and celebrates the
Rest, Reflection & Math Leadership Wins – A Holiday Message from the MMM Team
Feeling behind? Tired? Wondering if your math improvement efforts are making a difference?In this episode released on Christmas Day, Jon Orr shares a message just for you—educators, coaches, and leaders doing the slow, often invisible work of math improvement. No training, no strategies—just honest reflection and a reminder that you are not alone.You’ll hear a different lens on what progress looks
Why Students Still Hate Math—Even If They Are Scoring High
You’re seeing growth in the data. Students are performing well. But something feels… off. Maybe they’re disengaged. Maybe they’re saying they don’t like math. Or maybe, they’re just going through the motions.In this episode, the team explores a common but often unspoken tension: how do we balance academic achievement with student enjoyment, confidence, and sense of belonging in math? We share a st
When Early Strategies Are No Longer Working: Helping Students & Teachers Move Toward Efficiency in Math
Ever watched a student solve 146 ÷ 12 by drawing 146 dots… one by one?In this episode, the MMM team dives into a common but frustrating classroom challenge: students who cling to inefficient math strategies like counting on fingers, skip counting, or repeated subtraction—long after they’ve outgrown them. These early strategies worked, and students trust them. So how do we help them build confidenc
I Taught It… So Why Don’t They Remember?? Tackling Retention in Math From the District Office to the Classroom
You poured your heart into teaching a key math concept—and a student tells you they’ve never even heard of it. Sound familiar?In this episode, hosts Yvette Lehman and Jon Orr explore one of the most frustrating challenges in math instruction: retention. Why does it feel like students forget everything they’ve learned? And more importantly, what can we actually do about it? Through the lens of a sc
Helping Teachers Move Beyond the Algorithm in Math Instruction: Resistance to Teaching Multiple Strategies in Math
Are your teachers reluctant to move beyond the standard algorithm—even when it clearly isn’t working for their students?In this episode, we explore a real-world example of a school trying to shift toward computational fluency—but getting stuck. The teachers agree that students need more accurate and efficient methods, but many still believe offering multiple strategies only adds confusion. Instead
How Do We Help Our Multi-Language Learners Thrive in Math
Are your multi-language learners struggling to engage in math class? You’re not alone. Many teachers recognize the issue but feel unsure how to help—especially when language becomes a barrier to grade-level math content.In this team episode, Yvette, Jon, and Kyle unpack a real conversation with a school team working to increase math achievement for multi-language learners. The problem was clear fr
Essential Math Coaching: The Highest Leveraged Move You Can Make For Math Improvement
Why are so many districts pouring resources into math PD but seeing so little classroom change?It’s not because teachers aren’t trying. It’s not about motivation or willingness. The real reason is this: most systems aren’t built to support true instructional transformation. In this episode, we unpack the disconnect between a district’s vision for math learning and the day-to-day realities of class
Why “Fidelity” Might Be Hurting Your Momentum In Math Improvement
You're rolling out a math resource across your district—but you’re noticing that some classrooms feel scripted and disconnected from student thinking. What’s going wrong?In this episode, we reflect on a powerful insight from Dr. Crystal Watson’s summit presentation—one that’s still resonating with us weeks later. We dig into the difference between fidelity and integrity in math instruction, a
From AI to Joyful Math Teaching: Ideas You Can Use Tomorrow
In this episode, we share our biggest insights from the 7th annual Make Math Moments Virtual Summit. We highlight powerful sessions that explored ethical AI use, responsive planning, student motivation, and math teacher well-being.Yvette reflects on Dr. Nicky Newton’s approach to creating AI prompts packed with best practices, while also grappling with the ethical use of tech in education. Jon unp
From Math Overload to Alignment: A Mentoring Moment for Leaders
Leading math professional learning in a large system is never simple — especially when every school wants something different. How do you support meaningful math growth without burning out or losing focus?In this Mentoring Moment episode, you’ll hear a real coaching conversation with a math learning coordinator who’s navigating a new team, an ambitious vision, and a calendar full of math PD that f
Inside One District’s Journey to Define Math Critical Thinking
Your math vision prioritizes critical thinking, but can everyone on your team describe what that actually looks like in classrooms?In this episode, you’ll sit in on a real conversation between our team as we unpack a problem of practice. Yvette shares her experience coaching a large district where critical thinking appears in their math vision but isn’t yet clearly defined across their leadership
Is Critical Thinking Just a Buzzword in Your Math Action Plans?
Do you say your math program prioritizes critical thinking, but struggle to see it in action across classrooms?Many districts include critical thinking as part of their math vision. It is a powerful goal and one that prepares students to engage with complex ideas and make thoughtful decisions. However, teams often lack a shared and practical definition of what critical thinking looks like during m
Why Your Math Goals Might Not Be Working — and What One Team Changed
Is your school or district chasing improvement—but feeling like nothing sticks? You're not alone. Fragmentation and unclear goals might be the reason you're not seeing real change.In this episode, we go beyond theory and dive into a real-world case study of a school leadership team that thought they were aligned—until a simple conversation around “fluency routines” exposed deeper issues
Does Everyone Know What Fluency in Math Means? Understanding The Math Coherence Gap
Have you ever left a team meeting feeling confident everyone was working toward the same math goal, only to realize later that each person defined success in a different way?This episode explores how that kind of disconnect can quietly stall school improvement in mathematics. A school team set out to strengthen math fluency with clear objectives and measurable outcomes. Yet when each member was as
How One School Used the Stages of Implementation to Drive Real Change
You’ve got a strong teacher, strong strategies—and still, the innovation stalls. What gives? In this episode, we tackle what’s really behind resistance in math PD and why most implementation efforts collapse long before proficiency is even possible.Building on our last episode, we unpack how a school we support used the five implementation stages—Non-Use, Awareness, Mechanical, Routine, and Profic
Five Phases of Implementation Every Math Leader Needs To Know To Overcome Resistance
Still stuck “talking” about change, but not seeing it in action? The real roadblock to change in math may not be teacher resistance—it might be your system.Based on Jim Knight’s powerful article in Educational Leadership, “Moving from Talk to Action in Professional Learning,” this episode reframes what looks like math pd resistance in schools. We walk through the five stages of implementation—Non-
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Booked, Blonde & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton
McKinsey on Consumer and Retail
megahired.com
