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In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis learn about a new publication: Decluttering Mathematics: 5 Fundamental Understandings That Unleash Meaningful Student Thinking Grades 6-12. Three of the book’s authors join us to share how that when secondary mathematics instruction is cluttered with disconnected procedures and a focus on computation without meaning, students are essential being handed a huge pile of tiny puzzle pieces without ever building or even seeing the picture on the puzzle box. Ted, Scott, and April call out the clutter and describe how educators can connect the disconnected and focus on what’s important to allow students the opportunity to think, reason, and make sense of mathematics.   In the conversation, the authors touch of the five fundamental understandings in the book: Measurement, Comparison, Proportional Relationships, Equivalence, and Graphical Representations, and provide examples of how and why attention to student thinking leads to better teaching and better student learning. Curtis and Joanie appreciated the approach of having students “think first; compute only if necessary,” and the idea of retiring some common topics to the “math attic.” The authors share their grounding the book in ways of thinking, ways of approaching, and ways of doing mathematics, all in the service of doing bigger things in math class.    Resources mentioned in this episode and ways to learn more: ·       Order the book HERE or HERE or HERE ·       Ted’s website https://www.coequalmath.com/home and LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedcoe/  ·       April’s LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildstrom/ , BTC info page https://www.buildingthinkingclassrooms.com/team/april-strom  ·       Scott’s website https://www.scottadamsonmath.com/ and LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-adamson-465202327/  ·       James’ website https://jamestantonmath.com/ and LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-tanton-9920bb58/      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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this back to school episode, Curtis and Joanie discuss key ideas for starting the new school year off right, to ensure effective teaching and learning for teachers and students. How do you spend the first day of school with your students? Do you get them working in groups right away like Curtis, learning about them as students and how they engage with math and each other? Or maybe you focus on learning their names and helping them learn each other’s names like Joanie, ensuring a community is built as early as possible.    Our hosts discuss ways to frame struggle and mistakes, and how to be sure that what you put in place the first week stays aligned through your words and actions all year long, ensuring that students “end the school year with a more positive math identity than when they started.”   Resources mentioned in the episode and others to follow up on: ·       NCTM President’s Message (Latrenda Knighten) for August 2026 (no login required)  ·       Book Productive Math Struggle ·       Edutopia blog post Instructional strategies for managing student mistakes in math and Mathnasium blog post for parents ·       Youcubed Week of Inspirational Math – Activities and resources for the first week of school (or anytime) to support positive math identity and student engagement  ·       Book Impact of Identity in K-12 Mathematics: Rethinking Equity-Based Practices

What do kindergarten counting concepts have to do with high school algebra? More than most teachers realize. In this episode, Joanie and Curtis sit down with Erin Wahler-Cleveland, founder of Roots and Wings Math, to explore how deep understanding of early and elementary mathematics lays the groundwork for everything that comes later — and what teachers at every grade level can do to better support that understanding. Erin opens with a thought-provoking coordinate-plane framework that distinguishes between easy/hard (subjective) and simple/complex (objective). The key insight? As we gain expertise, complex things start to feel simple — and that's exactly what makes teaching so hard. Early numeracy lives in the easy yet complex quadrant, and its depth is routinely underestimated by the adults who teach it. We discuss important instructional shifts for teachers at every level, and land on an important key takeaway: The central challenge of teaching mathematics is maintaining awareness of a complexity that has become invisible through expertise. The remedy — at both elementary and secondary levels — is giving teachers genuine learner experiences with the content they teach, paired with disciplined questioning practices that reveal student thinking rather than assume it. Resources & Links Mentioned Roots and Wings Math – https://www.rootsandwingsmath.com/The Dunning-Kruger Effect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effectRoom to Grow Podcast – www.roomtogrowmath.com

In this episode of Room to Grow, Ali Martinez, Chief Program Officer for Math at Student Achievement Partners (SAP), joins Joanie and Curtis for a conversation about the math that matters. In the current era, math teachers face too much content and too little time to feel or be effective in allowing students the chance to learn math deeply. Aly shared information about SAP’s national initiative to identify essential mathematics content for high school, and to integrate data science competencies. The work builds on COVID-era prioritization efforts and aims to address curriculum overload through systems-level change involving standards revision, instructional materials alignment, and cross-sector collaboration.  The conversation acknowledges and elevates the role of durable skills, the rising importance of data literacy, and the need for systemic change to realize these desired outcomes. Be sure to check out these resources, referenced in this month’s episode. Learn more and stay in touch with Math that Matters resource: https://learnwithsap.org/math-that-matters/ Durable skills in math https://learnwithsap.org/durableskills/ High School redesign: https://learnwithsap.org/overlap-to-opportunity/ Research into high school math textbooks https://learnwithsap.org/math/a-rare-look-inside-high-school-math-textbooks-and-what-publishers-say-needs-to-change/        Coherence Map from Student Achievement Partners      Data Science for Everyone website

In this episode, Curtis and Joanie sit down with Mahmoud Harding from Data Science 4 Everyone (www.ds4e.com)  to explore the growing role of data science in K-12 education. Mahmoud breaks down the key distinction between data science and data literacy — two terms that are often used interchangeably but carry very different meanings for educators and students alike.  The conversation dives into why data science matters for all educators right now, regardless of subject area or grade level, and why the time to act is today. And taking action doesn’t mean you need math expertise or to steer away from the standards and curriculum your students need to know! Mahmoud also shares practical, accessible ways teachers can get started with data-centered lessons in their classrooms — regardless of grade level or content area. Whether you're a curious educator or ready to dive in, this episode will leave you inspired to bring data to life for your students. Resources: ●      https://www.datascience4everyone.org/about   (DS4E Homepage) ●      https://www.datascience4everyone.org/resources  (DS4E Resources) ●      https://ds4e-org.github.io/CPN_rubric/   (DS4E Content Partner Network) ●      https://ds4e-org.github.io/technologytoolkit/   (DS4E Technology Tools for working with data) ●      https://datasciencelearning.org/ (K12 Data Science Learning Progressions)  ●      https://datasciencelearning.org/blog/five-basic-concepts-for-teachers-new-to-data-science  (DS4E Blog: Five basic concepts for teachers new to data science) ●      https://hkurzweil.github.io/ds4e-teacher-pd/frontmatter.html (DS4E Data Science Starter Kit)

Teaching math in 2026 is demanding in ways that are structural, cultural, and relentless — and yet the conversation about teacher sustainability rarely makes space for what math educators are actually carrying. In this episode, Curtis and Joanie get honest about burnout, purpose, and community in the math teaching profession. Drawing on research from burnout science, teacher identity, and professional resilience, this conversation explores three ideas that don't get discussed enough: why burnout is a systemic signal rather than a personal failure, how math teachers can reconnect with a durable and honest sense of purpose when the hard days start to outnumber the good ones, and why professional community isn't a luxury — it's the infrastructure that makes long, sustainable careers possible. This episode is for math teachers who are tired but not done. It won't tell you to practice more gratitude or look on the bright side. It will tell you the truth — and give you something useful to do with it. Books: ●      Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoskiwww.burnoutbook.net ●      The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life by Parker J. Palmerwww.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/courage-to-teach ●      Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena Aguilarwww.brightmorningteam.com/onward ●      Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math by Jo Boalerwww.youcubed.org/mathematical-mindsets Organizations & Communities: ●      Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics (CCTM)www.cctmath.org ●      National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)www.nctm.org

This episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie reflect on topics about which they have changed their minds. Although their minds have changed about different things, in their conversation, they have captured bigger ideas about what goes into changing one’s mind, and have applied that to what goes into changing a teacher’s practice. Importantly, the recognize that change is a highly personal experience and is an inevitable part of continued growth. As you listen to Joanie’s thoughts about how students develop conceptual understanding, and Curtis’ thoughts about AI in math education, you may wish to consider these additional resources, referenced in this episode: ·       NCSM guidance on AI in Math Education ·       Adding It Up report from the National Research Council ·       Principles to Actions from NCTM and NCTM’s “Teacher’s Guide to Reasoning and Sense Making” ·       Pam Harris’ Math is Figureoutable 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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

This episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie welcome Zandra de Araujo to the podcast. Zandra and her colleagues, Sam Otten and Amber Candella created math classroom “Instructional Nudges,” small tweaks to classroom practice that can make a significant impact on student engagement, learning, and sense making of mathematics.   The conversation reveals the origin of the Instructional Nudges project, some specific example nudges and how they work, and the coming soon Instructional Nudges aligned to the Mathematics Language Routines. Everyone will walk away with an idea or two to implement right away in the classroom!  Additional referenced content includes: ·       Zandra’s personal webpage ·       Practice-Driven PD webpage which houses all of the Instructional Nudges ·       NCTM article – Rate and Review nudge ·       Incremental PD guide ·       Two-minute teacher guide videos  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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

This episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie discuss two publications they have engaged with regarding technology, adolescents, and learning. The Anxious Generation describes the impact of smart phones and other recent technologies on childhood development, providing an understanding of what is happening internally for students in our classrooms. The Disengaged Teen utilizes research data around modes of learning and how they play out in terms of classroom behaviors. Our hosts make connections between these texts and what these ideas mean for math educators and classroom practices.   Additional referenced content includes: ·       Book: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt ·       Podcast with Trevor Noah and Jonathan Haidt ·       Book: The Disengaged Teen by Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson 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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

This episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie reflect back on 2025 and all that they learned during the year. A significant number of 2025 episodes of Room to Grow were focused on the Mathematics Teaching Practices from NCTM’s Principles to Actions, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its publication. Curtis and Joanie highlighted how these practices have survived the test of time, and continue to reflect good teaching in mathematics. Additionally, our hosts preview what new topics they are hoping to learn and explore podcast episodes about in 2026.   Additional referenced content includes: ·       NTCM’s Principles to Actions and Taking Action books ·       Pam Harris’ website and book ·       Julianne Foxworthy Gonzalez, Ph.D. in Mathematics Education. Math guidelines for supporting multi-language learners (MLLs).   All of us at Room to Grow wish you a peaceful holiday season!  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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie reconsider the balance of conceptual understanding and procedural fluency in math instruction. Although this topic has been discussed before, our hosts acknowledge that there is great nuance and many considerations in considering these two ideas in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Curtis and Joanie discuss how inquiry-based, discovery-style learning opportunities are more open ended, are student centered, and are less teacher directed. They support these types of lessons in math instruction while recognizing that there are times when an explicit approach where teachers are sharing important information also has a place. Additionally, our hosts consider that teaching procedures and algorithms also provides and opportunity to cultivate conceptual understanding. When teachers help student find the  conceptual understanding within the procedures, they engage in mathematical reasoning. This type of reasoning through concepts and procedures contributes to a broader and more robust understanding of meaningful mathematics.   Additional referenced content includes: ·       NCTM article From Rules That Expire to Deeper Mathematical Thinking. Mathematics Teacher: Learning & Teaching PK-12 Volume 118 Issue 4. April 2025. (Membership required). ·       NCTM article Teaching Is a Journey: From Rules That Expire to a Journey Aspired. Mathematics Teacher: Learning & Teaching PK-12 Volume 118 Issue 4. April 2025. (Membership required). ·       Robert Kaplinski’s website and Open Middle website 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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

This episode of Room to Grow, Curtis and Joanie speak with Pam Harris. Pam is well known and loved for her website, podcast, books, and conference sessions all based on her core belief that “Math is FigureOutAble.” Today’s discussion centers on Pam’s newest publication, Developing Mathematical Reasoning: Avoiding the Traps of Algorithms. Pam starts with three distortions about math that are common among teachers, students, and the population, and can impact how educators engage students with math in their classrooms. Next the conversation shifts to what is meant by algorithms, and how they differ from strategies and formulas. Then the discussion focuses on the potential traps to learning that can result from teaching algorithms in mathematics. All of these ideas are based on the development of mathematical reasoning, from counting strategies to additive thinking, to multiplicative reasoning and proportional reasoning, then the functional reasoning that comprises much of the math students learn in high school. There are so many good ideas in this episode that will challenge you and get you thinking! Additional referenced content includes: ·       Pam Harris’ website, Math is FigureOutAble. ·       Pam’s book, Developing Mathematical Reasoning: Avoiding the Traps of Algorithms. ·       Pam’s podcast, Math is Figure-Out-Able! ·       Find Pam on all your favorite social media platforms. 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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

This episode of Room to Grow brings together our 2025 series on the Mathematics Teaching Practices from Principles to Actions, an NCTM publication. After discussing each of the eight practices in isolation over the last several months, this month tackles the ideas and challenges in actually making substantive change to classroom practice.  Our hosts share ideas for engaging with others in deeper professional learning, coaching, and peer observations, as well as ideas for individual teachers to work on making change in their classrooms. They acknowledge that change is complicated, and encourage listeners to engage in small, incremental steps that add up over time.  Additional referenced content includes: ·       NCTM’s Principles to Actions ·       NCTM’s Taking Action series for grades K-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12 ·       NCTM’s Principals to Actions Toolkit – Professional learning and other resources for a deeper dive into the eight Mathematics Teaching Practices 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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

This episode of Room to Grow wraps up Joanie and Curtis’ season 5 series on the Mathematics Teaching Practices from NCTM’s Principles to Actions. The final practice in the series is “Support productive struggle in learning mathematics.” This is defined as follows: Effective teaching of mathematics consistently provides students, individually and collectively, with opportunities and supports to engage in productive struggle as they grapple with mathematical ideas and relationships.  Our hosts begin with discussing the connection to classroom culture, ensuring that students feel safe, emotionally and academically, in order to be willing to struggle. Additionally, the expectations set by the teacher when there is a belief that productive struggle is a valuable and important aspect of learning math. Then they linger on the word “grapple” and the connotation it creates, and how different it is than the connotation of the word “struggle.” And they emphasize that productive struggle isn’t about the math being hard, but rather thinking about the mathematics in new ways, and making connections that may not have been obvious. A key idea is the importance of educators’ asking questions to better understand student thinking, which is a necessary condition for helping them to grapple with new mathematical connections. Additional referenced content includes: ·       NCTM’s Principles to Actions ·       NCTM’s Taking Action series for grades K-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12 ·       Favorite No protocol (5 minute Video) ·       Previous Room to Grow episode Helping Students Struggle Productively ·       Image of America flag made of baseballs 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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.

In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis continue the season 5 series on the Mathematics Teaching Practices from NCTM’s Principles to Actions, celebrating it’s 10th anniversary. This month’s practice is “Build procedural fluency from conceptual understanding.”  This is defined as follows:  Effective teaching of mathematics builds fluency with procedures on a foundation of conceptual understanding so that students, over time, become skillful in using procedures flexibly as they solve contextual and mathematical problems.  Using some discussion about multiplication, our hosts try to differentiate what is meant by conceptual understanding and by procedural fluency. They tease out the confusion that can arise by associating conceptual understanding with inquiry-based instruction and procedural fluency with direct instructional strategies. Although these types of instruction often go together, they are different, and separating them can help educators focus on how to best get to student learning.  Additional referenced content includes: ·       NCTM’s Principles to Actions ·       NCTM’s Taking Action series for grades K-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12 ·       NCTM’s position paper on Procedural Fluency (January 2023 – membership not necessary)  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 [email protected] . Be sure to connect with your hosts on X and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.