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
463 episodes
Should You Teach Standard Algorithms First? A Better Way to Build Math Fluency
If the standard algorithm is the final goal in math, why not just teach it directly?This question came up during a recent math leadership summit while discussing fluency and strategy development in math classrooms. One teach...
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Episode 462
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30:20
What Is Conceptual Understanding in Math? And Why It Matters for Fluency
What if one of the most common terms in math education — conceptual understanding in math — isn’t actually understood the same way across schools, systems, or even math classrooms?A recent podcast sparked a big question: is ...
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Episode 461
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24:17
Should Students Show Their Work in Math? What Teachers Should Actually Assess
Some math teachers insist students must always show their math thinking. Others argue that if the math answer is correct, that should be enough. When math grading practices don’t align with math learning goals, frustration grows — for math stud...
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Episode 460
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23:18
Tier 2 Math Intervention: How Coaches and Teachers Can Use Small Groups More Effectively
You’re teaching math to 34 students. You slow math pacing to support the middle, but you can feel yourself losing students who are ready to move.A listener emailed us after our episode on rigorous Tier 1 math instruction: th...
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Episode 459
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28:09
How to Prepare for Standardized Tests In Math Class Without Test Prep Mode
Testing is around the corner—and teachers are asking: “Do I stop everything and switch into test prep mode?”Many teachers spend weeks reviewing, drilling, and assigning packets. But students don’t remember what was “taught” ...
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Episode 458
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21:45
Don’t Let March Kill Your Momentum: When Planning for Next Year Hurts This Year
It’s March. The weather is shifting. Spring break is coming. And quietly, many math leaders have already started thinking about next year.Budgets. Staffing. PD planning. Testing season. Fatigue.It becomes eas...
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Episode 457
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19:01
How to Help Students With Word Problems in Math—and Coach Teachers to Do the Same
If your students can calculate but collapse in math word problems, the issue often isn’t the numbers—it’s the structure.Many schools default to keyword hunts, graphic organizers, and “pick the operation” routines. But those tools can acc...
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Episode 456
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25:15
How to Teach Grade-Level Math Without Leaving Students Behind
If you wait until every student has mastered a math concept, you might still be in Unit 1 in December.Many teachers feel they can’t move on until students demonstrate mastery—especially after recent learning gaps. But staying in one math...
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Episode 455
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19:32
“I Want to Strengthen Math Fact Fluency”—But I Don’t Know Where to Start
You know math fluency is more than timed tests… but what does that actually look like in your classroom tomorrow?Many teachers are at the awareness stage: they’ve read, listened, attended PD, and now understand fluency includes flexibili...
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Episode 454
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29:29
“We Want Number Sense and Fluency”—So Why Are You Skipping Data?
Why does data always feel like the thing we don’t have time for in math?Teachers and leaders say they want students who can think critically, reason mathematically, and engage with real-world problems. But when time gets tight, ...
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Episode 453
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21:18
Learning Goals In Math Are Ineffective? — You’re Using Them Incorrectly
If math learning goals are so important, why do they feel like a checkbox?Research tells us that learning goals are critical for effective math instruction—but in classrooms and professional learning, they’ve become compliance: restated ...
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Episode 452
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20:31
Your Math Results Are Stagnant: Why Improvement Keeps Stalling
Every year, schools and districts roll out a new math improvement plan. The language sounds right: teacher voice, coherence, sustainability, research-based practice. But the results don’t change. New curriculum is dropped with little suppor...
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Episode 451
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25:47
It Feels Like Chaos: Making Peace With a Noisy Math Classroom
Ever felt like your math classroom is too noisy, too messy, or too chaotic when students are working on open-ended tasks?You're not alone. Many math teachers—and leaders—grapple with this tension: we want students to engage deeply, but w...
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Episode 450
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25:48
Stop Wasting Teachers’ Time: Making Math PD Practical, Coherent, and Ongoing
Have you ever left a math PD session thinking, “This all sounds great… but what does it actually mean for my class tomorrow?”Teachers are hungry for professional learning that respects their time and improves student learning—but too oft...
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Episode 449
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30:02
What About the Students Who Already Get It? – Supporting Advanced Learners Without Accelerating
What do you do when students already know the math before you even teach it?This question came straight from a listener—and it’s one we don’t talk about enough. While so much attention in education focuses on supporting students below gr...
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Episode 448
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20:56
“Thanks, But No Thanks”: Coaching Math Teachers Who Don’t Want Help
What do you do when a teacher says, “I’m good—I don’t need help”?This real-life math coaching dilemma came straight from a listener. And if you’re a math coach or instructional leader, chances are you’ve been there too. Whether it's past...
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Episode 447
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26:03
How to Design a Math Improvement Plan That Has Coherence From The District Office to the Classroom
Is your math team using the same words—but interpreting them in totally different ways?In schools and districts across the country, math leaders are working hard—but progress still feels fragile. Despite shared goals and com...
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Episode 446
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20:45
When Parents Push Back on “New Math”: Building Trust Through Clarity and Confidence
Have you heard a parent ask, “Why are we making math so complicated?” You're not alone.Many teachers want to move beyond rote procedures—but hit resistance when families raise concerns about “new math.” From social media pos...
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Episode 445
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28:27
MTSS: Fixing the Disconnect Between Tier 1 and Tier 3 Student Support
Are your Tier 3 supports disconnected from Tier 1 math instruction?You’re not alone. Many schools implement math intervention with the best intentions—yet students continue to miss critical Tier 1 instruction, feel left behind, and f...
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Episode 444
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25:16
Teaching Resilience in 2026: What Teachers, Leaders & Coaches Can Do When Students Shut Down
Students quitting when the math gets hard? You're not alone.In math classrooms everywhere, teachers want to promote thinking, reasoning, and productive struggle—but are met with disengagement when tasks become challenging. I...
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Episode 443
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30:24
When There’s Too Much Math to Cover: Why Teachers Need Permission & Support to Innovate
Ever feel like you’d love to try a new strategy—but you’re too afraid to fall behind?You’re not alone. Math teachers often want to innovate but feel stuck between pacing pressure, new resources, and competing priorities. In ...
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Episode 442
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28:58
Lessons Teachers & Leaders Need To Learn About Coaching Math in 2026
You’ve spent thousands on high-quality math curriculum and inspiring PD — yet instructional practices barely shift. Why?In this episode, Jon Orr tackles the elephant in the room: why good PD still fails to create consistent math instruct...
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Episode 441
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18:10
Tired of Calling on the Same Few Students in Your Math Classroom? Fixing Math Discourse Fatigue
Why is it so hard to get more students talking in math class? In this episode, the team digs into a common challenge: when just a few confident students dominate math class discussions, while others stay silent. Drawing from personal experi...
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Episode 440
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21:53
How Do I Teach Grade-Level Math When My Students Are All Over the Map?
Struggling to meet the needs of every math learner in a single classroom?Many teachers feel overwhelmed when students show up with wildly different entry points—especially when they're trying to teach to grade-level standards with integ...
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Episode 439
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23:50
Avoid this Mistake When Teaching Multiplication: An Interview with Dr. Alex Lawson
In this eye-opening episode, math researcher and educator Dr. Alex Lawson challenges one of the most common approaches to teaching multiplication: introducing it as “groups of.” Drawing on years of classroom-based research, Alex reveals why...
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Episode 438
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27:11