Advertise on podcast: Modern Math Teacher- Teaching Strategies for High School and Middle School Math Teachers

Let’s chat—send me a text! You don’t need to find an empty week in your pacing guide to use a math project. In this episode, we’re looking at three ways projects can fit into the mathematics you’re already teaching: Investigate with math → Election Data + StatisticsMake a decision with math → Pitch ProfitPractice through a meaningful product → Stained GlassProjects don’t have to replace your instruction, practice, or curriculum. Sometimes they simply give students somewhere meaningful to use the math they’re already learning. This week’s reflection: What job does the mathematics you’re teaching right now need students to do—investigate, decide, or practice? This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! We hear it all the time: Make math real-world. But real-world doesn’t automatically mean relevant. In this episode, I’m sharing how one of my favorite cell phone projects slowly lost its relevance—and what it taught me about choosing contexts that actually matter to the students sitting in front of us. We’ll talk about: The difference between real-world and relevant mathMy Spheres of Relevance: self, community, culture + the larger worldHow timeliness can create relevanceWhy relevant doesn’t have to mean entertainingUsing real data to build mathematical literacyPlus, I’m sharing how election data can give students a timely reason to use statistics to analyze the information they’re already encountering outside of school. This week’s reflection: Where does the math you’re teaching exist in the real world—and why might it matter to your students? This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! “Projects sound great…but when are students actually learning the math?” That’s a fair question—and the answer isn’t simply putting more calculations into the project. In this episode, we’re talking about how to intentionally keep deep, rigorous mathematics at the center of PBL using one of my favorite project-design tools: milestones and milestone markers. Using my Wasted Space Geometry Project as an example, we’ll explore how students can use surface area, volume, modeling, constraints, and optimization to redesign product packaging—and how intentional checkpoints make their mathematical thinking visible along the way. We’ll talk about: The difference between a deadline and a mathematical milestoneHow milestone markers give you evidence of student learningChecking individual understanding during collaborative projectsUsing project evidence to decide when students need instruction or practiceWhy the final product should never be your only evidence of learningMilestones organize the learning journey. Milestone markers give us evidence that the learning happened. ✨Ready to design your own meaningful math PBL experience? PBL Kickstart is my $17 on-demand workshop designed to help you get started with the mathematics you already teach. Enroll in PBL Kickstart Today Reflection: If I looked only at the milestones in your project—not the final product—could I tell what mathematics you want students to learn? This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! You Don’t Need Three Weeks for PBL“I’d love to do more projects…but I just don’t have time.” If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. Because somewhere along the way, we started assuming that good project-based learning has to mean a massive, multi-week project complete with research, presentations, fancy final products, and approximately 47 things for the teacher to manage. It doesn’t. In this episode of The Modern Math Teacher, we’re talking about how to right-size PBL for the mathematics, your curriculum, and the instructional time you actually have. We’ll explore the continuum from rich tasks and performance tasks to mini-projects and full PBL experiences—and why bigger doesn’t automatically mean better. I’m also sharing four practical ways to shrink a project without shrinking the mathematics. In this episode: Why good PBL doesn’t have to take three weeksHow to right-size a project around the mathematical goalThe difference between rich tasks, performance tasks, mini-projects, and larger PBL experiencesWhy smaller projects aren’t watered-down PBLHow “project bloat” steals instructional time from the mathematicsFour ways to make a project more manageableWhy you can weave a project into instruction instead of saving it for “project week”What you should NEVER cut when shortening a projectWhy starting with one manageable project is enoughThe goal isn’t to find more time for PBL. It’s to design PBL that fits the time you actually have. Ready to Get Started with PBL? If you’ve found the place in your curriculum where a project makes sense but you’re still wondering how to turn that idea into an actual learning experience, PBL Kickstart is for you. Enroll in PBL Kickstart and Start Planning Now PBL Kickstart is my $17 on-demand workshop that walks you through planning your first project-based learning unit in three simple steps—without assuming you have unlimited planning time or three empty weeks in your pacing guide. Because you don’t need to transform your entire classroom. You need one good place to start. This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! Two hundred episodes ago, I thought I had a much clearer idea of what kind of math teacher I was. I was a project-based learning teacher. Since then, I’ve taught using the Modern Classrooms framework. I’ve embraced Building Thinking Classrooms. I’ve changed the way I think about mastery and assessment. Now I’m teaching with Illustrative Mathematics and falling in love with inquiry, mathematical discourse, and giving students more opportunities to make sense of mathematics together. And somewhere along the way, I realized: I don’t actually need to choose. For Episode 200 of The Modern Math Teacher, we’re taking a break from strategies, resources, and the usual back-to-school conversations to reflect on how my teaching has evolved—and why I hope it never stops evolving. I’m sharing how my relationship with EdTech has changed, why I’m increasingly interested in AI as a tool for teachers rather than something we need to put into students’ hands simply because we can, and why I no longer think being a “modern” teacher means chasing the newest thing. We’ll also talk about what hasn’t changed. PBL still has my heart. I still want students experiencing mathematics that is real, relevant, and rigorous. I just have a much bigger instructional toolbox for getting them there. In this episode: How I’ve evolved from a PBL teacher using Modern Classrooms to BTC and now an inquiry- and discussion-focused IM classroomWhy I no longer feel like I need one instructional identityWhat each phase of my teaching has added to my instructional toolboxHow my relationship with EdTech has changedWhy I’m rethinking the role of AI in the math classroomWhy “modern” teaching has more to do with intentionality than technologyWhy PBL still has my heart—even though I don’t need every day to be a projectThe value of staying curious enough to keep changing your mind Let’s Stay Connected For Episode 200, I just want to hear from you. What’s something you’ve changed your mind about as a math teacher? Reply to one of my emails, find me online, or send me a message and tell me what the teacher you are today believes that the teacher you used to be didn’t. Thank you for listening, reflecting, experimenting, and learning alongside me for 200 episodes. Here’s to whatever we learn in the next 200. Until next time, keep it real! This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! When Should You Use Math Projects? 4 Signs a Topic Is Ready for PBL Not every math standard needs a project. Yep. I said it. Sometimes students need an authentic problem to solve, decisions to make, and an opportunity to actually USE the mathematics they're learning. And sometimes? They need practice. In this episode of The Modern Math Teacher, we're talking about how I decide which parts of my curriculum have real project potential—and which ones I'm perfectly happy teaching, practicing, and moving on from. I'm sharing four things I look for when deciding whether a topic is a good fit for a project: - Does the math have a natural real-world application? - Does it give students something meaningful to reason about or decide? - Is the content meaty enough to justify the instructional time? - Can I connect it to something my students will actually care about? We'll also talk about why real-world doesn't automatically mean relevant, why forcing every standard into a project isn't the goal, and how some of the best math projects actually have procedural practice baked right into them. Because projects and practice aren't opposites. The goal is knowing when each one is the right tool for the learning. 🎧 In this episode: - How I identify standards with strong project potential - Why modeling, interpreting, comparing, and decision-making are project green flags - When procedural practice really IS the better instructional choice - Why a real-world context isn't enough if students don't care about it - How my Spheres of Relevance help me evaluate project ideas - Why strong projects can—and should—include opportunities for practice - How to find one realistic place to start adding projects to your curriculum 🆓 RESOURCE: Project or Practice Guide Want help figuring out where projects make sense in your math curriculum? Grab my free Project or Practice Guide. I've gone through the secondary standards to help you identify which ones lend themselves naturally to projects and which ones may be better suited for practice. 👉 moorethanjustx.com/guide Ready to Design Your First PBL Unit? Once you've found the right place in your curriculum, PBL Kickstart will help you turn that idea into an actual project-based learning experience. This $17 on-demand workshop walks you through planning your first PBL unit in three simple steps—without turning your entire curriculum upside down. 👉Join the Kickstart: PBL Kickstart Until next time, keep it real! This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text!  What if creating more meaningful learning experiences in your math classroom didn’t require completely changing the way you teach? Because when teachers hear “project-based learning,” it can feel like a complete classroom makeover. Rewrite every unit. Redesign your curriculum. Stop giving direct instruction. Turn everything into a project. Nope. In this episode of The Modern Math Teacher, we’re talking about why meaningful change happens one intentional decision at a time—and why you’re probably much closer to creating the classroom you want than you think. I’m sharing how my own classroom evolved through years of small changes in questioning, discussion, assessment, collaboration, relevance, and instructional design before project-based learning became one powerful piece of that bigger picture. And most importantly, we’re taking the pressure off becoming a “PBL teacher.” You don’t need projects everywhere. You need to find one place where students could move from knowing how to DO the mathematics to actually USING the mathematics. In this episode: Why meaningful teaching doesn’t require a complete classroom makeoverHow small instructional decisions transform classrooms over timeWhy I became an intentional instructional designer before I became a PBL teacherWhy you don’t have to become a “project-based learning teacher” to use projectsHow PBL can create real, relevant, rigorous mathematical experiencesWhy projects are one tool—not the goalThe pieces of PBL you may already be using in your classroomWhy your first project shouldn’t be your giant dream projectHow to identify one realistic place to start Ready to Take Your First Step into PBL? If you love the idea of project-based learning but don’t want to completely overhaul your classroom, PBL Kickstart was created for you. Inside this $17 on-demand workshop, I’ll help you take mathematics you’re already teaching and begin turning it into a real, relevant, rigorous project-based learning experience. Sign Up for PBL Kickstart You don’t need to redesign your entire curriculum. You need one good place to start. Your Reflection Question Where in your curriculum are students currently learning how to DO the math—but could have an opportunity to actually USE it? This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! What if the biggest shift you could make this school year wasn't changing your curriculum—but changing the way you think about planning? In this episode, I share the mindset shift that has transformed my classroom. Instead of asking, "What activity should I do?" I now start with a much different question: "What experience do I want my students to have?" We'll explore how this simple change impacts every instructional decision, why meaningful learning experiences don't have to be elaborate, and how intentional planning can make mathematics more memorable for your students. In this episode you'll learn: Why planning experiences changes everythingThe difference between activities and learning experiencesQuestions to guide intentional lesson designWhy meaningful learning doesn't require elaborate projectsHow small instructional decisions create lasting impact🎁 Free Resource Download the Gold Standard Project Planner: 👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/projectplanner This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! Being a Modern Math Teacher isn't about using the newest technology or following every educational trend. It's about intentionally designing learning experiences that help every student think deeply, feel like they belong, and see themselves as capable mathematicians. In this episode, I reflect on five beliefs that have transformed my own classroom and explain why becoming a Modern Math Teacher isn't a destination—it's an ongoing journey of intentional growth. In this episode you'll learn: The five beliefs that guide every instructional decision I makeWhy intentional teaching matters more than trendy teachingHow reflection fuels professional growthWhy becoming a better teacher is about asking better questionsWhat it truly means to be a Modern Math Teacher🎁 Free Resource Download the Gold Standard Project Planner: 👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/projectplanner This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! Have you ever felt like your curriculum was holding you back? You're not alone—but what if the curriculum isn't actually the problem? In this episode, I share how my perspective on curriculum has evolved and why I no longer believe great teaching comes from finding the "perfect" textbook. Instead, I explain how small, intentional instructional decisions can transform the learning experience for your students. Whether you teach Illustrative Mathematics, CPM, Reveal, Carnegie, Big Ideas, Eureka, or another curriculum entirely, this episode will help you see your role as more than someone who delivers lessons—you are the designer of your students' mathematical experience. In this episode you'll learn: Why curriculum is a tool—not your identity as a teacherSimple ways to adapt lessons without rewriting themQuestions to ask before teaching any lessonHow professional judgment improves student learningWhy two teachers can teach the same lesson and create completely different classroom experiences🎁 Free Resource Download the Gold Standard Project Planner:  👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/projectplanner This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! Have you ever felt like every lesson has to be bigger, better, and more engaging than the last? I know I have. In this episode, I share how I fell into the trap of trying to create extraordinary lessons every day—and why shifting my focus to sustainable teaching practices completely changed my classroom. We'll talk about routines, instructional systems, decision fatigue, and why consistency often has a greater impact on student learning than constant novelty. In this episode, you'll learn: Why great teaching isn't about reinventing every lessonThe difference between exciting ideas and sustainable systemsHow routines create more opportunities for meaningful mathematicsWhy consistency benefits both teachers and studentsQuestions to help you design a classroom that thrives all year long🎁 Free Resource Download the Project or Practice Guide: 👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/guide This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! For years, I believed rigorous math instruction meant harder problems, longer assignments, and more work. I don't believe that anymore. In this episode, I share how my definition of rigor has changed, why cognitive demand isn't the same thing as difficulty, and how I intentionally design lessons that promote deeper mathematical thinking without overwhelming students. We'll also explore how routines like Math Wars can move beyond procedural practice by creating opportunities for students to justify, critique, compare, and defend mathematical reasoning. In this episode, you'll learn: Why rigor and difficulty aren't the same thingHow to increase thinking without increasing workloadThe difference between fluency and reasoningHow I build cognitive demand into everyday classroom routinesWhy scaffolds can increase access without reducing rigor🎁 Free Resource Download the Project or Practice Guide: 👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/guide This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! The first week of school isn't just about procedures, seating charts, and syllabus review. It's when students begin forming beliefs about what mathematics feels like—and who they believe they are as mathematicians. In this episode, I share how my thinking about the first week has changed over the years, why students walk into our classrooms carrying mathematical identities, and how we can intentionally design experiences that foster confidence, curiosity, and belonging from day one. In this episode you'll learn: Why the first week is about more than classroom proceduresHow students' mathematical identities influence learningThe connection between classroom culture and instructional designSimple questions to help you intentionally design the first weekWhy belonging is one of the most important things we teach🎁 Free Resource Download the Gold Standard Project Planner and start designing intentional learning experiences: 👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/projectplanner This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! One of my favorite classroom projects completely stopped working—and it ended up becoming one of the most important lessons of my teaching career. In this episode, I share the story of a once-successful cell phone plan project that unexpectedly fell flat and how it completely changed the way I think about designing meaningful mathematics. We'll explore why real and relevant aren't always the same thing, how I adapt lessons from Illustrative Math without reinventing the curriculum, and why sometimes the most meaningful part of a lesson isn't the context at all—it's the mathematical thinking. In this episode, you'll learn: Why authentic lessons lose relevance over timeThe difference between real-world math and relevant mathThe planning question I ask before almost every lessonHow I adapt Illustrative Math to better connect with my studentsWhy mathematical practices can be just as meaningful as real-world contextsA classroom story using Glo Germ that led to rich mathematical discussions 🎁 Free Resource Wondering whether a lesson should become a project or stay focused practice? Download my free Project or Practice Guide: 👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/guide If you enjoyed today's episode, I'd love for you to subscribe and share it with another math teacher who's passionate about creating meaningful learning experiences. This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text! What if math intervention didn’t mean going back three grade levels and trying to fill every gap a student has before they’re allowed to move forward? In this episode of The Modern Math Teacher, I’m joined by my friend and math intervention expert Juliana Tapper, author of Teaching 6–12 Math Intervention: A Practical Framework to Engage Students Who Struggle, to talk about a different approach: just-in-time intervention. And selfishly? I had questions. This year I’m teaching an Algebra 1 Pro Lab designed to help students succeed in their grade-level Algebra 1 class, so I asked Juliana to help me think through what that class could actually look like. One of my biggest takeaways was Juliana’s staircase approach to intervention. Start with the grade-level skill students need—that’s the top of the staircase. Then ask: What do they need to know immediately before they can do that? And what do they need before that? Keep stepping backward until you’ve identified the essential prerequisite skills students actually need. Instead of trying to fix every gap from the past, we can strategically build the staircase students need to reach the mathematics in front of them. We also talk about: Using the first week to learn how students actually feel about mathematics—and intentionally creating positive new math experiencesThe connection between intervention, math identity, and our recent conversation with Vanessa VakhariaUsing routines like Notice & Wonder, Same & Different, Which One Doesn’t Belong, Number Talks, and Number Strings to build confidenceHow non-math contexts (including pictures from your own life!) can help teach these routines while building communityStructuring an intervention class around the content students will encounter in their core math class 1–2 weeks laterMixing kinesthetic learning, explicit instruction, and meaningful practiceHow to use IXL as a planning and differentiation tool rather than parking students in front of a computerUsing pre-assessments to determine which "stair" each student needsCombining small groups, IXL, Math Wars, and engaging whole-group activities based on student needsBuilding foundational fluency through Number Talks, Fun Fact/Fluency Fridays, Throwback Thursdays, and intentional reviewIf you teach students who have unfinished learning, this conversation is packed with practical ways to support what they need without lowering the expectations for where they're going. Connect with Juliana Learn more about Juliana, her intervention resources, and her work with secondary math teachers at CollaboratEd with Juliana. Pick up a copy of Teaching 6–12 Math Intervention: A Practical Framework to Engage Students Who Struggle and check out the free companion resources for the book. You can also find Juliana on Instagram at @collaborated.with.juliana. This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There. Connect with Kristen: Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustxJoin the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms. Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together! *Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!