The Build Math Minds Podcast
The Build Math Minds podcast is for my fellow Recovering Traditionalists out there. If you don’t know whether or not you are a Recovering Traditionalist, here’s how I define us. We are math educators who used to teach math the traditional way. Flip lesson by lesson in the textbook, directly teaching step-by-step how to solve math problems. But now, we are working to change that to a style of teaching math that is fun and meets our students where they are at, not just teaching what comes next in the textbook. We want to encourage our students to be thinkers, problem solvers, and lovers of mathematics..we are wanting to build our students math minds and not just create calculators. If that is you, then this podcast is for you.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 10 minutes
- Episodes
- 100
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Episode 162 - Approximation, Precision, & Accuracy in Measurement
In this video I’m sharing a part of a book that made me go “Hmm, I’ve never really thought about that!” It has to do with just how precise we can actually be when measuring items. One of the Standar…
Episode 161 - A candy bar is better than a pie…when it comes to fractions
I love pies, Pecan Pie especially, but I don’t love them during math time. Pies, well circles in general, are an overused visual when it comes to the teaching of fractions. In this video we take a …
Episode 160 - Tips for Getting Kids to Talk in Math Class
After the 2024 Virtual Math Summit, there was so much mention of using Sentence Stems I wanted to dig a bit deeper into them. In my research I stumbled upon an old blog post by one of my favorite Ma…
Episode 159 - The Number Strings Queens
Cathy Fosnot and Pam Harris are The Queens of Number Strings (or Problem Strings as Pam would call them). I’m way too excited about the fact they are teaming up to do a one-day workshop all about us…
Episode 158 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Preventing Teacher Burnout
Before the 2024 Virtual Math Summit starts next week, enjoy this preview of a Pre-Summit Session by Rosalba Serrano on Preventing Teacher Burnout. Rosalba shares a ton of information and ideas to he…
Episode 157 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Challenges and Benefits of Building Kids' Thinking
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit is in two weeks! Here’s a preview of 3 sessions from Jenny Foreman, Loren Thorpe, and myself talking about the challenges and benefits of working on getting your student…
Episode 156 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Things to Think About When Doing Number Routines
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit is this month! Here’s a preview of 3 sessions from Michaela Epstein, Rosalba Serrano, and Nicole Thompson & Jessica Batinovic giving you tips, ideas, and inspiration to …
Episode 155 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Teaching Math with Newcomers in Mind
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit starts in less than 1 month! Check out this preview of Dr. Jim Ewing’s keynote session about Teaching Math with Newcomers in Mind. To see the full list of speakers, th…
Episode 154 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Helping Students Understand Multiplication
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit is coming soon. This week’s episode gives you a preview of 4 sessions that focus on helping students build their understanding and fluency of multiplication. Check ou…
Episode 153: Virtual Math Summit Preview: Tips for Creating Student-Centered Classrooms
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit is just around the corner. This week’s episode gives you a preview of 4 of the sessions. To see the full list of speakers, their presentations, and to get registered go …
Episode 152 - Why don't you talk about Time & Money?
I get asked why I don’t do much training about Time & Measurement. I do have some videos, you can see them in my Playlists at the YouTube channel, but there is a real reason why I don’t talk about t…
Episode 151 - What Do Students Need to Know About Division?
This essential understanding about division is something even adults struggle with: Division is defined by its inverse relationship with multiplication. Our textbooks want us to teach division as it…
Episode 150 - A Quick Math Story Problem Activity
Want a quick & easy to implement activity that will show you how much your students know about the math operations and about math story problems? I’ve got it for you in this week’s Build Math Minds …
Episode 149 - Things to Say Instead of IDK
The two ends of the spectrum when teaching math seem to be “here are the exact ways to solve this problem, follow it exactly,” and “you figure it out, I’m not telling you anything.” Neither of these…
Number Sense Kickstart Day #10 - Join The Flexibility Formula Course
It's been an incredible journey over the past two weeks as we've explored nine key strategies to Kickstart your students' number sense. Now, as we reach the end of this Kickstart event, it's essentia…
Number Sense Kickstart Day #9 - Practice makes Permanent…not Perfect.
The saying "Practice Makes Perfect" often implies that repetition leads to mastery. However, practicing something you do poorly, or incorrectly, doesn't make it perfect; it instead reinforces bad hab…
Number Sense Kickstart Day #8 - Empowering Students Through the Use of Story Problems
Day 8 of the Number Sense Kickstart emphasizes a simple, yet sometimes difficult, teaching strategy: Let students solve story problems, don’t give them the steps.
The concept of Cognitively Guided In…
Number Sense Kickstart Day #7 - Using Number Routines to Put Theoretical Ideas Into Practice
In Day 7 of our Number Sense Kickstart we are shifting from the theoretical ideas I’ve shared so far into practical classroom strategies that make it easier to do the theoretical ideas.
Our first pr…
Number Sense Kickstart Day #6 - The Biggest Mistake Educators Make When Using the C-R-A Model
Today we're diving into the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (C-R-A) model of teaching mathematics.
Typically, these stages are presented in isolation, with separate lessons for each. However, the …
Number Sense Kickstart Day #5 - Are the Math Visuals You're Using Actually Helpful?
It’s Day 5 of the Number Sense Kickstart and we're focusing on the power of visuals in elementary math education. Just like in reading, where creating mental images enhances comprehension, visuals ar…