The Educators MathCast

This time we’re doing it differently. Instead of one guest, we brought four of them to the table at the NCTM Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, for a live conversation about where math education is headed.   Christina Lincoln-Moore, Farshid Safi, Graham Fletcher, and Amy Chang discuss:   •Resisting the pressure to rush through the pacing guide •Building teacher understanding of the properties beh...

What does it take for every student to see themselves as a math person? Join us for our next Voices from the Field conversation with Pam Brett, host of Blue Glasses Math! Pam has spent more than 25 years thinking deeply about the role emotions play in mathematics teaching and learning. We’ll talk about the beliefs students develop about themselves as mathematicians, how those beliefs are shaped in...

Duolingo is on our turf now, and we've got some thoughts... So this month, we're teaming up with Christina Tondevold from Build Math Minds for a special episode of The Educators MathCast all about Duolingo Math. We talk about what Duolingo Math gets right, what could use some work, and what breaks our hearts. Whether you've spent hours with the app or haven't opened it once, we think you'll enjoy...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, we’re joined by Timothy Livingston, principal of Reynolds Elementary School in Spring ISD, Texas. Timothy shares how his experiences as a classroom teacher, math leader, and school administrator have shaped the way he thinks about leadership and learning. We talk about building trust, creating a strong school culture, and supporting teachers in ways that u...

It’s officially been one year of The Educators MathCast! To celebrate, Zak and Mike look back at some of their favorite memories from the first year of the podcast before turning their attention to a new school year. This time, they’re thinking beyond the first days of school and asking a bigger question: Six weeks from now, what do we want students to believe about mathematics and about themselve...

In this Voices from the Field episode, Zak sits down with Andrew Gael, a mathematics teacher at the Cooke School and Institute in New York City. Andrew shares what he has learned from teaching mathematics to students with disabilities and how those experiences have shaped the way he thinks about access, independence, and what it means to do rigorous mathematics. The conversation explores how we ca...

Join Mike and Zak as they explore what mathematics teaching and learning can (and can't) learn from Duolingo. Together, they unpack the ways the popular language-learning app gets some things right and where it fails. It's a thoughtful conversation about practice, motivation, feedback, and the opportunities and limitations of borrowing ideas from outside mathematics education.

Nolan Fossum joins Zak for a conversation about reimagining what mathematics can be when we center joy, relationships, and student identity. Together, they explore everything from grading and engagement to meaningful change, challenging long-held assumptions while honoring the realities teachers face every day.

In this episode, Mike and Zak share stories from their summer vacations and the mathy things they found. We strongly encourage you to watch the YouTube version to see the images. But, we've also made them available to you here. 

Join Zak as he interviews STEM and AI expert Will Smith. Together they will help us think about how emerging technologies connect to the teaching and learning of mathematics. Together, we’ll explore how innovation and human thinking remain at the center of powerful math experiences for students.

What do we do with students after grades are in? Zak and Mike have some ideas on how to keep students engaged in the final days of the school year.

Jody and Chepina join Zak to talk about how important it is to encourage curiosity in the math classroom.

In this episode of The Educator’s MathCast, Zak and Mike take on a question families ask all the time: what should math at home actually look like? Building on their earlier conversation about homework, they explore how meaningful math experiences outside of school can be simple, natural, and most importantly, joyful.

Friend of the show Marta Garcia joins Zak to talk about how math leaders have a mission to support students where there are in their learning journey.

Zak and Mike get real with their opinions on the value of sending kids home with math homework.

Zak and Kaneka chat about the importance of curiosity and asking questions when working with students and teachers.

In this episode, Mike and Zak reflect on growing up as Gen X kids, from Oregon Trail and mixtapes to encyclopedias and memorized phone numbers. Those experiences lead us into a bigger conversation about effortful learning and what it takes for ideas to really stick in math classrooms. We talk about curiosity, productive struggle, and the importance of creating math classrooms where students are wi...

Liesl McConchie and Zak talk about how the brain learns and ways to leverage that with students in the math classroom.

Are you using Large Language Models (LLMs) in your work as a math professional? It's a powerful tool, but that doesn't mean there aren't huge pitfalls to avoid. In this episode of the Educators MathCast Mike and Zak talk about ways they use AI to work more efficiently, shortcomings of the technology they've come across, and major drawbacks they see playing out in the field.   Can you spot AI when...

Brittany Hege from Mix & Math joins Zak on this episode of the Educators MathCast.

Zak and Mike tackle some commonly held teacher beliefs. Are they Always, Sometimes or Never True?

Zak chats with Christopher and Chris about the importance of keeping math playful at home and in the classroom.

Mike and Zak make a case for encouraging curiosity and judgement in the math classroom. Do you have opinions on what may or may not be a vehicle? Chime in on Chris Nho's Instagram series .

Zak reports live from the 2025 NCTM conference floor in Atlanta, GA on what is bringing attendees joy this year.