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Dr. Samuel Otten brings deep expertise and practical insight into helping teachers strengthen mathematical practices in math classrooms. With advanced degrees from Michigan State University and roots at Grand Valley State University, his journey reflects a lifelong commitment to improving math education. In this episode, you’ll discover how his research translates into actionable strategies teachers can use immediately.

This conversation offers clear, research-based strategies to strengthen mathematical practices and student participation. You’ll learn how to support deeper thinking, improve classroom discourse, and create sustainable instructional change. Most importantly, you’ll leave with practical ideas you can use right away.

🎧 Listen, Subscribe, and Take the Next Step

If you’re ready to strengthen mathematical practices and transform your math classroom, this episode is for you. Listen now, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a review to help more educators discover these powerful strategies.

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If sustainable change in math instruction were simply about trying harder, most teachers would already be there. In this episode, Mona names a truth many educators feel but rarely say out loud: lasting instructional change doesn’t come from more effort alone — it comes from meaningful support. This conversation offers clarity, validation, and a path forward for teachers, coaches, and leaders alike.

💰 When Budgets Are Tight, Support Still Matters

Not every school has funding for full-time instructional coaches — and this episode names that reality honestly. Still, limited budgets don’t mean educators should be left alone. Mona explains how sustainable change can still be supported through shared learning spaces, ongoing collaboration, and consistent connection over time.

🎧 Listen, Subscribe, and Keep Growing

If this episode resonated with you, you’re not alone — and you don’t have to figure this out by yourself.

👉 Listen to the full episode to explore what sustainable change really requires.
⭐ Subscribe to the podcast and leave a review to help more educators find these conversations.
📤 Share this episode with a colleague or leader who’s ready to move beyond effort and toward real support.

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In this episode, we explore what happens when math instruction moves beyond answers and procedures and into interpretation, questioning, and meaning-making. This conversation invites educators to rethink how math prepares students not just for tests, but for a world shaped by numbers, data, and decisions.

At its core, this episode reminds us that teaching math is about more than content. It’s about helping students develop agency, critical awareness, and confidence in how they interpret the world. When students learn that math is a language of power, they begin to see themselves as capable of understanding — and shaping — the systems around them.

💬 Connect with Stephanie

• Instagram
• Email - Stephanie@algebramadesimple.com
• Workshops

🎧 Listen, Reflect, and Keep the Conversation Going

If this episode stretched your thinking or named something you’ve been carrying, take a moment to sit with it.

👉 Listen to the full episode to explore what it means to teach math as a language of power.
⭐ Subscribe to the podcast and leave a review to help more educators find these conversations.
📤 Share this episode with a colleague who’s ready to help students think critically and see math differently.

Because you’re not just teaching math — you’re teaching students how to see the world. ❤️

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When students were asked to solve independently, things quickly unraveled. Behaviors surfaced, lessons derailed, and reliance on the teacher increased. This wasn’t a lack of effort — it was a lack of confidence, a common barrier in developing effective math problem solvers.

After the lesson ended, one question lingered: Do they actually understand the math? Students had learned how to watch and copy, not how to reason. This realization exposed the disconnect between effort and outcome and highlighted what was missing in math problem solving instruction.

🎧 Listen, Reflect, and Take the Next Step

If this classroom moment feels familiar, this episode is for you.

👉 Listen to Episode 196 to hear how one moment reshaped math problem solving instruction.
⭐ Subscribe to the podcast and leave a review to help other educators find these conversations.
📣 Share this episode with a colleague who’s working to build confident, capable math problem solvers.

Because strong math problem solving starts when students are given space to think. 💛

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What if math classrooms were places where every child saw themselves as capable, curious, and confident? In this episode, we’re joined by Deborah Peart Crayton, founder and Queen Mather of My Mathematical Mind, to explore what it truly means to become a Mather. Together, we unpack how joyful learning, strong identity, and intentional instruction can transform how students experience math.

💬 Connect with Deborah

• Website: https://www.mathersgonnamath.com/
• 📘 Order her Book - Readers Read. Writers Write. Mathers Math!
• LinkedIn

🎧 Listen, Learn, and Join the Mather Movement

Ready to rethink what’s possible in your math classroom?

👉 Listen to the full episode to hear Deborah Peart Crayton share her insights on identity, joy, and becoming a Mather.
⭐ Subscribe to the podcast and leave a review to help other educators discover this conversation.
📢 Share this episode with a colleague who’s passionate about building confident, joyful Mathers in every classroom.

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What happens when students haven’t been taught the math yet—but the task is right there waiting? In this episode, I unpack the fear many teachers feel before launching a rich task and explains why that hesitation, while understandable, often blocks the very learning we want. If you’ve ever wondered whether your students are “ready,” this conversation will gently shift how you think about readiness and learning.

When we trust students to begin with what they know, incredible learning unfolds. Thanks for showing up for kids—and for yourself—as a math teacher willing to grow.

🤍 Need Ongoing Math Support? Join the Support Circle

If you’re listening and thinking, “I want to do this well—but I don’t want to figure it out alone,” the Math Teacher Support Circle was created for you. Inside the Circle, you get ongoing math support, coaching, and a community of teachers all implementing Word Problem Workshop and rich problem-solving routines together. You’ll have a place to ask questions, get feedback, choose strong tasks, and build confidence—especially during Grapple—so supporting student thinking feels doable, not overwhelming.

🎧 Ready to Dive In?

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What if the biggest shift in your math block didn’t come from a new curriculum or tool—but from the questions you ask? In this episode, I explore how intentional math questions can spark deeper thinking, richer conversations, and stronger reasoning, all while requiring teachers to talk less. If you’ve ever felt the urge to jump in and explain, this conversation will feel both challenging and freeing.

You don’t need a new curriculum or a perfect lesson to transform math class. With meaningful questions, strategic silence, and a consistent routine like Word Problem Workshop, students begin to do the heavy cognitive lifting. This week’s challenge: ask one purposeful question—and then stop talking.

🎧 Ready to Listen?

If you want students to think more deeply and take ownership of their ideas, this episode is for you.

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What should students actually be doing, saying, and thinking in math class? In this episode, I break down this essential question and shifts the focus away from pacing guides, tests, and compliance—and back to student thinking. If you want math class to feel alive, engaging, and meaningful, this conversation sets the stage.

So how do we make this happen consistently? The answer isn’t more strategies or better worksheets—it’s a routine. This segment breaks down how Word Problem Workshop provides a predictable structure (Launch, Grapple, Share, Discuss, Reflect) that reliably gets students doing, talking, and thinking about math without relying on scripted lessons or high-level curriculum materials.

📘 Don't have time to read a book?? Join the Support Circle!

🎧 Ready to Listen?

If you’re ready to build a math classroom where student thinking takes center stage, this episode is for you.

👉 Listen to the full episode now
👉 Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode
👉 Leave a review to help other educators find this work