Math is Figure-Out-Able!

Ep 164: I Have, You Need With a Twist

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Who does not love a quick, easy routine that gives students useful problem solving relationships? In this episode Pam and Kim revisit I Have, You Need...

#MathStratChat - August 2, 2023

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on August 2, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try ...

Ep 163: A Problem String Is NOT

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What exactly is a Problem String? In this episode Pam and Kim dig into that question and give examples of what a problem string is and is not.Talking ...

#MathStratChat - July 26, 2023

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 26, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 162: Comparing Fractions Pt 2

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are some important relationships that students can use to do Real Math with fractions? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss some important relatio...

#MathStratChat - July 19, 2023

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 19, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 161: Comparing Fractions Pt 1

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What if your students could think and reason about the relative sizes of fractions? In this episode Pam and Kim think about where fractions go on clot...

#MathStratChat - July 12, 2023

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 12, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 160: Building Thinking Classrooms and Math is FigureOutAble Pt 3

11 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How we teach and what we teach are both really important. In this episode Pam and Kim wrap up their discussion on Peter Liljedahl's book Building...

#MathStratChat - July 5, 2023

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on July 5, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try to...

Ep 159: Building Thinking Classrooms and Math is Figureoutable Pt 2

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We think Dr. Peter Liljedahl has some great ideas about how to keep students thinking and reasoning in math class. In this episode Pam and Kim continu...

#MathStratChat - June 28, 2023

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on June 28, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 158: Building Thinking Classrooms and Math Is FigureOutAble Pt 1

27 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We love it when students are thinking and reasoning, and it's important to know how best to build and experience sophisticated strategies. In thi...

#MathStratChat - June 21, 2023

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on June 21, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 157: Building Thinking Classrooms

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We want our students to be confident problem solvers who can think and reason through complex problems. In this episode, Pam and Kim highlight some of...

#MathStratChat - June 14, 2023

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on June 14, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 156: Start Here

13 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've reached our third anniversary of the podcast! There's a lot that's been said, so we thought we'd highlight some of the quint...

#MathStratChat - June 7, 2023

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on June 7, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try to...

Ep 155: Fraction Division Part 0

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Can kids reason about fraction division? In this episode Pam and Kim explore the definition of fractions through a Problem String and show how you can...

#MathStratChat - May 31, 2023

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on May 31, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try to...

Ep 154: Will Next Year's Teacher Hate Me?

30 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's exciting to watch our students gain confidence and mathematize with the best of them, but what about next year? In this episode Pam and Kim ...

#MathStratChat - May 24, 2023

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on May 24, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try to...

Ep 153: Flexible Factoring

23 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How sophisticated is your multiplicative reasoning? In this episode Pam and Kim build Flexible Factoring and show how powerful understanding can be!Ta...

#MathStratChat - May 17, 2023

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on May 17, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try to...

Ep 152: Changing Math Habits

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do you naturally approach math problems? How do you wish  you would naturally approach problems? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how we as te...

#MathStratChat - May 10, 2023

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on May 10, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try to...

Ep 151: Subtraction Facts

09 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How can we help students own subtraction facts? In this episode Pam and Kim describe some basic strategies and then walk us through facilitating two P...

#MathStratChat - May 3, 2023

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on May 3, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try to ...

Ep 150: Memorizing Subtraction Facts

02 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We're digging deep into subtraction! In this episode Pam and Kim talk about what they mean by "memorizing" single digit subtraction fac...

#MathStratChat - April 26, 2023

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on April 26, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try ...

Ep 149: Subtraction: The Operation That Will Surprise You

25 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There's so much power to understanding subtraction that extends all the way to higher math. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss beginning steps t...

#MathStratChat - April 19, 2023

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on April 19, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try ...

Ep 148: Not the Area Model

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Establishing a strong understanding of the area model also prepares students for more advanced topics all the way into college! In this episode, Pam a...

#MathStratChat - April 12, 2023

13 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on April 12, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try ...

Ep 147: The Area Model to Build Reasoning

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The area model can do more than build Spatial Reasoning. It can help make sense of the major multiplication and division strategies! In this episode P...

#MathStratChat - April 5, 2023

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on April 5, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 146: (Mis)Understanding the Area Model

04 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The area model is a great tool to help students develop multiplicative and spatial reasoning, but let's get clear on some things. In this episode...

#MathStratChat - March 29, 2023

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 29, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try ...

Ep 145: Transforming Teaching: Small Shifts, Big Impact

28 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There are a lot of small shifts needed in math education, and they can  have huge impacts. In this episode Pam and Kim talk about some of these shift...

#MathStratChat - March 22, 2023

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 22, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try ...

Ep 144: Fraction Division Pt 3

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sure, simple fraction division is figure-out-able, but what about gnarly fractions? In this episode Pam and Kim uncover simple relationships that make...

#MathStratChat - March 15, 2023

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 15, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try ...

Ep 143: Fraction Division Pt 2

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fraction division does not have to be scary, and it certainly does not have to be memorized. In this episode Pam and Kim show how to reason through no...

#MathStratChat - March 8, 2023

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 8, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 142: Fraction Division Pt 1

07 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is fraction division figure-out-able? You bet! In this episode Pam and Kim tackle another listener submitted topic and reason through a fraction divis...

#MathStratChat - March 1, 2023

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 1, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 141: Questioning Questioning

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As teachers we want to help our students, and often we do that through questioning. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how maybe there isn't a p...

#MathStratChat - February 22, 2023

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on February 22, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you t...

Ep 140: Cancel Simplifying

21 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever noticed how many different meanings there are for the word simplify? Even if you limit it to mathematical meanings, there's a lot. ...

#MathStratChat - February 15, 2023

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on February 15, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you t...

Ep 139: Factor to Add and Subtract!?

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Happy Valentines Day! We love math, and we love you, our listeners! In this episode Pam and Kim discuss a less familiar addition and subtraction strat...

#MathStratChat - February 8, 2023

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on February 8, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 138: To Include or Not: An Important Subtraction Pitfall

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever fall into the "off by one" trap? Do your students ever get confused about counting objects vs counting distance? In this episode...

#MathStratChat - February 1, 2023

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on February 1, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 137: ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence in Math Education

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The world is changing, and artificial intelligence is going to replace teachers! ...Or not. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how teaching Real Math...

#MathStratChat - January 25, 2023

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on January 25, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 136: How Helpful is Too Helpful?

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When do you offer students help and what kinds of help do you offer? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss the balance of what kinds of help to give stu...

#MathStratChat - January 18, 2023

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

 In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on January 18, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you ...

Ep 135: The Challenge

17 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does it take to change our perspectives so we can teach more and more Real Math? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how they can help YOU when y...

#MathStratChat - January 11, 2023

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on January 11, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 134: How Do You Know You're in a Mathematizing Classroom?

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We have heard from both teachers and leaders that it's a struggle to know what to look for in a Math is Figure-out-able classsroom and how to eva...

#MathStratChat - January 4, 2023

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on January 4, 2023. Note: It’s more fun if you try...

Ep 133: The Ratio Table, Pt 5

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's our wrap up episode on ratio tables. In this episode Pam and Kim answer some frequently asked questions and talk about how we can take ratio...

#MathStratChat - December 28, 2022

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on December 28, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you t...

Ep 132: The Ratio Table Model Pt 4

27 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's time to talk equivalent ratios and fractions! In this episode Pam and Kim demonstrate how understanding equivalent ratios leads to powerful ...

#MathStratChat - December 21, 2022

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on December 21, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you t...

Ep 131: The Ratio Table Model, Pt 3

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Have we convinced you to love ratio tables as much as we do yet? In this episode Pam and Kim tackle another model building Problem String to show what...

#MathStratChat - December 14, 2022

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on December 14, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you t...

Ep 130: The Ratio Table Model, Pt 2

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We can't get enough of ratio tables! In this episode Pam and Kim go through another division Problem String, highlighting how they model-represen...

#MathStratChat - December 7, 2022

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on December 7, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 129: The Ratio Table Model Pt 1

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why are ratio tables so amazing? In this episode Pam and Kim describe ratio tables and what makes it on the favorite mathematical models short list. T...

#MathStratChat - November 30, 2022

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on November 30, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you t...

Ep 128: Do, Say, Represent

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Do your students ever say things like, "I just know" or "I don't know"? What can we do with that? How can we help students ha...

#MathStratChat - November 23, 2022

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on November 23, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you t...

Ep 127: The Over Strategy - Division

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're wrapping up our series on the Over strategy. In this episode Pam and Kim reason through a Problem String to develop the Over strategy for d...

#MathStratChat - November 16, 2022

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on November 16, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you t...

Ep 126: The Over Strategy - Multiplication

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are not over with the Over strategy! This week Pam and Kim dive into the Over strategy for multiplication.Talking Points:A new name for the Double ...

#MathStratChat - November 9, 2022

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on November 9, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 125: The Over Strategy - Subtraction

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We just love the Over strategy! In this episode Pam and Kim go through a Problem String to develop the relationships used to think about the Over stra...

#MathStratChat - November 2, 2022

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on November 2, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 124: The Over Strategy - Addition

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In case you haven't noticed, Kim has a favorite strategy. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss one of the most important strategies and how to use...

#MathStratChat - October 26, 2022

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on October 26, 2022Note: It’s more fun if you try t...

Ep 123: Anchor Charts

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can we help cement students' learning without memorizing steps? In this episode Pam and Kim share the power of anchor charts and how you can ...

#MathStratChat - October 19, 2022

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on October 19, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 122: How to Help Students Choose Which Operation in a Word Problem

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When dealing with word problems it can be tricky for students to decide which operation to use, so we need a way to help them memorize what to do in a...

#MathStratChat - October 12, 2022

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on October 12, 2022. Note: It’s more fun if you tr...

Ep 121: Is This a Major Strategy?

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When we teach Real Math, students come up with all sorts of cool strategies! But which ones are the main strategies, and how do we make the distinctio...

Ep 120: Rounding

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What fun rhymes will best help your students learn to round? Just kidding! In this episode Pam and Kim describe their wholistic approach to rounding t...

Ep 119: Elapsed Time on a Number Line

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Finding elapsed time can be a tricky concept, but when combined with a number line, we can make it figureoutable! Join Pam and Kim as they discuss usi...

Ep 118: Time and Elapsed Time

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Do your students struggle tracking time or reading an analog clock? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss three simple ways you can help your students i...

Ep 117: Math is Figureoutable, Even In High School

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of people feel like when it comes to high school math, it's just not possible to think and reason through things anymore. Not true! In this...

Ep 116: Structuring Your Math Class Examples

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What does teaching Real Math look like at your grade level? In the last episode Pam and Kim discussed the One Third/Two Thirds rule to structure math ...

Ep 115: Structuring Your Math Class

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A listener asked how would we structure our math class. In this episode Pam and Kim discuss the approach they'd take to provide their students wi...

Ep 114: Moving Students Forward Pt 2

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The school year is starting! For this exciting time, Pam and Kim want to discuss what starting strategies can help you and your students to build thin...

Ep 113: Moving Students Forward Pt 1

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can you make changes in your math classroom to help your students do more Real Math? In this episode Pam and Kim describe some first steps, and bi...

Ep 112: The Double Open Number Line Model

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We sure loved discussing the open number line model last week, but have you ever heard of the double open number line? In this episode Pam and Kim dis...

Ep 111: The Open Number Line Model

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The open number line is not just a powerful tool for computation, but it's an amazing model for developing all sorts of mathematical concepts! In...

Ep 110: Thinking Through Decimal Multiplication

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Multiplying decimals can be fun! In this episode Pam and Kim tackle several gnarly problems like 0.77 x 2.4, and have a blast doing it. Talking Point...

Ep 109: Multiplying By One Tenth

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Being able to scale comfortably is important for both whole and decimal numbers. And just as there are more sophisticated ways to handle scaling with ...

Ep 108: Beginning Decimal Multiplication

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can we help students make sense of decimal multiplication? In this episode Pam and Kim run through two beginning Problem Strings that will get stu...