Math Teacher Lounge

In part two of its new math series, the Beyond My Years podcast from Amplify features Ian Brown, a second-grade teacher and author of the comic book I Hate Math . Listen to Ian’s conversation with host Ana Torres for strategies to reduce math anxiety and create positive math experiences. And look below for some new resources for math educators, including new YouTube playlists with information on m...

The Beyond My Years podcast from Amplify has kicked off a special math series, featuring two podcast episodes and a bundle of new resources (see below!) for math educators. In this first episode, host Ana Torres chats with Matt Cash, director of elementary curriculum and instruction for Lake Elsinore Unified School District, in California, about math leadership and change management. Together, Mat...

Angela Duckworth, Ph. D., the New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, recently joined Host Ana Torres on the Beyond My Years podcast to discuss her new landmark research on school cell phone policies. In this episode, Angela highlights the many complexities surrounding student cell phone use in schools and why there is a need to conduct research, such as h...

Dan Meyer recently joined the Beyond My Years podcast to share some of his favorite strategies (and hard-earned lessons) for engaging students in math class.  Listen in, as Dan joins host Ana Torres to share his journey in education, including his early struggles to engage students. In this episode, The right questions for the “wrong” answers, Dan provides models for grounding lessons in real life...

Host Ana Torres and Classroom Insider Eric Cross give you the first look at Season 2 of the Beyond My Years podcast, launching September 17, 2025. This trailer highlights what’s coming after an award-winning first season, including shorter episodes and more takeaways to help you extend your reach. Season 2 focuses on common classroom challenges, looking to the experts and to the research to get yo...

To close out the year, we’re revisiting some of our favorite moments from the first nine episodes of the Beyond My Years podcast – and looking ahead at some of what’s to come in 2025!  Listen to Beyond My Years:  Subscribe to Beyond My Years on Apple Subscribe to Beyond My Years on Spotify Listen to Beyond My Years via web browser

The latest episode of Beyond My Years features 2023 National Teacher of the Year — and math educator! — Rebecka Peterson. On the episode, Host Ana Torres and Rebecka discuss their similar experiences as young immigrants to the United States. Rebecka shares all that she has come to love and appreciate about the K–12 environment after a tough transition from teaching college-level courses. She also...

Hi Math Teacher Lounge listeners! Here’s an episode from Amplify’s new podcast, Beyond My Years , that we think you’ll like. It features math teacher extraordinaire Fawn Nguyen, who you may remember from past appearances on this show. On this episode, Fawn, a math educator with over 30 years of classroom experience, tells Host Ana Torres the story of her near-death experience being lost at sea whi...

Check out Amplify’s new podcast, Beyond My Years — host and educator Ana Torres seeks out educational insights and hard-won lessons directly from people who have thrived for decades in the classroom: seasoned educators. On this premiere episode, Ana soaks up wisdom from Joyce Abbott, an educator so passionate about her students that she inspired one of them to go on and write the hit show “Abbott...

Listen to this trailer for our new podcast, Beyond My Years , launching August 14th.  Every day headlines tout something “new” in education—the latest research, the hottest tech, the trendiest new hacks for organizing your classroom. However, beyond all the hype there’s one underestimated resource that’s truly deserving of our attention: educators who’ve been doing this for years . In this trailer...

After watching so much great basketball analysis throughout March and April, Dan has been inspired to put the spotlight on a different kind of superstar: exceptional math educators. Check out a little preview of Dan's new project with Kelly Serpa Howe. Check out the full video

Listen to the final episode of Math Teacher Lounge! We’ll walk through the past 10 episodes on math fluency and pull out the key takeaways from our amazing hosts–such as tips on defining and assessing fluency, fluency development in a bilingual setting, and the potential pitfalls of relying too heavily on so-called fake fluency.  We’ll also talk about the future of the podcast and what’s next for...

Tune into this episode of Math Teacher Lounge , featuring math teaching and learning specialist and friend of the podcast, Fawn Nguyen. Listen as Nguyen dives into the unique and powerful relationship between math fluency and problem-solving, and learn about how problem-solving activities can be leveraged to engage all students and fuel math fluency development. Learn why math fluency and problem-...

Join us for Episode 9, in which Bethany sits down with former classroom teacher Myuriel von Aspen to talk about the importance of a systematic approach to math-fluency instruction. Listen as von Aspen discusses how effective fluency instruction takes students beyond fact memorization into deeper learning through mathematical discourse. To hear more from Myuriel, check out the following resources:...

Tune in to Episode 8, where we chat with guest and former grade 1 teacher, Jody Guarino, Ed. D., about how math teachers can collaborate to develop math fact fluency at the building level. Listen as Dr. Guarino talks about what it takes for schools to do this successfully, and her key takeaways from her own experience. For more from Dr. Guarino, check out the following resources: Follow Dr. Guarin...

Join Math Teacher Lounge as we continue our season-long discussion on math fluency with a special live recording at NCTM 2023. In this episode, our guest, Jennifer Bay-Williams Ph. D., and Dan dive into math fluency games to discuss how we bring joy into the classroom while building math fluency. For more from Jennifer, check out the following resources: Discover more math fluency games with Jenni...

Join us for Episode 6, where we discuss how to take an asset-based approach to building math fluency with John W. Staley, Ph. D., who has spent decades in math classrooms. In this episode Dr. Staley shares his experiences and research to provide strategies on how to utilize student strengths to encourage growth. For more from Dr. Staley, check out the following resources: Follow John on X at @JSta...

Tune in to Episode 5, where we dive back into our season-long discussion of math fluency with classroom teacher Lauren Carr. Listen as Lauren shares how she allows her students to approach mathematical thinking and learning with joy and fun to encourage the development of math fluency. For more from Lauren Carr, follow her on X !

Join us for a special episode of Math Teacher lounge where we take a break from our focus on math fluency to talk with scholar and author Nicole M. Joseph Ph. D. Tune in to this important conversation where Dr. Joseph shares her research and discusses how we can begin to uplift Black girls and empower them in our math classrooms. For more from Dr. Joseph, check out the following resources: Read Dr...

Tune in to the latest episode of Math Teacher Lounge where we learn how to intentionally foster fluency with Dr. Art Baroody, Professor Emeritus of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Listen as Baroody shares strategies on how to utilize a student’s natural problem-solving skills and desire to learn to build fluency.

Tune in to our latest episode where we sat down with Dr. Valerie Henry to discuss how math fluency assessments can be redesigned to provide teachers with better data and students with better learning experiences. Listen today and don’t forget to grab your MTL study guide to track key strategies and make the most of this episode! For more from Valerie, check out the following resources: Learn more...

Season 6 of Math Teacher Lounge is here! This season, we’ll be digging deep into math fluency—exploring what it is, looking into the research around it, and sharing practical tips for building it in math classrooms. Join us as we kick things off this week with Jason Zimba, Amplify’s chief academic officer of STEM! In our first episode, we sat down with Jason to get a clear understanding of what ma...

Join us as we continue our summer mini-series where we discuss how to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) as a teaching tool. In this episode of Math Teacher Lounge , we sit down with educator Kristen Moore to discuss how she is using Chat GPT as a tool to revolutionize student learning and streamline lesson planning. Listen today and don’t forget to grab your MTL study guide to track your learni...

Join us for our summer mini-series where we’ll be talking about artificial intelligence (AI): what it is, how it is already being used in education, and how it will continue to transform education in the future. In this kickoff episode, we sat down with Jennifer Carolan, general partner at Reach Capital, to chat about the current state of AI in education technology. As a former teacher and current...

As we wrap up this season of Math Teacher Lounge , we’re sharing our biggest takeaways from our incredible discussions around tackling math anxiety. We’ve been able to speak to five great thinkers on math and the anxieties that can affect students, teachers, and even caregivers. From acknowledging math anxiety and finding ways to immediately start relieving the pressure, to redefining math and est...