Modern Math Teacher

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 ...

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...

Let’s chat—send me a text! We spent the summer reading Math Therapy together—and now we’re sitting down with the author herself, Vanessa Vakharia, to talk about what happens when we take these ideas off the page and into our classrooms. And, apparently, what happens when the math teacher needs a little Math Therapy of her own. In this conversation, Vanessa and I start by talking about how Math Therapy has almost become a co-creation. The book may be published, but the work keeps evolving as t...

Let’s chat—send me a text! After four weeks of reading Math Therapy together, we've reached the final chapter—and it ends with a powerful reminder. You don't have to become a different teacher. You simply have to become a more intentional version of the teacher you already are. In this episode, I reflect on the biggest lessons from the book, how my own classroom plans have evolved, and why helping students build healthier relationships with mathematics is a journey we'll continue taking along...

Let’s chat—send me a text! We often tell students: "Progress matters more than perfection." But does our assessment system communicate the same message? In this episode, we're continuing our Math Therapy summer book study with Chapter 7, where Vanessa Vakharia explores the connection between assessment, growth mindset, and mathematical identity. This chapter challenged me to reflect on my own grading practices, my experience with competency-based learning, and the conversations my department ...

Let’s chat—send me a text! How do students begin to see themselves differently in mathematics? In this episode, we're continuing our Math Therapy summer book study with Chapter 6: Makeover. This chapter may be the most personal one yet. It challenged me to reflect on my own math story and reminded me that students don't simply need better grades—they need opportunities to build a healthier mathematical identity. I also share one of my favorite implementation ideas from the book: helping stude...

Let’s chat—send me a text! What if we've been answering one of our students' most common questions the wrong way? When students ask: "When am I ever going to use this?" they're often not asking about future careers. They're asking something much deeper: "Why should I care?" In this episode, we're continuing our summer Math Therapy book study with Chapter 5: Motivate, and exploring how relevance, purpose, and meaningful feedback can transform student motivation. In This Episode ✨ Why motiva...

Let’s chat—send me a text! How do we create a classroom where students feel safe enough to struggle? In this episode, we're continuing our summer Math Therapy book study with Chapter 4: Moderate. This chapter challenged me to rethink the difference between mathematical challenge and emotional threat. Productive struggle is an essential part of learning mathematics—but unnecessary fear, embarrassment, and fixed labels can prevent students from ever engaging in that struggle. I also share some ...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! What does it actually mean to be good at math? If you asked your students that question, what would they say? In this episode, we're continuing our summer book study of Math Therapy by Vanessa Vakharia and diving into Chapter 3: Mythbust. While growth mindset may not be the educational buzzword it once was, the ideas behind it remain incredibly important. Students cannot build a healthier relationship with mathematics if ...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! Welcome back to our summer Math Therapy book study series! This week we're discussing Chapter 2 and exploring a question many teachers may be asking: What exactly is math therapy? One of the biggest takeaways from this chapter is that math therapy isn't about becoming a licensed therapist. Instead, it's about becoming more intentional about the human side of mathematics. As teachers, we already help students: navigate fru...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! This week, we're kicking off our summer book study of Math Therapy by Vanessa Vakharia. Rather than providing a chapter-by-chapter summary, this series is designed as a conversation around the ideas that resonate most, the questions they raise, and how they might influence our classroom practices. In Chapter 1, one idea kept surfacing again and again: The stories we tell ourselves about mathematics matter. From cultural s...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! You asked, I answered! In this special Listener Q&A episode of The Modern Math Teacher, I'm tackling some of your biggest questions about project-based learning, Building Thinking Classrooms, real-world math connections, and professional learning. Whether you're just getting started with PBL or looking for new ways to make your math classroom more engaging, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can use right...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! Struggle Is Learning. Drowning Is Not. One of the biggest lessons I've learned this year is that not all struggle is productive. As math teachers, we want students to wrestle with ideas, persevere through challenges, and make sense of mathematics. But there's a fine line between productive struggle and overwhelming frustration. In this episode, we're exploring what productive struggle actually looks like, why support an...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! What I'm Still Figuring Out About Teaching Honors Math After more than 15 years in the classroom, I'm about to do something new: Teach Honors Algebra 2 and Grade-Level Algebra 2 at the same time. And honestly? I'm still figuring out what that should look like. In this episode, I'm sharing the questions I've been wrestling with as I prepare for next year—from rigor and procedural fluency to pacing, grading, and what sho...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! Are we using technology because it improves learning—or because it's available? After reflecting on student engagement, Chromebook fatigue, and intentional lesson design, I've been rethinking how technology fits into my math classroom. And the more I think about it, the more I realize: 👉 The goal isn't more technology. 👉 The goal is better technology. In this episode, I'm sharing how my thinking has evolved, the tools I'm...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! Technology isn't going away. But that doesn't mean we should use it for everything. After years of integrating digital tools into my math classroom, I've found myself asking a different question: 👉 Not "Should we use technology?" 👉 But "When should we use technology?" In this episode, I'm reflecting on student device use, Chromebook fatigue, productive struggle, and why I'm becoming more intentional about when—and how—tec...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! One of the best things that ever happened to me as a math teacher was teaching multiple grade levels. Because the more I taught Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and intervention classes together… the more I realized: 👉 Math is one connected story. In this episode, we’re talking about: mathematical coherenceconceptual progressionactivating prior knowledgeand why understanding where students are coming from and where they’re...

Let’s talk. Send me a message with your email and I’ll get back to you! Can I admit something? There are math concepts I taught for years that I didn’t fully understand conceptually myself. I could teach the procedure. I could explain the steps. But true sense-making? That took time. In this episode, I’m reflecting on the math ideas I’ve come to understand more deeply as a teacher—and how that deeper understanding has completely changed my instruction. 💡 In This Episode: Why proc...

Ever had one class LOVE a lesson… and another class completely flop with the exact same activity? Same teacher. Same lesson. Same day. This year completely changed the way I think about differentiation, responsiveness, and what intentional teaching actually looks like in a real math classroom. In this episode, we’re talking about: class-to-class differentiationresponsive teachingstudent dynamicsand why consistency does not mean every class should look identical 💡 In This Episode: ...

This year changed the way I think about teaching math. Between piloting a new curriculum, beginning National Board Certification, and teaching students with very different needs, I realized something important: 👉 Knowing math content is not the same thing as intentionally designing mathematical experiences. In this episode, I’m reflecting on the instructional shifts that made the biggest difference in my classroom this year—and why becoming more intentional transformed the way I teach. 💡 In ...

Ever feel like your math lessons are… fine, but not really connecting? You’re covering the content, following the curriculum—but students aren’t fully engaged. In this episode, we walk through a simple, repeatable process to turn any math lesson into a real-world experience—without starting from scratch or spending hours planning. 💡 In This Episode: Why some math lessons feel flat (even when they’re “good”)A simple 4-step process to redesign your lessonsHow to make math more real, relevant, ...