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Math is Figure-Out-Able!
Math teacher educator Pam Harris and her cohost Kim Montague answer the question: If not algorithms, then what? Join them for ~15-30 minutes every Tuesday as they cast their vision for mathematics education and give actionable items to help teachers teach math that is Figure-Out-Able. See www.MathisFigureOutAble.com for more great resources!
Math is Figure-Out-Able!
#MathStratChat - December 3 , 2025
In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on December 3, 2025.
Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.
Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.
Twitter: @PWHarris
Instagram: Pam Harris_math
Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education
Pam 0:01
Hey, fellow mathers! Welcome to the podcast where Math is Figure-Out-Able. I'm Pam.
Kim 0:06
And I'm Kim.
Pam 0:07
And this is a MathStratChat episode where we chat about our math strategies. Every Wednesday evening, I throw out a math problem on social media and people from around the world chat about the strategies they use and comment on each other's thinking.
Kim 0:19
Okay,
Kim 0:19
so this Wednesday, the problem was 15,934 subtract 1988. 15,934 minus 1,988. How would you solve this problem? Pause the podcast, and then come on back to hear how we're solving this problem.
Pam 0:38
Alright, now that you're back, I'm going to shout out, Lincoln, who lives in Nebraska, who listens to MathStratChat with his mom in the car.
Kim 0:46
I love that!
Pam 0:46
I don't know that he lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. I don't think he does. But in Nebraska, there's a kid named Lincoln who listens to math strat chat and does the problems with his mom in the car. Shout out to you, Lincoln, for being a mather. Way to go!
Kim 0:58
So, so fun.
Pam 1:00
Love, love, love.
Kim 1:00
You know, I think we've talked about. I do MathStratChat with my kid because he pokes me and says, "Come on, lady.
Kim 1:06
Get it together."
Pam 1:07
What is the thing?
Kim 1:08
I know. I
Kim 1:08
love that kids do that with their with their families. Okay. Do you want to go first or do you want
Kim 1:09
me to?
Pam 1:10
I'm going to go first.
Kim 1:14
Okay.
Pam 1:14
Okay, I'm thinking about the distance between 1988 and 15,934.
Kim 1:21
Yep.
Pam 1:22
And 1988 is super close to 2,000. So, I'm going to shift both numbers up 12. It's 12 away from 2,000. So, I've now turned 1988 into 2,000. And I have shifted 15,934 into 15,946. Right, 12, yeah. So, then 15,946 minus 2,000 is simply 13,946.
Kim 1:47
Excellent.
Pam 1:48
What do you got?
Kim 1:50
This one's screaming Over to me, of course.
Pam 1:53
I kind of thought it might.
Kim 1:54
Yeah, so I'm going to say subtract 2,000 is 13,934. And then I'm going to add back the 12 that I took too much, so I also got 1,300... Nope, 1,013... Good Lord. 13,000 that's the number 946.
Pam 2:17
Bam.
Pam 2:18
It's a good day to do MathStratChat. Lincoln, I hope you like that one. Alright, we can't wait to see what you do each week. Join us on MathStratChat and let us know how you're thinking about the problems. And we love it when you comment on each other's strategies.
Kim 2:29
Yeah, we sure do. Pam posts the problems on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Central. When you answer, tag her, nd use the hashtag MathStratChat.
Pam 2:37
Then join us here to hear how we're thinking about the problem. We love having you as part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement. Math is Figure-Out-Able!