Room to Grow - a Math Podcast

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&...

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 w...

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 des...

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 st...

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 wi...

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 stud...

The article referred to in the podcast for building back better can be found here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lindadarlinghammond/2021/04/05/accelerating-learning-as-we-build-back-better/?sh=33b314156722&fbclid=IwAR2QaW5oCyel5PxBECCziT9c6bKr3osAUSTj81ZP5gdi09cyvIJQN8JmT7U   Restart and Reinvent report: https://restart-reinvent.learningpolicyinstitute.org/ Effortful Thinking: https://www.edsu...

How does what we believe as teachers impact our students and their learning? What about their beliefs about themselves as learners and doers of mathematics? In this episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie explore these ideas and more from the perspective of continuous improvement and growing awareness as educators. They share stories from their own experiences where naming a fundamental belief...

Productive Struggle is a key component of students’ mathematical learning. But struggle can shift from “productive” to “unproductive” at different rates and for different reasons for different students (and teachers!). Ensuring that students engage in productive struggle is complex, nuanced, and dependent on a healthy classroom culture and strong teacher-student relationships.  In this episode, Cu...

In this episode of Room to Grow , our hosts discuss the importance of mathematical representations for students' deep learning of mathematics. The five representations described in NCTM's Principles to Actions include Physical, Visual, Symbolic, Verbal, and Contextual. Research shows that attending to and making connections between these multiple representations. National Research Counci...

In this episode of Room to Grow , Curtis and Joanie dive into ideas around exploration and play in mathematics. Although this may seem frivolous and not a priority for time-constrained math educators, our hosts discuss the positive implications on student learning, mindsets, and engagement in the mathematics. By framing an activity as “exploration,” the stress many students carry around learning m...

One of the biggest challenges math teachers face is the variety of mathematical backgrounds students bring with them to math class.  Although state standards describe what students should know and be able to do at the end of the grade, more often than not, students move to the next grade or course with an incomplete mastery of pre-requisite content. In this episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joan...

Mathematical modeling is a cornerstone of students’ K-12 mathematics learning experiences. In their debut episode, your Room to Grow hosts discuss ideas for including more mathematical modeling in your classroom. Joanie and Curtis start by acknowledging that the term “modeling” conjures up many ideas for educators and for students, and define their non-negotiable characteristics of mathematical mo...