The Math Learning Center Blog

The year is coming to an end. Soon your classroom will be quiet. No more pencils, no more books, no more finger counting, no more area models, no more calendar grid markers, no more pattern blocks and geoboard bands and base ten pieces littering the floor. As Sam Keen said, “Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” You’ve earned all the relaxation you can get this summer; enjoy it...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 18 Many educators were first introduced to the content they teach as a series of items on a checklist. What impact might that way of thinking have on a teacher’s approach to instruction? What if there were another way to understand the mathematics our students are learning? In this episode, we talk with Graham Fletcher about seeing mathematics as a progression and...

Meet Stephanie Quarantotto What grades do you teach, and/or your title/role? I teach fourth grade, all subjects. What school, district or institution do you work for? Location? Pennell Elementary School in Penn-Delco School District (in Aston, PA). Who inspired you to become an educator? A former teacher at Sun Valley High School, Chuck Grassano. He was the kind of educator that led from behind...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 17 When you look at the results of your students' work, what types of things are you attending to? Many of us were trained to look for the ways that students were not understanding concepts or ideas. But what if we flipped that practice on its head and focused on the things students did understand? Today on the podcast, we’re talking with Tisha Jones, senior advisor...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 16 Kindergarten is a joyful, exciting and challenging grade level to teach. It’s also a time when educators can develop a set of productive norms and routines around discourse that can have a long-lasting effect on students. On today’s podcast, we talk with Dr. Hala Ghousseini, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, about building a solid foundation for math...

Meet Megan Cassidy What grades do you teach, and/or your title/role? I am a third grade elementary math and science teacher. What school, district or institution do you work for? Location? I currently teach at Tinicum School, which is located in the Interboro School District in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Who inspired you to become an educator? I became a teacher because I have always loved...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 15 Ensuring students master their basic facts remains a shared goal among parents and educators. That said, many educators wonder what should replace the memorization drills that cause so much harm to their students’ math identities. Today on the podcast, Dr. Jenny Bay-Williams talks about how to meet that goal and shares a set of practices that also support student...

Attending a Getting Started workshop is a foundational experience for Bridges educators. During the workshop, educators gain familiarity with the components of the curriculum, learn how these components work in the classroom, and investigate ways to use questioning techniques and visual models to differentiate instruction for their students. But how can districts support educators who join a...

ROUNDING UP: SEASON 1 | EPISODE 14 How can educators take concrete steps to enhance tasks for multilingual learners? That’s the subject of today’s podcast. Today we’ll talk with Dr. Zandra de Araujo , the Chief Equity Officer at The University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning about three ways to enhance tasks for multilingual learners and how to implement them in an elementary...

Meet Lyndsay Blaisse What grades do you teach, and/or your title/role? What school, district, or institution do you work for? Location? I am a fifth grade general education teacher at Pennell Elementary. Pennell is a part of the Penn-Delco School District located in Aston, PA. Who inspired you to become an educator? A large part of my inspiration comes from the teachers I had growing up. I have...