The Build Math Minds Podcast
Episodes
Episode 224 - Mathematical Residue - What Stuck After the Virtual Math Summit
07 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
After 10 years of running the Virtual Math Summit, here's what I've learned: what matters isn't the objective you planned. It's the residue - what act...
Episode 223 - You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most educators who want math to be taught conceptually are the only one in their building trying to do it. They go to a workshop, get excited, and com...
Episode 222 - Hands-On Math Isn't Just for the Little Kids
15 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The CRA Model isn't a linear path. It's a Venn diagram. And when you hit the Sweet Spot, where concrete, representational, and abstract all overlap, t...
Episode 221 - Building Thinking Classrooms: The ONE Thing Math Coaches Need to Focus On
08 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Building Thinking Classrooms is powerful—but when teachers try to implement all 14 practices at once, it falls apart. In this episode, I share a bet...
Episode 220 - The Math Fluency Trap: Why Flexibility Isn't Enough
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I'm saying something that might surprise you: Flexibility alone isn't enough for math fluency. I know, I know. I literally have course...
Episode 219 - What 13 AI Lessons Taught Me About Teaching Math
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past few weeks, I've had AI generate 13 math lessons. Teachers ARE using AI to generate lessons—whether we like it or not. So instead of ...
Episode 218 - 3 Coaching Strategies That Actually Work
18 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Teachers are overwhelmed, students are struggling, and the strategies that worked pre-pandemic aren't working anymore. In this episode, I tackle one...
Episode 217 - The Science of Math
11 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we tackle a hot topic in education: the Science of Math. Inspired by a podcast about women's health and a meeting with state math sup...
Episode 216 - Why Math Practice Fails (And the Simple Fix)
14 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do your students complete their math practice but forget everything by next week? There's a reason this happens—and a simple fix. Australian educato...
Episode 215 - Why Balance in Teaching Isn't What You Think
07 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you exhausting yourself trying to make everything "equal" in your math instruction or math coaching? In this video, I'm sharing why balance in tea...
Episode 214 - The REAL Purpose of Teaching Math (And Why It Matters More Than Ever)
23 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When your students ask "When will I ever use this?"—especially with AI doing calculations faster than any of us—how do you answer? In this episode...
Episode 213 - Seeing Multiplication - How Subitizing Builds Fact Fluency Through Relationships
16 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are your students still counting on their fingers for 6×4? Transform how you teach multiplication facts with this game-changing approach to subitizin...
Episode 212 - Subitizing With Fractions
09 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Discover how subitizing—the ability to instantly recognize quantities without counting—can transform your fraction instruction! While you may alre...
Episode 211 - Building Number Sense Without Adding to Your Plate
02 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You know that building number sense is crucial—but finding time for one more thing feels impossible. In this episode, discover how investing time in...
Episode 210 - Why Good Activities Aren't Enough - The Missing Piece That Makes Number Sense Work
26 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you doing all the "right" math activities—Number Talks, Number Strings, Quick Images—but still not seeing the progress you expected? In this e...
Episode 209 - The Power of Integration - Why Teaching Number Sense Concepts Together Accelerates Learning
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you overwhelmed thinking about trying to add in number sense activities into your already jam-packed day? In this game-changing episode, learn how...
Episode 208 - The Number Relationships That Transform Math Understanding
12 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this second episode of the math fluency series, we explore the four essential number relationships that help students move beyond counting and deve...
Episode 207 - The Math Foundations - What Elementary Students Need Before You Ever Have Them Operate with Numbers
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'm kicking off a series on building math fluency by diving into what I wish I had known when I first started teaching—the critical...
Episode 206 - 1% Better - The 4-Minute Daily Math Difference
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if transforming your math teaching only required 4 minutes a day? In this episode, Christina breaks down the powerful concept of getting 1% bette...
Episode 205 - Stop Coaching Everyone: Use the 80/20 Rule to Transform Your Elementary Math Coaching
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As an elementary math coach, do you feel like you're trying to be everywhere at once with never enough time to make the impact you want? In this episo...
Episode 204 -Timed Math Activities…Good or Bad?
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are timed math activities helping or harming our elementary students? This controversial topic divides educators, but the research tells a clear story...
Episode 203 - Number Sense with Christina Tondevold and Mona Iehl
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this cross-posted episode from Math Chat, host Mona Iehl interviews Christina Tondevold about developing number sense in elementary students. Chris...
Episode 202 - Going Beyond the Task When Building Thinking Classrooms with the Special Guests in Our Book Study
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 202: Going Beyond the Task When Building Thinking Classrooms, we reveal the exciting lineup of special guests for our summer book study on ...
Episode 201 - Our Summer Book Study - Exploring Tasks for the Thinking Classroom
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 201, I share two exciting summer learning opportunities for fellow Recovering Traditionalists as we prepare to pause the podcast until Augu...
Episode 200 - The Three Essential Math Experiences: Number Routines, Word Problems, and Games
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this milestone 200th episode of The Build Math Minds Podcast, I share the three essential math experiences every classroom needs: Number Routines, ...
Episode 199 - The Many Ways to Show Numbers with Fingers
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I explore the fascinating world of finger use in math and specifically how we represent numbers differently. After noticing that Dan ...
Episode 198 - Tips for Using Games to Build Math Minds with Dan Finkel
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Christina Tondevold welcomes special guest Dan Finkel, founder of Math for Love and creator of popular games like Prime Climb and Tin...
Episode 197 - Upleveling Missing Part Games
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this final episode of our three-part series on upleveling missing part activities, I share ways to transform two popular math games: Salute and Num...
Episode 196 - Repackaging Style Word Problems: Transforming Missing Part Word Problems
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this second installment of our three-part series on Missing Part Activities, we explore 'repackaging tasks' - a powerful approach to traditional mi...
Episode 195 - Upleveling Missing Part Activities to Build Deeper Mathematical Thinking
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore how to elevate your 'Missing Part' math activities beyond the basic type like 5 + __ = 12' into more problems that help st...
Episode 194 - The Truth About Mental Math - It's Not Just In Your Head
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore the common misconception about mental math in mathematics education. Featuring insights from Pam Harris' newly published b...
Episode 193 - Beyond the Template - Making the Lesh Translation Model Meaningful
16 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I follow up on last week's introduction to the Lesh Translation Model with an important caution. While I previously shared a template...
Episode 192 - A Math Task All Teachers Should be Doing
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 192, "A Math Task All Teachers Should be Doing," I discuss the Lesh Translation Model, a powerful framework that was frequently featured at...
Episode 191 - Math Teaching Strategies: Highlights from the 2025 Virtual Math Summit Live Sessions
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Highlights from the 2025 Virtual Math Summit Get a look into the 2025 Virtual Math Summit's six live sessions that are transforming mathematics instru...
Episode 189 - Making Math Irresistible: 4 Expert Strategies for Student Engagement in Elementary Math
16 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Get four powerful strategies for making mathematics engaging and accessible for elementary students from expert presenters at the 2025 Virtual Math Su...
Episode 188 - The Science of Making Math Stick: Using Brain Research to Combat the NAEP Score Crisis
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How can we help our students retain what they learn in mathematics? The latest 2024 NAEP scores show that only 39% of 4th grade students and 28% of 8t...
Episode 187 - Problem Solving Success: 3 Experts' Ideas from the 2025 Virtual Math Summit
02 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, get an inside look at three powerful sessions from the 2025 Virtual Math Summit focused on transforming math problem solving in eleme...
Episode 186 - Live Elementary Math PD Sessions You Won't Want to Miss: 2025 Virtual Math Summit Preview
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, get a sneak peek at the live sessions happening at the 2025 Virtual Math Summit. Learn about sessions from renowned math educators in...
Episode 185 - Tasks for Building Thinking Classrooms - Virtual Math Summit 2025 preview
19 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 185, we dive into Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC), one of the most transformative approaches in mathematics education. Learn why this po...
Episode 184 - Don't Discount the Use of Games in Your Classroom
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Transform both your math AND reading instruction with two powerful game-based resources! In this episode, discover how to implement engaging games tha...
Episode 183 - The Count - Uncovering Mathematical Structure in Elementary Classrooms
15 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Count is an activity from John SanGiovanni's book that turns simple counting into a deep mathematical exploration. In this episode, learn how this...
Episode 182 - Visual Patterns: The Secret Weapon for Teaching The Math Practices
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Discover how Visual Patterns can transform mathematical thinking in your elementary classroom! Listen in as we explore Fawn Nguyen's powerful activity...
Episode 181 - Exploring Patterns Through Number Routines
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The predictability of mathematics is one of the things I love about math. There are some great activities you can do in your classroom with your stude...
Episode 180 - Leaping Numbers: a great math activity for exploring patterns
24 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Want a fun, engaging, and mathematically powerful activity to help keep your students engaged in math until the holiday break? In this episode I'm s...
Episode 179 - A Math Hack That Isn't a Hack
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Math tricks or hacks are everywhere, but which ones should you actually use with your students? I came across one this week on social media and thou...
Episode 178 - Students who struggle with Less Than problems
10 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week's episode comes from a question that was sent in about helping students who struggle with math problems that are written differently than ki...
Episode 177 - Math Misconceptions
03 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Math Misconceptions might just look like mistakes that your students are making, but they are usually slightly different. Mistakes happen when we do...
Episode 176 - Avoiding the Trap of Algorithms
27 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I'm introducing you to a not-yet-released book about the traps of math algorithms, but it's actually so much more than that. It's ab...
Episode 175 - Always Building Relationships - Rounding Numbers Series
20 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rounding numbers should be way more than just a procedure where we ask students to look to see if the number behind is a 5 or higher. Helping elemen...
Episode 174 - Helping Students Understand Magnitude of Numbers - Rounding Numbers Series
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rounding numbers should be way more than just a procedure where we ask students to look to see if the number behind is a 5 or higher. Helping elemen...
Episode 173 - Using Number Lines to Round Numbers - Rounding Numbers Series
06 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rounding numbers should be way more than just a procedure where we ask students to look to see if the number behind is a 5 or higher. Helping elemen...
Episode 172 - Is Emotional Teaching a Thing???
29 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I think we've all heard and know about Emotional Eating, but have you ever felt like you've done Emotional TEACHING? Not sure it's a thing, but it k...
Episode 171 - Summer Book Study for Elementary Math Educators
02 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 170 - The Importance of Play
26 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
My kids and I play a lot. Sports, card games, board games, but they all have a preset goal…to win. According to a book I'm reading, true play do...
Episode 169 - Math Fluency Through Flexibility
19 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you've struggled with how to help your elementary students build their math fluency, there is one thing I encourage you to do: Help your students b...
Episode 168 - Use Math Manipulatives - No Matter The Age
12 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When I first started teaching I don't think I ONCE used a math manipulative with my students. It was all about learning and memorizing procedures an...
Episode 167 - Mental Math does NOT mean doing it in your head
05 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up I thought doing Mental Math meant doing the algorithm in my head. Times have changed and now many educators have kids solve math in diffe...
Episode 166 - A Child's Progression When Grouping to Count Items
28 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever watched a child during a counting collection and thought "Ugh! Why are you grouping the items like that?!?" Well, there's probably a ...
Episode 165 - Geometry in PreK-2 is more than just knowing names of shapes
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It is commonly thought that Geometry in the early grades is just about getting kids to name and identify shapes. There are actually 4 big ideas talk...
Episode 164 - The Power of Using Inverse Operations to Subtract & Divide
07 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are 4 main strategies children tend to use to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. These math strategies are no...
Episode 163 - Helping Your Students to Be a Successful Student
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are lots of Problems of Teaching when you are helping young kids learn mathematics. One of the hardest ones is helping your students to be suc...
Episode 162 - Approximation, Precision, & Accuracy in Measurement
24 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this video I'm sharing a part of a book that made me go "Hmm, I've never really thought about that!" It has to do with just how precise we can ac...
Episode 161 - A candy bar is better than a pie…when it comes to fractions
17 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I love pies, Pecan Pie especially, but I don't love them during math time. Pies, well circles in general, are an overused visual when it comes to th...
Episode 160 - Tips for Getting Kids to Talk in Math Class
03 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After the 2024 Virtual Math Summit, there was so much mention of using Sentence Stems I wanted to dig a bit deeper into them. In my research I stumb...
Episode 159 - The Number Strings Queens
25 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cathy Fosnot and Pam Harris are The Queens of Number Strings (or Problem Strings as Pam would call them). I'm way too excited about the fact they ar...
Episode 158 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Preventing Teacher Burnout
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Before the 2024 Virtual Math Summit starts next week, enjoy this preview of a Pre-Summit Session by Rosalba Serrano on Preventing Teacher Burnout. R...
Episode 157 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Challenges and Benefits of Building Kids' Thinking
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit is in two weeks! Here's a preview of 3 sessions from Jenny Foreman, Loren Thorpe, and myself talking about the challeng...
Episode 156 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Things to Think About When Doing Number Routines
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit is this month! Here's a preview of 3 sessions from Michaela Epstein, Rosalba Serrano, and Nicole Thompson & Jessica Bat...
Episode 155 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Teaching Math with Newcomers in Mind
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit starts in less than 1 month! Check out this preview of Dr. Jim Ewing's keynote session about Teaching Math with Newcom...
Episode 154 - Virtual Math Summit Preview: Helping Students Understand Multiplication
21 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit is coming soon. This week's episode gives you a preview of 4 sessions that focus on helping students build their unders...
Episode 153: Virtual Math Summit Preview: Tips for Creating Student-Centered Classrooms
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 Virtual Math Summit is just around the corner. This week's episode gives you a preview of 4 of the sessions. To see the full list of speake...
Episode 152 - Why don't you talk about Time & Money?
07 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I get asked why I don't do much training about Time & Measurement. I do have some videos, you can see them in my Playlists at the YouTube channel, b...
Episode 151 - What Do Students Need to Know About Division?
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This essential understanding about division is something even adults struggle with: Division is defined by its inverse relationship with multiplicatio...
Episode 150 - A Quick Math Story Problem Activity
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Want a quick & easy to implement activity that will show you how much your students know about the math operations and about math story problems? I'...
Episode 149 - Things to Say Instead of IDK
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The two ends of the spectrum when teaching math seem to be "here are the exact ways to solve this problem, follow it exactly," and "you figure it out,...
Episode 148 - Why Is Understanding Fractions So Hard?
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 147 - Practice Makes Permanent
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here in the United States, it is the end of the school year and teachers are contemplating what work they should send home with students for them to d...
Episode 146 - Standard Algorithms Compared to Computational Strategies
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I've been on a kick about math fluency lately and how a lot of textbooks have their teaching of fluency wrong. Growing up, fluency to me meant being g...
Episode 145 - Math Textbooks Have the Teaching of Fluency All Wrong
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the last episode of the podcast, I shared the three ideas that make up computational fluency. Flexibility is often the piece that is missing in our...
Episode 144 - What is Computational Fluency?
22 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Flexibility Formula courses that I offer have a huge focus on how we can help kids develop number sense, but the main reason to focus on number ...
Episode 143 - Summer Reading List for Elementary Math Teachers 2022
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Each of you listening to this podcast have different goals for your professional development. You have different things you are wanting to read abou...
Episode 142 - Nothing Lasts Forever
08 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever felt like the thing you're going through will never end? There is no doubt that hard times can wear us out and make us feel helpless. Th...
Episode 141 - Get The Most Out of Math Games
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Games are one of my favorite ways to have kids practice. They can do 50 problems in 5 minutes and not even realize it. But, one of the biggest compl...
Episode 140 - Alternatives to Math Tests
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As many of you are currently in the thick of standardized testing, it reminds you that testing shouldn't be like this….but if not this, then what? T...
Episode 139 - Should We Stop Giving Tests in Math?
17 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Should we stop giving tests in math class? This question was recently tweeted by Chris Luzniak and I found the comments under it very thought provokin...
Episode 138 - More Than a Test
10 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Testing season is upon us and as always, it is stressful. I wish there were easy tips or tricks I could give you to help make it awesome but unfortuna...
Episode 137 - Math in Children's Literature
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week I finally got a chance to crack open the book Mathematizing Children's Literature: Sparking Connections, Joy, and Wonder Through Read-Alouds...
Episode 136 - Problem Solving In Math
27 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever dove right into something you had no idea how to do? As hard as we try not to, we often ask our students to do just that. When I first s...
Episode 135 - The Tip of the Iceberg
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's podcast, I'm sharing an article that presents a visual image I once saw that plays a huge role in how I think about building our understand...
Episode 134 - Pencil or Pen?
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pencil or pen? So many educators are adamant that kids MUST use pencils in math class so they can erase their errors. In today's episode I'm wondering...
Episode 132 - The Connecting Pillar with Stacey Ellis, Matt Halpern, & Dawn Dibley
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I've been doing a series of episodes sharing some summit sessions that address each of The Flexibility Formula. Episode 130 we took a look at Understa...
Episode 131 - Observing Math Understanding with Michelle Chu & Kristen Emmel
20 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The free 2022 Virtual Math Summit is just around the corner on February 26th & 27th. Each session addresses one of the five pillars of the Flexibility...
Episode 130 - Building our Understanding with Dr. Ange Rogers, Duane Habecker, & Shannon McCartney
13 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you've spent a lot of time with my content or have ever taken one of my PD courses, then you've probably run into the Flexibility Formula. The form...
Episode 129 - Taking it a Step Further with Fractions & Subitizing
06 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes, it can be easy to be pretty focused on things we could do better in our classrooms. But just like we want to do with our students, let's ta...
Episode 128 - Doing Things Differently with Rosalba Serrano, Marian Small & Shannon Kiebler
30 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Changing up the strategies we use in our math classrooms can be a really useful way to shake up the status quo, push kids further in their learning, a...
Episode 127 - Thinking vs Mimicking
23 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When I was going through school, mimicking the teacher was definitely the norm. For good rule followers, that can be really easy. But is teacher mimic...
Episode 126 - Powerful Moments in Math Class with Mike Flynn
16 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In life, we naturally experience all kinds of highs and lows that stick with us, and influence the way we see the world. In today's episode, Virtual M...
Episdoe 125 - Less Expectation, More Appreciation
09 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to teaching in the classroom, it can be easy to get caught up in the expectations we have for our students. But have you considered the ...
Episode 124 - Math problems with more than one answer (Part 3)
02 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we're going to wrap up our series on math problems with more than one answer. If you missed part 1 and 2, go check out episodes 121 and 123. Ma...
Episode 123 - Math Problems with More Than One Answer (Part 2)
26 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A couple weeks ago I talked about how 26 ÷ 6 can have multiple answers. This week, I'm back for part 2 of diving deeper into the idea that math probl...