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 - January 21, 2026
In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on January 21, 2026.
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 0:07
And I'm Kim.
Pam 0:07
And I was scrolling when we started this, so I think I finally found where I am. And this episode is a MathStratChat episode where we chat about our math strategies. Y'all, every Wednesday evening, I'll 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 0:23
Okay, so this Wednesday, our math problem was four-fifths times seven-eighths. How would you like to solve this problem? Pause, solve however you want. The problem is four-fifths times seven-eighths.
Pam 0:34
Alright, I'm going to play a little bit here with the commutative property.
Kim 0:38
Okay.
Pam 0:38
And so, four-fifths times seven-eighths. I'm going to recognize that as 4 times one-fifth times 7 times one-eighth.
Kim 0:46
Mmhm.
Pam 0:46
And then use the commutative property to move things around a little bit. So, I'm going to have 4 times one-eighth, which is four-eighths, times one-fifth times 7, which is seven-fifths. So, now I end up with one-half times seven-fifths. And I could think about that in a couple of different ways. One-half of seven-fifths, could be 3.5/5. But it could also be seven-tenths. Bam!
Kim 0:46
Ooh, I like. Look at you!
Pam 0:46
That made me happy.
Kim 1:01
I'm sure it did. That's fantastic. Nice.
Pam 1:04
Alright, what are you thinking?
Kim 1:17
Nice, nice. Okay. Well, I just was a little lazy, to be honest with you, because I recalled that last week we had all that conversation about four-fifths times one-eighth because we were trying to figure out why I knew what I knew. And that...
Pam 1:32
How you knew 80% of an eighth. Yeah.
Kim 1:34
Yeah. So, that was four-fifths times one-eighth, and we called that one-tenth. So, this time, I just scaled up.
Pam 1:43
One-tenth times 7. Nice.
Kim 1:45
7 times as much, so I got seven-tenths. Yeah.
Pam 1:48
I'll let it go. I'll let it go. Y'all, we can't wait to see what you do each week. Join us on MathStratChat, and let us know how you think about the problems. And comment on each other's strategies.
Kim 1:55
Yeah, Pam, post the problems on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Central. And when you answer, tag her and use the hashtag MathStratChat. Then join here to hear how we're thinking about the problems.
Pam 2:06
Y'all, we love having you as part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement. Math is Figure-Out-Able!