Claim OwnershipMaking Math Moments That Matter
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Helping you transform your K-12 math lesson plans by building confidence in effective teaching practices, guiding you to transform your math curriculum, and inspiring classroom strategies to engage all students.
As a teacher are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans where students don't want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings?
As a mathematics coordinator or leader are you wondering how to support teachers when implementing engaging math lessons that fuel student sense making?
Over the last 19 years, Kyle and Jon, the founders of MakeMathMoments.com have been engaging students, teachers, and district program leaders with effective mathematics pedagogy, accessible resources, and inspiring learning environments in K-12 math classrooms.
Now, in this podcast they coach you - K-12 classroom teachers and district leaders of mathematics through a 6 step plan that cultivates and fosters your mathematics program like a strong, healthy and balanced tree.
If you master the 6 parts of an effective mathematics program, the impact you have on students or teachers will grow and reach far and wide.
Every week, you’ll hear insight from practicing classroom teachers and leaders in math education so you’ll get the feedback, guidance, and fresh ideas you need to stop feeling overwhelmed, gain back your confidence, and inspire the students and fellow teachers you serve to enjoy the beauty of mathematics once again.
Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180
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In this episode, we share our biggest insights from the 7th annual Make Math Moments Virtual Summit. We highlight powerful sessions that explored ethical AI use, responsive planning, student motivation, and math teacher well-being. Yvette reflects on Dr. Nicky Newton’s approach to creating AI prompts packed with best practices, while also grappling with the ethical use of tech in education. Jon unpacks Sean Nank’s strategies for addressing teacher trauma and re-centering on purpose. Kyle dive...
Leading math professional learning in a large system is never simple — especially when every school wants something different. How do you support meaningful math growth without burning out or losing focus? In this Mentoring Moment episode, you’ll hear a real coaching conversation with a math learning coordinator who’s navigating a new team, an ambitious vision, and a calendar full of math PD that feels more reactive than strategic. Together, we explore how to shift from disjointed math initia...
Your math vision prioritizes critical thinking, but can everyone on your team describe what that actually looks like in classrooms? In this episode, you’ll sit in on a real conversation between our team as we unpack a problem of practice. Yvette shares her experience coaching a large district where critical thinking appears in their math vision but isn’t yet clearly defined across their leadership team. We reflect on a district that’s working toward coherence by focusing on problem solving, d...
Do you say your math program prioritizes critical thinking, but struggle to see it in action across classrooms? Many districts include critical thinking as part of their math vision. It is a powerful goal and one that prepares students to engage with complex ideas and make thoughtful decisions. However, teams often lack a shared and practical definition of what critical thinking looks like during math learning. In this episode, we reflect on a powerful moment from the documentary Counted Out....
Is your school or district chasing improvement—but feeling like nothing sticks? You're not alone. Fragmentation and unclear goals might be the reason you're not seeing real change. In this episode, we go beyond theory and dive into a real-world case study of a school leadership team that thought they were aligned—until a simple conversation around “fluency routines” exposed deeper issues of misalignment. We explore how schools and systems can overcome the illusion of alignment by building tru...
Have you ever left a team meeting feeling confident everyone was working toward the same math goal, only to realize later that each person defined success in a different way? This episode explores how that kind of disconnect can quietly stall school improvement in mathematics. A school team set out to strengthen math fluency with clear objectives and measurable outcomes. Yet when each member was asked to describe what fluency meant, their answers revealed four different interpretations of wha...
You’ve got a strong teacher, strong strategies—and still, the innovation stalls. What gives? In this episode, we tackle what’s really behind resistance in math PD and why most implementation efforts collapse long before proficiency is even possible. Building on our last episode, we unpack how a school we support used the five implementation stages—Non-Use, Awareness, Mechanical, Routine, and Proficient—to move real teacher practice forward in mathematics. You’ll hear how assumptions lik...
Still stuck “talking” about change, but not seeing it in action? The real roadblock to change in math may not be teacher resistance—it might be your system. Based on Jim Knight’s powerful article in Educational Leadership, “Moving from Talk to Action in Professional Learning,” this episode reframes what looks like math pd resistance in schools. We walk through the five stages of implementation—Non-Use, Awareness, Mechanical, Routine, and Proficient—and reveal how most educators aren’t resisti...
What happens to your math improvement efforts when you leave the role? Many school and district leaders assume that lack of time or teacher buy-in is the biggest barrier to sustainable change. But the real threat? Fragility—the risk that everything falls apart when key people leave or switch roles. In this episode, we unpack the often-overlooked issue of leadership transition and how it stalls momentum, erodes trust, and resets years of progress. You’ll hear real-world case studies and action...
Why does your math plan feel like it resets every time someone new steps in? You’ve seen it happen: a coordinator retires, a coach changes roles, or a principal moves on—and suddenly all the momentum in your math plan disappears. Teachers feel like they’re starting over (again), and it’s back to square one. It’s not a motivation issue. It’s not even a planning issue. The root problem? Your system depends on people, not process.This episode explores the high cost of person-driven leadership—an...
What does it really mean to be fluent in math—and are we measuring the right things in our classrooms? Math fluency is often reduced to speed drills and memorization—but true fluency goes much deeper. In this episode, we unpack the key differences between fact fluency, computational fluency, and procedural fluency—and why it matters for both teaching and learning. Drawing on research from Jennifer Bay-Williams and John San Giovanni, we explore what fluency actually looks like in action, and h...
How do you know if your district’s mentoring and coaching efforts are actually making a difference? Too often, system and instructional leaders focus on program delivery but miss the deeper question: how do we monitor and support the real impact of our math mentorship and coaching practices? In this episode, Jim Strachan returns to explore how leaders can center educator well-being, trust, and professional learning as essential foundations for student success. You'll hear practical insights o...
Fidelity matters, yet rigidity can stall growth. In this follow-up episode, we revisit the balance between fidelity and flexibility in math improvement and explore how two district partners faced this exact challenge. You will hear how they committed to implementing with fidelity, ensuring consistency, clarity, and shared language, while avoiding the trap of rigid adherence that stifles innovation and teacher agency. Drawing from Janice Fraser’s Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama and her lea...
Implementing with fidelity matters—whether it’s adopting a new math resource, embedding a routine like number talks, or structuring PLCs. But fidelity is not the same as rigidity. When we cling too tightly to practices, they can outlive their usefulness and prevent innovation. In this episode, we draw from research, including Janice Fraser’s concept of making durable decisions, to unpack the balance between fidelity and rigidity in math improvement. We explore how leaders and teachers can com...
How do you move your students from confusion to confidence—one question at a time when Building Thinking Classrooms? If you've ever found yourself wondering how to keep every student engaged without oversimplifying your math lessons or overwhelming your class with complexity, you're not alone. Many math teachers face the challenge of designing lessons that meet all learners where they are—without sacrificing depth or progress. In this episode, Peter Liljedahl and Kyle Webb unpack thin slicing...
In this episode, we dig into the tricky question every math teacher faces: When is a calculator a helpful tool—and when does it actually rob students of valuable mathematical thinking? Yvette shares a personal story about a conversation with her son on whether he should use a calculator for an upcoming test. The discussion quickly expanded: is a lower score worth it if it means students are pushing their math brains harder? Jon and Kyle weigh in on the role of calculators and AI in classrooms...
Math improvement plans don’t gain traction just by naming priorities—they gain traction when districts commit to going narrow. For one small district, that meant resisting the urge to spread resources across every grade and instead doubling down on a focused goal: supporting grades 3–5 teachers with the consistent use of problem strings to strengthen student fluency. In this episode, we explore the critical leadership decisions that fueled momentum: choosing more and better over new, position...
District math improvement plans can’t succeed if we try to do everything at once. For meaningful change to happen, leaders need to go narrow. In this episode, we explore why narrowing focus is so difficult for districts and schools, even when everyone knows it’s the right move. We unpack the fears leaders face—picking the “wrong” focus, pressure from external demands, or the worry that one shift won’t meet everyone’s needs. We also dig into why saying “yes” to one math priority means saying “...
Do you ever feel torn between staying laser-focused on your math goals and chasing all the new opportunities that come your way? Whether it’s a conference, a webinar, or a brand-new resource, unexpected opportunities can be energizing—but without a clear filter, they can also overwhelm teachers and derail your district’s math improvement plan. Listeners will: Learn how to avoid “spaghetti at the wall” professional learning.Discover how to filter opportunities through your math objectives so t...
How can math teachers harness AI to lighten their workload, differentiate with confidence, and boost student thinking—without losing the human touch? The AI wave isn't coming—it's already here. In this energizing episode, Dr. Nicki Newton returns to share how AI is transforming the way elementary math educators plan, differentiate, and reflect. Whether you're an AI skeptic or already tinkering with ChatGPT, this conversation reveals how AI can empower—not replace—educators. Dr. Nicki brings p...
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Have students address feedback before they see their score.
My favourite math PD podcast - Kyle and Jon helped me revolutionize my teaching approach and the show just keeps getting better!
This is great! Thank you for sharing your teaching philosophies