Room to Grow - a Math Podcast

In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis share a friendly debate about which math topic is the most important for students to learn. There are many math topics that could be argued as the most important, and we’d love to hear your hot take, too! Take a listen to Curtis explaining why the meaning of the equals sign is crucial and Joanie arguing that proportional relationships are especially important. Then reach out to agree with one of them, or share a different topic that you find most important. We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode: Resources related to the meaning of the equals sign: Building Concepts activitiesThe Equals Sign: What it Really MeansUnderstanding the Equals Sign as a Gateway to Algebraic Thinking Making Sense of the Equal Sign in Middle School MathematicsAll My Exes Live in Texas Resources related to proportional relationships: progressions document on Ratios and Proportional RelationshipsCoherence Map from Achieve the CoreProportionality ConfusionDid you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis talk with Rachel Lambert, known for her research on teaching mathematics to students with disabilities. Rachel’s passion and enthusiasm is matched by her knowledge, and the combination makes for a powerful conversation full of great resources, ideas, and suggestions for classroom teachers. If you haven’t heard Rachel speak before, you are in for a treat! We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode: https://mathematizing4all.com/Academic Ableism.HEREHEREwebsitemathematical adult coloring bookHEREHEREDid you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis discuss and asset-based approach to teaching and learning mathematics. They emphasize that all students bring strengths to learning mathematics, whether it be from a cultural, language, or ways of thinking lens, and that by assuming that all students have and bring strengths, math educators invite even more learners to be successful. As usual, our hosts share their personal experiences, anecdotes and ideas that they hope you’ll relate to. We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode: https://www.ifl-news.pitt.edu/2021/09/three-practices-that-compliment-an-asset-based-approach-to-teaching-and-learning-in-math-classrooms/https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-asset-based-approach-instruction-and-assessment/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5951/jresematheduc.49.4.0373Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis share a powerful conversation with Dr. Julia Aguirre, co-author of the book The Impact of Identity on K-8 Mathematics: Rethinking Equity-Based Practices. This publication, and additional work led by Julia at the University of Washington, Tacoma, has influenced countless math educators across the country who want to ensure that all students have the opportunities, support, and classroom experiences that lead to deep learning of meaningful mathematics. She challenges us all to not only bring our personal experiences and passions as teachers to our students, but to also tap into their experiences, passions, cultures, and communities as opportunities to make sense of and engage with mathematics. We think this episode will get you thinking and will give you some ideas about supporting your students’ math identities. We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode: https://sites.google.com/a/uw.edu/dr-julia-aguirre/home?pli=1https://www.nctm.org/store/Products/The-Impact-of-Identity-in-K-8-Mathematics--Rethinking--Equity-Based-Practices/https://www.todos-math.org/assets/images/The%20Movement%20to%20Prioritize%20Antiracist%20Mathematics%20final%203.0_v6.pdfDid you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis take some time to have fun with math. We share some of the puns, memes, and GIFs about math that make us laugh, make us think, and have been or would be great to share with students. We all appreciate the chance to laugh, and although puns and memes are often silly and sometimes groan-worthy, sharing the lighter side of ourselves and of math with students is a great way to build relationships and classroom culture. No doubt, your students will appreciate knowing what makes you laugh or groan when it comes to math. Bear with us as we describe our favorites, and click below to find the visual images we discuss in this episode. Share YOUR favorites with us using our email address, roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode: A snow “angle”STEM SparkJoanie’s Algebra 1 textbookdoes“Dad jokes” for mathGraph of past relationshipsWhat does Bob have now?Seven-digit numberFactored quadratic expressionDavid GlasbergVisualizing the quadratic formulaLane WalkermyNCTMSchoolhouse Rock! The PreambleQuadratic formula songClock with math expressionsWilly Wonka memeDid you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis build the conversation from NCTM's description of access, described as "ensuring that all students routinely have opportunities to experience high-quality mathematics instruction, learn challenging mathematics content, and receive the support necessary to be successful." Our hosts tackle this challenging topic by considering some important high-leverage components, particularly those that are within a classroom teachers’ locus of control. Ensuring that all students have high-quality instruction from an excellent teacher supports the learning of challenging mathematics content. Joanie and Curtis consider that “support for success” extends beyond academic support, and spills over into the importance of classroom culture in access for all students. Teachers can, with intention, ensure that all students know they are viewed as doers of mathematics with ideas that are valuable for the learning of the entire class. The conversation then shifts to discussing how the Standards for Mathematical Practice can help teachers not only understand what access looks like, but also helps students realize the relevance of the mathematics they are learning. Unsurprisingly, our hosts circle back to the importance of relationships with our students for their successful learning. We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode: https://www.nctm.org/Standards-and-Positions/Position-Statements/Access-and-Equity-in-Mathematics-Education/https://www.nctm.org/Store/Products/The-Impact-of-Identity-in-K-8-Mathematics--Rethinking--Equity-Based-Practices/https://buildingmathematicians.wordpress.com/2018/01/15/minimizing-the-matthew-effect/https://skewthescript.org/https://achievethecore.org/peersandpedagogy/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Implementing-Standards-for-Mathematical-Practices-Updated-2016.pdfhttps://www.instagram.com/bachelordata/?hl=enDid you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie dig into a conversation about data science. They start by trying to define what data science is, describing it as the intersection of content, statistics, computer science, problem solving. It is complex, and allows people to interact with information that content, statistics, or computer science couldn’t do alone. In our current technology and data rich world, this topic is timely, relevant, and growing in importance. Curtis and Joanie describe data science as a process by which we start with a question we want to know the answer to, then gather, interpret, analyze, and model data that can help answer the question. Although we acknowledge that data science in school looks different than data science in the world, we recognize it as a valuable way to foster students’ natural curiosity and to build their modeling, problem solving, and communication skills. Our hosts recognize and discuss that not everyone believes that data science is relevant content for K-12 students and educators, and offer the complicating factors that come alongside bringing new ideas such as these to the curriculum. We encourage you to explore the resources to decide for yourself! https://justequations.org/bloghttps://www.youcubed.org/data-big-ideas/https://www.introdatascience.org/ http://data8.org/https://coursekata.org/https://www.youcubed.org/data-big-ideas/https://www.youcubed.org/resource/data-talks/What’s going on with this graph?https://www.nytimes.com/column/whats-going-on-in-this-graphhttps://www.datascience4everyone.org/Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie welcome Kevin Dykema, new President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). As a practicing classroom teacher, Kevin brings practical knowledge to his NCTM leadership. He reflects on they ways that most school systems have historically addressed students who are struggling in math class, to give them more-of-the-same, or a slower-and-louder approach, and how these typically don’t result in resolving students’ struggles. Kevin suggests how to decide which mathematics topics are worth intervening on, recognizing that if we worry about student mastery of every single standard or topic of the grade level or course, we overwhelm the students and ourselves. Instead, if we focus on fewer, more important topics, we can support students’ future learning. He suggests that we use timely and relevant data to determine which students need support on which topics, and anticipating and planning for supports that come just-in-time to support new learning. Acknowledging that intervention structure looks different at the middle and high school level than for elementary school, Kevin shares his thoughts about intentionally targeting math interventions that will support students for the long term, and finding time to intervene that doesn’t take away from their regular math instruction time. He shares the problems behind teaching “tricks” or gimmicks for helping students get answers quickly, but not understand the meaning of the mathematics behind those tricks. Ultimately, building relationships with our students and attending to building their mathematical identities and agencies is what matters most. We know that every student brings “math brilliance” to the classroom, and finding and tapping into that creates wins for all of us. This episode is packed full of important ideas and resources – we think you are going to love it! We encourage you to explore these resources, mentioned and referenced in this episode: Rules that Expirefull article from NCTM journalNix the TricksProductive Math Struggle, The Math Pact Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie welcome Juliana Tapper, Math Intervention Specialist and Founder of CollaboratEd Consulting. We start by apologizing for mispronouncing Juliana’s last name when she is introduced at the start of the podcast! Please note that her last name is Tapper, rather than Trapper. We are so sorry, Juliana! Juliana brings her experience teaching and supporting middle and high school math teachers and math interventionists to help us consider ways to break what she calls the “struggle stigma” in math class. She grounds our conversation with powerful results from research around math anxiety, which suggest that math anxiety activates the same fear centers in the brain as seeing a snake! When teachers use this understanding, we can create more effective responses to students who are experiencing math anxiety in our classes. Along with Juliana, your hosts discuss the importance of establishing a classroom culture that makes space all the “mathematical baggage” that students might bring with them. Providing the opportunity to talk about past experiences, positive and negative, allows students to understand that our classroom is a safe and welcoming place, where struggle becomes a normal and expected part of the learning process. Juliana has some practical tips for using instructional protocols with no math to build that classroom culture. She also shares how she established participation as an expectation rather than an option, and how those expectations along with appropriate scaffolds create small successes for students to build on. We know you’ll walk away with some great ideas that will help you better reach more students in your classroom. We encourage you to explore these resources, mentioned and referenced in this episode: www.Collaboratedconsulting.orgjuliana@collaboratedconsulting.orgValuing Difference and GrowthThe Dismantling Racism in Mathematics Instruction CourseGood Groupwork activityDid you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie tackle ideas around rigor in mathematics. We start by defining what we mean by rigor, acknowledging that it’s a frequently used term that invokes different ideas and meanings! We believe that it means something different than just “difficult,” but frames a way of describing deep, robust, and applicable understanding of mathematical ideas, and we share a couple of visual images that help make sense of this complexity. Through our exploration of rigor as an integral part of learning math, we connect it to previous conversations about productive struggle, making connections in math, and student agency and identity. Rigor isn’t just for high level math courses and high-achieving students, rigor is for everyone and may even be an unexpected approach to overcoming struggle in learning mathematics! We believe that the best way to address rigor in the classroom is by intentional, collaborative planning, where teachers decide which obstacles they want to steer students around and which obstacles they want to steer students straight into! We hope you enjoy the episode and hear a new idea or two to consider for your own setting. We encourage you to explore these resources, mentioned and referenced in this episode: College- and Career-Ready Shifts in MathematicsWhat is Rigor in Mathematics Really?What’s All This Talk About Rigor? HERE Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie consider assumptions that we make during math instruction and how these have the potential to interfere with students’ understanding of the mathematics. Teachers know more math than their students, and as a teacher, it can sometimes be a challenge to remember what it was like before we knew and understood a math concept. This can lead us to inadvertently assuming that students are following our thinking or considering external knowledge that they actually might not yet have access to! Our hosts get into some math content, specifically talking about the equals sign, solving systems of equations, and the standard algorithm for multiplication. In each of these examples, the common structures of instruction can lead students to an incorrect or incomplete understanding, or can force a focus on procedures without the concepts that back up these ways to doing. Curtis and Joanie had some personal “ah ha” moments during the episode as we discussed these math topics. Frequent listeners know that Joanie and Curtis don’t claim to have silver bullet solutions, but they suggest that slowing down when planning and teaching, regularly collaborating with other teachers, and stopping to identify assumptions can all contribute to better teaching and learning. Listen to hear more about why Joanie recommends teaching “for big circles, and not pinpricks.” We encourage you to explore these resources, mentioned and referenced in this episode: Teaching Children MathematicsThe Equals Sign: A Balancing ActElementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching DevelopmentallyPresentation of From Student-Invented Strategies to Standard Algorithms: What’s the RushDiscussionDid you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

As we approach the end of the school year, this episode of Room to Grow addresses using self-reflection to celebrate the learning of the year. Our hosts use this definition: “Self-Reflection is the evaluation or judgement of one’s performance and the identification of one’s strengths and weaknesses with a view to improving one’s learning outcomes (Damore, 2017),” and start with unpacking this quote from John Dewey: “We don’t learn from experiences, we learn from reflecting on our experiences.” In the conversation, Curtis and Joanie suggest that reflecting at the end of a lesson, unit, month or school year provides the opportunity to be energized by and to benefit from what we’ve experienced and how we use that learning to continue to improve. After making the case for self-reflection, the discussion shifts to specific ideas for student and teacher self-reflection. Ensuring that students understand the purpose of self-reflection is integral to making the process meaningful for students, and increases the likelihood that their reflective practices will contribute positively to owning their own learning, and to building positive mathematical identities. Some specific reflection questions and protocols are discussed, giving you ideas you can apply in your own setting as we all wrap up the 2021-22 school year. We encourage you to explore these resources, mentioned and referenced in this episode: https://thinkingpathwayz.weebly.com/routinesselfreflection.htmlhttps://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&context=jprwww.edutopia.org/article/frameworks-reflectionhttp://essentialschools.org/horace-issues/the-tuning-protocol-a-process-for-reflection-on-teacher-and-student-work/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042812039870Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode, we discuss considerations for providing meaningful feedback to our students. We think this is a great follow-up to our last episode on grading! In preparing for our discussion, we learned about the research supporting effective feedback for learning, which includes suggestions around the type of feedback to give, when to give it, and how meaningful feedback is separate from grading. Our research articles suggest that feedback is not advice or criticism, but information that helps the receive to understand their next actions. Although it makes sense that students must engage with feedback in order for it to be meaningful, we were intrigued by the suggestion that the receiver of feedback should work harder as a result of the feedback than the giver of the feedback! In other words, our students should work harder than us, their teachers! We explore some concrete ideas for making your feedback more meaningful, reflect on our own mistakes around providing feedback, and emphasize the fact that in all aspects of a teachers work, relationships matter most. We encourage you to explore these resources, mentioned and referenced in this episode: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tips-providing-students-meaningful-feedback-marianne-stengerhttps://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/cte/teaching_resources/grading_assessment_toolbox/providing_meaningful_student_feedback/index.phphttps://www.ascd.org/el/articles/seven-keys-to-effective-feedbackhttps://tanginstitute.andover.edu/files/Feedback-in-Practice.pdfShare your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode, we discuss grades in mathematics courses. Although we don’t claim to have a recommendation or even an opinion about what might be the right way to handle grades, we hope to bring up considerations for our listeners to talk about and think through as they reflect on their own grading practices. We wonder if many grading practices are in place are just legacy practices, handed down and sustained by teacher teams and departments, or schools with prescribed grading requirements, and we recognize the challenges of balancing grades with academic performance as well as other classroom contributions that we value. We wrestle with what grades communicate to different audiences. What does a grade tell a student? The student’s family? Other school personnel? The student’s next school? How does a student’s participation in the academic work of math class shift based on the value they put on their grade in math class? And we consider the guiding question of “what is the impact of…?” as educators consider the structure and components of their grading practice. We wrap up by reflecting on the impact of COVID-19 on our educator friends. We believe that the last two years have brought incredible challenges to educators already giving everything they have to their students and communities. We are in awe of you, we admire you, and we thank you for all that you do each and every day. Additional resources to explore: https://www.nais.org/magazine/independent-school/winter-2022/grading-is-due-for-an-overhaul/Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy

In this episode, we build on our previous conversation about fostering curiosity in our students by focusing on the role of math teachers in encouraging students to be curious and creative in math class. With full awareness that we are teaching and influencing students who will leave our classrooms and schools to go contribute to the world, and that we are preparing our students for jobs that don't exist now, we acknowledge how important it is to attend to a culture of curiosity and creativity in math classrooms. We talk about the importance of fostering intrinsic motivation so that a passion for learning follows them into their lives beyond school. We wrestle with the challenge of wanting to provide structure and efficiencies in ways that can sometimes unknowingly stifle students' creative freedoms. We acknowledge that in our desire to make learning meaningful and impactful, we can inadvertently provide too much structure or control, stealing students' "lightbulb" moments in their learning journey. We know that no teacher creates classroom practices that detract from learning, and that there are appropriate times and situations where more structure and more directed learning is the best way for students to learn. But we also challenge that a teacher should always be the sole source of knowledge and learning in the classroom. We also recognize that teachers' tendency to control the classroom is based in a feeling of responsibility for students' learning. We suggest that fostering creativity and curiosity allows students to take more responsibility for their own learning, which can be freeing for us as educators. We wrap up by sharing some practical ideas for fostering curiosity and creativity. We know that this will look different in every classroom and would love for you, our listener, to share how you do this in your setting! Additional resources to explore: · Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk Do Schools Kills Creativity? https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en · Daniel Pink’s Drive – Book: https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805; RSA Animation summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc · Peter Liljedahl’s Building a Thinking Classroom in Mathematics – https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/building-thinking-classrooms-in-mathematics-grades-k-12/book268862 · Creativity by asking questions: https://www.creativityatwork.com/teaching-for-creativity-asking-questions/ (100 questions activity) · Ways to develop creativity in our students: https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-ways-develop-creativity-students · NCTM article - Graphing Portfolios in Calculus: Reinforcing Concepts and Inviting Creativity: https://pubs.nctm.org/view/journals/mt/98/6/article-p404.xml?tab_body=pdf (Members only access) Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In the first episode of Season 2, Curtis and Joanie discuss one of Curtis' favorite ideas - fostering curiosity and exploration in the math classroom. It's a common idea that math teachers can support students in "exploring the world through math," but in this episode we think about turning that phrase on its head and wondering how we can "explore mathematics through the world?" With this goal in mind, educators could provide experiences where they are asking the questions that drive their learning. Creating these experiences for students requires intentional teacher planning, and doesn't mean that we allow the learning to be a free-for-all! Teachers will need to find balance between providing the structure required to keep the learning focused, while allowing students the freedom to explore, question, and engage in the learning. And since math classrooms are already packed with content, we discuss how to find the time to include curiosity as part of the learning experience. We hope these ideas help you to pass along a legacy of curiosity to your students! Resources to explore: https://achievethecore.org/category/774/mathematics-focus-by-grade-levelhttps://davidwees.com/content/how-do-you-help-develop-mathematical-curiosity/https://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-curiosity-enhances-learning-marianne-stengerShare your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode, Joanie and Curtis consider the balance between conceptual understanding and procedural fluency in mathematics teaching and learning. Acknowledging that this idea is like a pendulum that has swung back and forth over several decades, they unpack the meanings of these terms and discuss the impact and implications on student learning. They use the 2001 publication Adding It Up to describe how conceptual understanding and procedural fluency come together with three other ideas to form an understanding of mathematics proficiency, and share examples of what happens when students have one type of learning without the other. You’ll hear our hosts wrestling with differing perspectives to better understand how educators can support students’ conceptual understanding and their procedural fluency together in ways that support deep learning and readiness for future math experiences. Listeners are encouraged to consider these additional resources mentioned in the episode: Adding It Uphttps://www.amazon.com/Adding-Up-Helping-Children-Mathematics/dp/0309069955/ref=asc_df_0309069955/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312695266310&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6263244698394065341&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026941&hvtargid=pla-384970287053&psc=1Adding It Up https://www.nctm.org/Handlers/AttachmentHandler.ashx?attachmentID=GcfUPPya8lw%3Dhttps://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/conceptual-understanding-in-mathematics/Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode, Joanie and Curtis continue their conversation with Robert Ahdoot, founder of Yay! Math. We continue the conversation from Episode 9, digging into how teachers can address students’ math anxiety. We discuss the idea that teaching could be considered a service profession, and how that perspective can support teachers in building trust with their students. Robert shares a powerful story of a discipline issue in his classroom, and how approaching the situation with the humanness we share with students supported a positive outcome. Although Robert’s creative, outgoing, and exuberant personality are part of who he is as a teacher, he reminds us that any personality type can be a profoundly impactful educator by working to connect with and understand students. After all, Robert suggests, students just want to know that we have their backs. Listeners are encouraged to consider these additional resources mentioned in the episode: Robert Ahdoot’s website, https://www.yaymath.org/ where you can find videos, courses, Robert’s blog and more to help inspire the students in your care;Robert’s Algebra 1 lesson on ratios and proportions for Texas Instruments’ “Smart Space” video series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5itAHkH0YH4&list=PLQa_6aWmaC6AebhOVkKXC8Vags6D1TVaz ;Jo Boaler’s research article on timed tests: https://bhi61nm2cr3mkdgk1dtaov18-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/nctm-timed-tests.pdf More about our guest, Robert Ahdoot: Robert Ahdoot is a math teacher and founder of YayMath.org, a free online collection of math video lessons filmed live in his classroom, in the studio, and even as street performance art, using iconic costumes and characters. Robert has given TEDx talks and travels to schools and conferences promoting his message of achieving positive learning through meaningful human connections. He is the author of One-on-One 101: The Art of Inspired and Effective Individualized Instruction, and the creator of online Algebra and Geometry math courses. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

Joanie and Curtis host their first guest on this episode of Room to Grow. Robert Ahdoot taught high school math and found his strength in connecting with and engaging students, leveraging his enthusiasm and creativity to build strong relationships with students. He found that his humor, compassion, and excitement for mathematics content helped students overcome their anxiety about and struggles with learning math. Robert brings a contemplative and self-reflective spirit to our conversation, bringing in knowledge about the physiology of stress and the workings of our brains alongside his passion for human connection and relationships, making this a conversation unlike any other. We tackle issues that almost every math teacher has dealt with: supporting students who struggle, who are unengaged, and who experience math anxiety, causing them to underperform. Robert gives practical and actionable tips, and reminds us to not take ourselves too seriously along the way. You’ll leave wanting more, and you’ll get it! This episode is the first of two conversations with Robert. You won’t want to miss a minute of this conversation! Listeners are encouraged to consider these additional resources mentioned in the episode: https://www.yaymath.org/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5itAHkH0YH4&list=PLQa_6aWmaC6AebhOVkKXC8Vags6D1TVazhttps://www.youcubed.org/resources/the-importance-of-struggle/More about our guest, Robert Ahdoot: Robert Ahdoot is a math teacher and founder of YayMath.org, a free online collection of math video lessons filmed live in his classroom, in the studio, and even as street performance art, using iconic costumes and characters. Robert has given TEDx talks and travels to schools and conferences promoting his message of achieving positive learning through meaningful human connections. He is the author of One-on-One 101: The Art of Inspired and Effective Individualized Instruction, and the creator of online Algebra and Geometry math courses. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis discuss the challenge of pandemic “learning loss” and provide ideas for math teachers to reframe this concept. They speak about the potential negative impacts of deficit language as students return to classrooms across the country, and emphasize the importance of creating a positive classroom culture for learning, grounded in beliefs that all students can and will be successful. Acknowledging that educators are facing significant pandemic-related challenges, our hosts also talk about the power of collaboration and how it is even more important for the success of teachers and students in the 2021-22 school year. Listeners are encouraged to consider these additional resources for managing learning in the new school year: Continuing the Journey: Mathematics Learning 2021 and Beyond – joint publication from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) and the Association for State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM). Learning Acceleration for All: Planning for the Next Three to Five Years – TNTP’s resource for educators responding to Covid-19’s impact on learning These blog posts on The False Construct of Readiness in Mathematics and A Process to Address Unfinished Learning in Middle School Math (which has ideas applicable to all grade levels). Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com. Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.