The Math Learning Center Blog

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 4 Multilingual learners represent approximately 10% of the US K–-12 student population, and they are the fastest growing subpopulation of students in the United States. Today Dr. Erin Smith, a mathematics education professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, talks about ways to position multilingual learners as competent doers of mathematics. More Episodes...

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 3 Learning to record students’ mathematical thinking might best be described as “on the job training” with a great deal of trial and error and a lot of practice. Today Dr. Nicole Garcia from the University of Michigan talks about the practice of recording student thinking and offers insight on this challenging but crucial practice. More Episodes Resources Recording...

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 2 Educational theorist Charles Degarmo once said, “To question well is to teach well. In the skillful use of the question more than anything else lies the fine art of teaching.” Today, Dr. DeAnn Huinker, author of Taking Action: Implementing Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices in Grades K-5, talks about the art and the science of questioning and ways that...

Rounding Up: Season 1 | Episode 1 There is a persistent myth in the world of education that mathematics is abstract and its teaching is not influenced by cultural contexts. This despite the fact that research and scholarship indicate that when students see how math applies to the world they recognize, they perform better. Today on the podcast Dr. Corey Drake , senior director of academic programs...

What does it look like to connect with your students and help them advance their thinking? How do we support them in making sense of mathematics? MLC’s new podcast, Rounding Up, aims to address the questions that matter most to busy elementary math educators, coaches and instructional leaders. Hosted by Mike Wallus, our VP of Educator Support, Rounding Up offers bite-sized professional learning at...

Meet Jessica Rock What grades do you teach, and/or your title/role? I have the privilege of serving as a second grade classroom teacher. What school, district or institution do you work for? Location? I work at Hiawatha Elementary School in Berwyn South School District 100. Our district is located in the western suburbs of Chicago. Who inspired you to become an educator? My fourth and fifth grade...

Meet Spencer Olmsted What grades do you teach, and/or your title/role? I have been a fifth grade teacher for the majority of my teaching career. I am now in my third year teaching in a highly capable fourth/fifth self-contained classroom. What school, district or institution do you work for? Location? I teach at Roosevelt Elementary School in the Olympia School District in Olympia, Washington. I...

Meet Lakria Martin What grades do you teach, and/or your title/role? I am currently a classroom teacher. I have the privilege of teaching both fourth and fifth grade mathematics. What school, district or institution do you work for? Location? I work for Baltimore County Public Schools, and my current home school is Bedford Elementary. Who inspired you to become an educator? I don’t think there is...

Meet Andrew Smith What grades do you teach, and/or your title/role? I currently serve in the role of K–5 math instructional coach. What school, district, or institution do you work for? Location? I work for Kenowa Hills Public Schools in Grand Rapids, MI, and serve Alpine, Central and Zinser Elementary Schools. Who inspired you to become an educator? My fifth and sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Ann...

Meet Emily Payán What grades do you teach, and/or your title/role? Second grade. What school, district, or institution do you work for? Location? Adams Elementary in Anoka-Hennepin, a suburban district of Minneapolis, MN. Who inspired you to become an educator? My son's experience as a student of color inspired me to become a teacher and continues to inspire me in working toward educational equity...