Making Math Moments That Matter
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
Episodes
427 episodes
Inside One District’s Journey to Define Math Critical Thinking
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....
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Episode 426
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18:45
Is Critical Thinking Just a Buzzword in Your Math Action Plans?
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...
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Episode 425
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26:56
Why Your Math Goals Might Not Be Working — and What One Team Changed
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...
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Episode 424
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18:36
Does Everyone Know What Fluency in Math Means? Understanding The Math Coherence Gap
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 s...
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Episode 423
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27:15
How One School Used the Stages of Implementation to Drive Real Change
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 ...
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Episode 422
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20:15
Five Phases of Implementation Every Math Leader Needs To Know To Overcome Resistance
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, “Movin...
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Episode 421
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31:10
How to Build a Math Plan That Survives Leadership Changes
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 r...
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Episode 420
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20:23
The Biggest Threat To Sustainable Math Improvement - Your Guess Will Be Wrong!
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...
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Episode 419
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8:39
Math Fluency in Action: Observing What Proficient Students Actually Do
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 t...
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Episode 418
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54:50
Why Your Math Coaching Model Isn’t Working — Insights from Jim Strachan
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...
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Episode 417
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29:12
Making Durable Decisions in Math Leadership | A Sustainable Math Practice Case Study
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 th...
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Episode 416
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18:57
When Fidelity in Math Improvement Turns Into Rigidity & How To Avoid This Costly Mistake
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 u...
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Episode 415
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26:26
How to Sequence Math Tasks: Thin Slicing in Building Thinking Classrooms Explained by Peter Liljedahl and Kyle Webb
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 ...
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Episode 414
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37:34
When Tools Steal Thinking: Rethinking Technology Use in Math
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 w...
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Episode 413
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37:12
Going Narrow in Math Improvement: A Practical Playbook from One District
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 dow...
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Episode 412
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20:33
Fear, Pressure, and the Struggle to Truly Commit to Math Priorities
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 ...
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Episode 411
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22:45
Beating Initiative Fatigue: How to Filter Math PD Opportunities without Overwhelm
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...
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Episode 410
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18:24
How AI Can Help Math Teachers Differentiate Instruction for Every Learner
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....
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30:50
Why Systemic Change in Math Fails Without the Right Bridges in Place
What does it look like to build Bridges in real time?In this episode, we highlight the story of a district leader who knows she can’t do the work of math improvement alone. She identified her Bridges—instructional mentors and department ...
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Episode 408
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18:10
Why Math Improvement Efforts Stall Without Clear Bridges
District math objectives can’t live on a slide deck. For change to happen, they need Bridges—the leaders who translate vision into action at the school and classroom level.In this episode, we explore who the Bridges are (principals, assi...
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Episode 407
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26:52
How Time Debt Is Derailing Your Math Leadership Goals
Are you letting daily emergencies steal time from what really matters in your role as a math leader?From a soaked teenager's phone to the all-too-common chaos of K–12 math leadership, this episode draws a sharp parallel between personal ...
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Episode 406
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12:03
How To Teach Multi-Digit Multiplication
In this episode, we explore why multi-digit multiplication continues to be the thorn in so many teachers’ sides. We talk about why sometimes we need to step back in order to step forward—focusing on place value, composing and decomposing nu...
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Episode 405
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30:30
Making Math Progress Visible: The B+ Approach to School Math Improvement
Are your district's math improvement plans stuck in “waiting for perfect”? What if aiming for B+ work could unlock real progress—right now?Too often in education, big ideas stall while we chase flawless execution. As a K–12 ...
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Episode 404
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14:11
Rich Tasks vs. Gradual Release: Do We Have to Choose?
One of the most frequent questions we hear from district and school math leaders is:“How do I convince math educators to shift from always using the Gradual Release model to lessons that begin with rich math tasks?”...
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Episode 403
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25:13
Why District Math Plans Fall Flat Without School-Level Action
Too often, district math improvement planning happens “up there,” with big visions and system-wide goals that don’t trickle down into meaningful change at the school level. In this episode, we make the case for flipping that script.
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Episode 402
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24:51