DebateMath Podcast

DebateMath Podcast

Bringing together educators with opposing viewpoints to have a discussion and explore the arguments

Episodes

October 9, 2025 56 mins

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Imagine you had a magic wand and could add an extra 30–40 minutes to the school day. How would you use it? Would you dedicate that time to Reading or to Math—and why? That’s the debate we dove into, with two teams facing off in this live debate, answering the big question: Should schools spend more time on Reading or on Math?

*This is a recording of a LIVE debate from the Hamilton County ESC Explore Mathematics Confere...

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This is the seventh (and final) episode with our guests demonstrating various classroom debate routines. In this episode, we put everything together: using a discourse routine, modeling listening skills, and preparing both sides of a debate. Tune in as guest debaters Mike and Zak dive into a final example with us! 

  • Follow Mike Flynn on social media: @mikeflynn55
  • Follow Zak Champagne on social media: @zakchamp
  • And che...
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September 17, 2025 5 mins

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This is the sixth of seven episodes where our guests demonstrate various classroom debate routines. In this episode, we see another example of the routine where students have to prepare both sides of an argument ahead of time: a Point-Counterpoint Debate. Tune in as guest debaters Mike and Zak dive into an example of this!

  • Follow Mike Flynn on social media: @mikeflynn55
  • Follow Zak Champagne on social media: @zakcham...
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September 11, 2025 5 mins

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This is the fifth of seven episodes where our guests demonstrate various classroom debate routines. In this example, we explore a routine where students have to prepare both sides of an argument ahead of time: a Point-Counterpoint Debate. Tune in as guest debaters Mike and Zak dive into an example of this!

  • Follow Mike Flynn on social media: @mikeflynn55
  • Follow Zak Champagne on social media: @zakchamp
  • And check out th...
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September 3, 2025 7 mins

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This is the fourth of seven episodes where our guests demonstrate various classroom debate routines. In this example, we dig further into the listening routine of Circle Debates. Tune in as guest debaters Mike and Zak dive into an example of this!

  • Follow Mike Flynn on social media: @mikeflynn55
  • Follow Zak Champagne on social media: @zakchamp
  • And check out the FlynnEducation website: flynneducation.com

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August 26, 2025 7 mins

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This is the third of seven episodes where our guests demonstrate various classroom debate routines. In this example, we extend the routine from the previous episodes to really encourage listening. Tune in as guest debaters Mike and Zak dive into an example of this!

  • Follow Mike Flynn on social media: @mikeflynn55
  • Follow Zak Champagne on social media: @zakchamp
  • And check out the FlynnEducation website: flynneducation.c...
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August 20, 2025 5 mins

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This is the second of seven episodes where our guests demonstrate various classroom debate routines. Tune in to this very brief example, where guest debaters Mike and Zak dive into a more mathy example!

  • Follow Mike Flynn on social media: @mikeflynn55
  • Follow Zak Champagne on social media: @zakchamp
  • And check out the FlynnEducation website: flynneducation.com

Listened to the episode? Now, it’s your turn to share! G...

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August 14, 2025 5 mins

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This is the first of seven episodes where our guests demonstrate various classroom debate routines. Tune in to this very brief debate on pizza, where guest debaters Mike and Zak dive into an example!

  • Follow Mike Flynn on social media: @mikeflynn55
  • Follow Zak Champagne on social media: @zakchamp
  • And check out the FlynnEducation website: flynneducation.com

Listened to the episode? Now, it’s your turn to share! Go t...

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August 5, 2025 32 mins

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Today we’re diving into one of the most talked-about—and often misunderstood—topics in math education: memorization vs from-memory thinking. At first glance, they might sound like the same thing. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find a growing divide among educators, researchers, and even students. 

Should we be drilling multiplication tables and formulas until they’re automatic? Or should we be building understandi...

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July 24, 2025 29 mins

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Mathematics has often been considered a gateway to opportunity—but some people argue that, too often, it acts instead as a gatekeeper. But why is that? Is it really a barrier for our students’ future successes? And how much of a problem is this? In this episode, we dive deep into this discussion with Pamela Burdman from Just Equations. She will debate our Hot Seat resolution: Math is a Gatekeeper

  • You can follow Jus...
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July 15, 2025 31 mins

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Do you ever find yourself happy with the lessons you are creating, only to have students forget everything a month later? Perhaps we need to slow down more? Or spiral? It’s the constant question in our teacher minds: How do we help students really learn this stuff? As our guest today will argue: We Need to Be Mindful in the Way We Sequence Learning Math!

Follow Dan on BlueSky: @danielk.bsky.social‬
Or on ...

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June 30, 2025 23 mins

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Discourse routines are a big part of many classrooms (and debates). However, what role does listening play and is there a way to teach it? Our “Hot Seat” guest today is here arguing for the statement: Schools Should Teach Listening Skills

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June 12, 2025 40 mins

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It’s time for another round of Summer Hot Seats!

You may have heard talk about math anxiety and helping students to build confidence in math skills. But our guests today want to focus on the idea of math identity. What is it? And how do we foster it? So for this Hot Seat debate, we have two educators here to share why they think:

Teachers MUST cultivate a positive math identity.

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Let’s talk about curriculum resources! Whether you are using a textbook that you chose or your district chose for you, many of you have been asked to use the resource with fidelity. But what exactly is fidelity, and is it a problem to create our own lessons? How much should teachers be expected to use what is included in a curriculum resource? Well that sounds like a great question for debate! So we have a panel of 3 ...

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Is teaching math the same as teaching reading? Have you ever attended a PD or read about a strategy that works for teaching both reading and were asked to use it in math as well? There are times when these two pedagogies can overlap…but should they? Today, we have a very special “family” episode for you. We are going to hear a husband and wife debate it out on this very topic, answering the question: 

Should We Be Comp...

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March 20, 2025 58 mins

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Math is full of algorithms. These are generalized procedures or sets of rules to be followed in solving problems of a given type. From the standard algorithms for subtraction and long division in elementary school all the way to the distance formula and the quadratic formula in high school, algorithms are a part of the mathematics curriculum. However, some may ask: should we be teaching students these methods, or shou...

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February 20, 2025 57 mins

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How narrow should we make the grade bands for teacher certification? When teachers get their certification in a state, it is usually for a specific subject and/or grade band. For instance, a teacher may get a certification in K-8 Elementary Teaching or 7-12 Math Instruction. These bands vary by state and change over time. So what is the ideal set of grade bands? Listen in as our debaters take on the resolution:  Shoul...

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As we’ve done in the past, we wanted to end the year by bringing together a few of our guests from past debates for a roundtable to reflect on the past debates and also engage in a discussion around a central question. This year’s question is:

How do we help students feel that they belong in math class? 

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At the time of this recording, we are in an election year and political ads are everywhere. As we get closer to November 2024, it is harder and harder to avoid. Now, while you may not think of math as a course that intersects with political topics, teachers may find it coming up in many ways. So for this episode we gathered a panel of educators to give us advice on this, addressing the question: Should politics be avo...

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September 19, 2024 73 mins

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The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, or NCTM, is the world's largest mathematics education organization. While many math teachers are members of this organization and may attend its national conference, others do not. Maybe you are someone who has wondered whether or not to join? 

We wanted to explore this idea more in our latest debate: Is an NCTM membership worthwhile?

  • Follow Desiree Harrison on a...
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