Modern Math Teacher- Teaching Strategies for High School and Middle School Math Teachers

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The first week of school isn't just about procedures, seating charts, and syllabus review. It's when students begin forming beliefs about what mathematics feels like—and who they believe they are as mathematicians.

In this episode, I share how my thinking about the first week has changed over the years, why students walk into our classrooms carrying mathematical identities, and how we can ...

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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 th...

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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 abou...

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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 almos...

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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 healt...

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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...

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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 als...

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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 feedbac...

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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...

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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 relation...

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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 hel...

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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 mathematic...

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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 practic...

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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 actu...

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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 fl...

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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 thin...

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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 intention...

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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 coherence
• conceptual progression
• activating prior knowledge
• and why understanding where ...

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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 complete...