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!
Episodes
549 episodes
#MathStratChat - October 19, 2022
In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on October 19, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others' strategies, before...
Ep 122: How to Help Students Choose Which Operation in a Word Problem
When dealing with word problems it can be tricky for students to decide which operation to use, so we need a way to help them memorize what to do in any given situation... right? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how reasoning empowers studen...
#MathStratChat - October 12, 2022
In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on October 12, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others' strategies, before...
Ep 121: Is This a Major Strategy?
When we teach Real Math, students come up with all sorts of cool strategies! But which ones are the main strategies, and how do we make the distinction? In this episode Pam and Kim take a listener submitted strategy and discuss where and what i...
Ep 120: Rounding
What fun rhymes will best help your students learn to round? Just kidding! In this episode Pam and Kim describe their wholistic approach to rounding that helps kids build relationships like place value!Talking Points:No rhymes n...
Ep 119: Elapsed Time on a Number Line
Finding elapsed time can be a tricky concept, but when combined with a number line, we can make it figureoutable! Join Pam and Kim as they discuss using addition strategies to find elapsed time.Talking Points:Daily schedule on a...
Ep 118: Time and Elapsed Time
Do your students struggle tracking time or reading an analog clock? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss three simple ways you can help your students internalize time and elapsed time.Talking Points:Help students build a feel for...
Ep 117: Math is Figureoutable, Even In High School
A lot of people feel like when it comes to high school math, it's just not possible to think and reason through things anymore. Not true! In this episode Pam and Kim make the transition from Proportional Reasoning to Functional Reasoning and wr...
Ep 116: Structuring Your Math Class Examples
What does teaching Real Math look like at your grade level? In the last episode Pam and Kim discussed the One Third/Two Thirds rule to structure math time. In this episode they give specific examples at various grade levels of what it might rea...
Ep 115: Structuring Your Math Class
A listener asked how would we structure our math class. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss the approach they'd take to provide their students with the best math education experience possible to learn Real Math and still meet their required sta...
Ep 114: Moving Students Forward Pt 2
The school year is starting! For this exciting time, Pam and Kim want to discuss what starting strategies can help you and your students to build thinking relationships and strategies rather than simply answer getting.Talking Points:
Ep 113: Moving Students Forward Pt 1
How can you make changes in your math classroom to help your students do more Real Math? In this episode Pam and Kim describe some first steps, and bigger steps, you can take to transform your math class. Talking Points: <...
Ep 112: The Double Open Number Line Model
We sure loved discussing the open number line model last week, but have you ever heard of the double open number line? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how the double open number line can be used to develop Proportional Reasoning and to thin...
Ep 111: The Open Number Line Model
The open number line is not just a powerful tool for computation, but it's an amazing model for developing all sorts of mathematical concepts! In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how to help students develop the open number line in a natural an...
Ep 110: Thinking Through Decimal Multiplication
Multiplying decimals can be fun! In this episode Pam and Kim tackle several gnarly problems like 0.77 x 2.4, and have a blast doing it. Talking Points: Building reasoning allows students to be flexible and have fun wit...
Ep 109: Multiplying By One Tenth
Being able to scale comfortably is important for both whole and decimal numbers. And just as there are more sophisticated ways to handle scaling with whole numbers, we can also be more sophisticated scaling decimals! In this episode Pam and Kim...
Ep 108: Beginning Decimal Multiplication
How can we help students make sense of decimal multiplication? In this episode Pam and Kim run through two beginning Problem Strings that will get students feeling comfortable and understanding the world of multiplying decimals.Talking Poin...
Ep 107: All About Decimals
We've gotten a ton of questions about decimals. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss three different models and why they are great for questioning and building relationships, but may or may not be good for computation.Talking Points:...
Ep 106: Multiplying by 10
Most students can scale up by ten as they begin to multiply larger numbers and that is a great starting place for students. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss a more sophisticated way of scaling numbers in multiplication problems. Tal...
Ep 105: Let the Students Play
Often people misunderstand what this game we call mathematics is and feel they aren't good enough to play. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how students need the opportunity to experience and play in the real game of mathematics.Talking ...
Ep 104: Things We Have Learned
It's our two year anniversary! We are so grateful you've spent this time with us. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss openly things they've learned and how they've grown during their journey as math teacher educators.Talking Points:...
Ep 103: Rich Tasks, Investigations, 3-Act Tasks, Pt 2
What are some examples of rich tasks that are designed to intrigue and engage students? In this episode Pam and Kim give some specific examples and describe why they are so rich.Talking Points:Relatable to students not just real...
Ep 102: Rich Tasks, Investigations, 3-Act Tasks, Pt 1
Let's talk rich tasks! On Twitter we enjoyed a great conversation about what makes a rich task rich. We thought we'd comment on some great suggestions from Professor Tad Watanabe, inspired from his mentor Dr. Grayson Weatley.Talking Points:...
Ep 101: Strategies!
What comes to mind when someone says the word "strategy"? There are at least four different meanings for the word "strategy" in mathematics teaching. In this episode Pam and Kim parse out the different meanings and discuss how those meani...
Ep 100: Celebrating Place Value
We love that we've been able to make 100 episodes! We also love that 1 hundred is 10 tens, so let's talk place value! In this episode Pam and Kim discuss why students struggle with place value, and suggest some of their favorite place value act...