The Math Learning Center Blog

Meet Libardo Valencia What grades do you teach and/or what is your title/role? What school, district or institution do you work for? What location? I work as a mathematics teacher at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. I also work as an adjunct lecturer at CUNY Lehman College in the Bronx, New York. During my career, I’ve had the opportunity to teach a wide range of subjects, from...

Meet Angelica Medina Dual Language Elementary Educator at Oak Terrace Elementary in Highland Park, IL What grades do you teach and/or what is your title/role? Grade 3 Dual Language Teacher What school, district or institution do you work for? Location? North Shore School District 112 servicing Highwood and Highland Park, Illinois Who inspired you to become an educator? My third- and fifth-grade...

Meet Josh Labik Elementary Educator at Parkside Elementary School in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania What grades do you teach and/or what is your title/role? What school, district or institution do you work for? Location? I am a teacher at Parkside Elementary, currently teaching fifth grade. We are in the Penn-Delco School District located in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania. Who inspired you to become an...

Don’t let “at home” in the name fool you. The Math Learning Center’s Math at Home website has evolved into a robust collection of tasks and games that can be used on the playground, in the supermarket, or just about anywhere else—including the classroom. Though originally designed for use by families forced inside by the pandemic, teachers can use the familiar routines to launch a lesson, provide...

Most of us can recall one or more favorite teachers from school. I encountered my three favorite teachers well along in my educational path. All of them were at one time professors at the University of Oregon, which may or may not have something to do with my love for the Oregon Ducks. Dr. Robert Sylwester was a professor of education, an author, and was widely known for his study of brain...

The start of a new school year is the perfect time for teachers to get to know their students as mathematicians. Exploring students' math identities means paying attention to their beliefs about what it means to be “good at math” and their perceptions of their own ability to do mathematics. We want to share some of the possibilities within the Bridges curriculum that will help teachers know their...

Physical manipulatives are locked away in classrooms, so teachers, students, and families are turning to The Math Learning Center apps to support understanding of visual mathematics in a remote learning environment. Usage of these free virtual manipulatives and models has tripled over the last six weeks. On Friday, May 1, more than 500 educators attended an MLC webinar on how the apps can be used...

Lake Forest School District in Illinois adopted Bridges in 2013. Teachers credit Bridges with helping them teach valuable life skills such as communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and positive student interaction. Additional significant changes include students’ increased risk taking and recognition that there is more than one answer and strategy to a problem. Bridges is designed to...

DeSoto Parish School System in Louisiana adopted Bridges in 2013. With Bridges, educators and district leaders alike have witnessed the transformation of classroom environments. Students are engaged, working together, checking one another’s work and truly understanding concepts. Bridges is engaging students in math and teaching them to become creative problem solvers. “Bridges creates that...

Lake Forest School District in Illinois adopted Bridges in 2013. Teachers credit Bridges with helping them teach valuable life skills such as communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and positive student interaction. Additional significant changes include students’ increased risk taking and recognition that there is more than one answer and strategy to a problem. Bridges is designed to...