Solving for the Undefined: A Math Teacher Podcast

Nov 11 2024 85 ep. 20 mins 6

Solving for the Undefined: A Math Teacher Podcast artwork

Solving for the Undefined is the go-to math teacher podcast to develop your intrigue for math and learning while helping you do the same for your students. When our host, Johanna, became a teacher, she found herself alone, creating her own activities, and trying to make math fun plus easy to implement...but it wasn’t exactly a piece of pi (or cake!). She’s on a mission to solve those problems by helping teachers engage students academically using researched based strategies so students deeply understand and love math. And that’s what you can count on!

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84. Breaking the Cycle of Math Anxiety and Rethinking Traditional Teaching Practices

Nov 11 2024 42 mins

Today we are joined by Juliana Tapper. Tune in as we dive into the roots of math anxiety and trauma, and explore practical strategies for helping students overcome these challenges in the classroom. Not only that, but continuing with the theme of "hot takes", we take critical look at traditional tools like cold calling, fluency drills, and explicit instruction!Check out Juliana's b

83. How to Integrate Discovery & Hands-on Learning in Your Math Classroom

Oct 16 2024 11 mins

One of my favorite and sometimes hardest things to do in the classroom is let students explore math. In today’s episode I am going to be sharing how you can harness the power of discovery and hands-on learning. Let’s get started.Educator Exponential is happening this Friday! It's one-of-a-kind virtual conference for 5th -8th grade math teachers who want to learn discovery and h

82. Ditching Guided Notes for More Effective Practices

Sep 23 2024 14 mins

Guided notes strive to help students better learn and participate in math class. But what if they are actually hurting more than helping? This is the first in a series of "hot-takes" for things that need a facelift in the math classroom. Let's get started.Check out the links and resources for today's episode here:https://misskuipersclassroom.com/how-guided-notes-have-failed-our-stu

81. The Importance of "When Done" Tasks for Students

Sep 16 2024 12 mins

For me, one of the most dreaded questions from a student is “What do I do now?” Mostly because in the moment it stresses me out. Maybe I didn’t think students would finish this quickly or I didn’t plan something else. In today’s episode, I am sharing something I do to prepare in advance for these scenarios without creating a whole new chore. Let’s get started.For all th

80. Erase Apathy by using Whiteboards in your Math Class

Sep 09 2024 16 mins

Who doesn’t love using whiteboards? I have fond memories as a kid going to my mom’s classroom during the summer while she set up for the school year and just drawing on her whiteboards with my sister. It was care-free fun because if I made a mistake in my drawing, it could easily be erased and fixed. In today’s episode, I am going to be sharing how to harness that care-freene

79. Elevating Turn & Talk to Musical Partners

Sep 02 2024 14 mins

Have you done a “turn and talk” with your students? How did it go? Getting students to talk academically with each other can take some work. In today’s episode I am going to be sharing a fun way to get students up and moving AND talking to one another about math. Let’s get started.For links and resources talked about in this episode, head to the show notes here: https://mis

78. One Minute Hack to Get Students Prepared

Aug 26 2024 12 mins

Don’t let August and September fool you. The number of students prepared for class when the bell rings dwindles as the school year progresses. So how can we help students get all their needed supplies out and ready to go without asking a bajillion times? In today’s episode, I’m breaking down my 1 minute hack that has saved my sanity the past two school years. Let’s get star

77. Skip Warmups & Do This Instead

Aug 19 2024 20 mins

I don’t do warmups in my math classes. At least not in the traditional sense where there is a problem on the screen from yesterday’s lesson or previous content. But I do like the idea of starting off with a bite-sized problem that helps put my students’ minds in math mode. So I’ll be sharing exactly how to do that in today’s episode. Let’s get started.To find all the li

76. Building Effective Teams from Day 1

Aug 12 2024 15 mins

Last episode we talked about the 5 pillars of an effective math classroom, with the final pillar being teamwork. Now using teams in your classroom sounds great in theory, but how do you actually get that ball rolling? In today’s episode I am going to share how I set my teams up for success starting the 1st day of the school year. Let’s get started.Check out my FREE Building Eff

75. The 5 Pillars of an Effective Math Classroom

Aug 05 2024 11 mins

Moving into this new school year, we all want to lay the best foundation possible. But once that foundation is laid, how do we raise up our students into mathematicians? In today’s episode, I am going to be sharing the 5 pillars I use in my classroom to mold my students into mathematicians. Let’s get started.Check out my FREE Building Effective Teams training: https://www.missk