More Math for More People
CPM Educational Program is a non-profit publisher of math textbooks for grades 6-12. As part of its mission, CPM provides a multitude of professional learning opportunities for math educators. The More Math for More People podcast is part of that outreach and mission. Published biweekly, the hosts, Joel Miller and Misty Nikula, discuss the CPM curriculum, trends in math education and share strategies to shift instructional practices to create a more inclusive and student-centered classroom. They also highlight upcoming CPM professional learning opportunities and have conversations with math educators about how they do what they do. We hope that you find the podcast informative, engaging and fun. Intro music credit: JuliusH from pixabay.com.
Episodes
123 episodes
Episode 5.22: School Bus Drivers & Station Rotation
We start by honoring school bus drivers and sharing our memories of riding the school bus on School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. Then we all know that math class gets quieter when students are confused and louder when they’re thinki...
Episode 5.21: National Gardening Day and All About ABP!
National Gardening Day starts with a surprisingly honest question: do you like gardening, or do you like having a garden? From urban farming stats to blueberry bushes that take care of themselves, we warm up with the kind of curious, low-stakes...
Episode 5.20: Crayons and a Site-Based Leadership Book Study!
It's National Crayon Day! What are your favorite or least favorite memories about crayons? Do you still like to use crayons today? :winkThen we talk with Jeremiah Morgan about the Site-Based Leadership (SBL) Program and their upcoming bo...
Episode 5.19 - Conversación con Rafael and Join Them on Their Journey Updates!
This episode opens with a lighthearted discussion about National 3D Day, where we joke about three-dimensional experiences like 3D movies, printing, and art. Then we have another installment of Conversaciónes con Rafael. Together we...
Episode 5.18: 3, 2, 1, Ignite!
On this episode we share the Ignite talks from the 2026 CPM Teacher Conference. The room buzzed with that end-of-day, can’t-stop-thinking energy as teachers took the Ignite stage and proved how five-minute stories can shift an entir...
Episode 5.17: We missed a week so this one is SUPER SIZED!!!
We missed an episode - lots of "life" happening for Joel and Misty... So we're catching up with this week's episode!Ever feel like numbers aren’t telling the whole story of your classroom? We dig into a simple but powerful shift: using e...
Episode 5.16 - Happy New Year? Yes and No... with Rafael del Castillo
A quirky holiday about Printing Ink turns into a surprising exploration of how learning really sticks. We start with soot, gelatin, CMYK, and the tactile world of flexography—plates wrapped on cylinders, color laid down in sequence, and the tra...
Episode 5.15: Look Up in the Sky! It's the CPM Teacher Conference!
Ready for a feel-good jolt of purpose and practical ideas to carry you into the new year? We kick off with National Underdog Day, then connect that spirit to math classrooms where identity, equity, and agency drive the work. The conversation bu...
Episode 5.14: Popping Corn and HQIMs!
A bag of popcorn, a few movie-theater secrets, and then the big pivot: what actually makes math materials high quality. We invited Bridget Gunn and Dan Henderson to help us pull HQIM out of acronym-land and into real classrooms, where teachers ...
Episode 5.13: More Conversación con Rafael and Latvian Independence Day
Start with a name and you get a story. We kick off with Latvian Independence Day and our colleague, Astrida Lizins, whose Latvian name, family roots, and community traditions open a window into how culture survives and thrives far from home. Fr...
Episode 5.12: Use Your Common Sense and go watch Sum Shenanigans!!
What if “common sense” isn’t universal at all—but learned, personal, and shaped by context? Joel and Misty begin with their typical philosophical investigation of the national day. This time it's "Use Your Common Sense" Day. That refram...
Episode 5.11: Lots of mid-semester challenges and suggestions!
What if a few simple shifts could turn your math class into a place where more students talk, think, and truly learn? We start with our usual celebration of the "day of" by tipping our hats to Ada Lovelace. Then we ask t...
Episode 5.10: A conversation with our own Elizabeth Coyner!
What if the future of math education blends joy, rigor, and teacher voice—with professional learning that meets educators where they are? We open with a lighthearted celebration of International Podcast Day and a look back at how radio paved th...
Episode 5.9: More getting real with Rafael del Castillo and NEW Join Them on Their Journey!
What does it mean to build authentic trust in educational settings? How do we create working agreements that evolve with changing circumstances rather than remaining static? These questions form the heart of this deeply reflective conversation ...
Episode 5.8 - Holly McCarty from Shawnee Mission SD talks about their CPM Implementation
First, it's National Toilet Paper Day! So we talk about how we will celebrate... Then, what happens when a school district shifts from traditional math instruction to collaborative learning? Holly McCarty, Coordinator of Curriculum ...
Episode 5.7: Who is this Rafael del Castillo person and what does he want?
First, we discuss National Couscous Day (not to be confused with National Quinoa Day...). Please read that out loud a few times so that you can join in our fun and delight in saying the word "couscous"!Then, Rafael Del Castillo joins th...
Episode 5.6: Pi Approximation Day plus Latrenda Knighten, part 2
Latrenda Knighten, current president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), joins us for the second part of our illuminating conversation on professional collaboration and growth in mathematics education.We begin wit...
Episode 5.5: Pet Fire Safety plus Latrenda Knighten Part 1
First, we start off with National Pet Safety Day. How will you celebrate? Well, if you want to get a Save our Pets sticker? You could go
Episode 5.4: Fairies and Third Edition of Core Connections MS!
Mathematics education never stands still. After a decade of classroom implementation, research advances, and teacher feedback, CPM Educational Program has reimagined their middle school curriculum for today's learning environments.In th...
Episode 5.3: Summertime Iced Tea and Anticipations
Summer has arrived, and with it comes refreshing iced tea, eaglet adventures, and exciting plans for the months ahead! We kick off with a spirited discussion about National Iced Tea Day, sharing our personal brewing preferences and debating the...
Episode 5.2: What do you do for the last few days of school?
Testing is over? What do YOU do to fill the last few days of school? We're watching eaglets!The natural world offers endless fascination when we take time to observe it closely. This week, Joel and Misty share their current obsession wit...
Episode 5.1: Tulips and a Conversation about Reimagining HS Math
Welcome to Season 5 of the More Math for More People podcast!!!What if high school mathematics could be truly transformed into something students find engaging, meaningful, and applicable to their lives? In this thought-provoking conver...
Episode 4.25: National Zipper Day and some Nick Love!
What happens when someone who doesn't identify as a "math person" joins a mathematics education organization? In our milestone 101st episode, Nick Love, CPM's Director of Strategic Communications, shares candid insights about navigating this te...
Episode 4.24: Part 2 with Dr Nicole Joseph and National Rubber Eraser Day
First, it's National Rubber Eraser Day! So get your Pink Pearls out and celebrate!!Then, we continue our conversation with Dr. Nicole Joseph of Vanderbilt University about the mathematical experiences of Black girls, revealing how they n...
Episode 4.23 - We begin Math and Stats Month and talk with Dr Nicole Joseph
First, we launch into Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month. But we don't need to tell YOU how important this is!!Then we have part one of a conversation with Dr. Nicole Joseph of Vanderbilt University. Dr. Nicole Joseph takes us o...