Latest Tote Podcast Episodes

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What Is Your Definition of Success In A Math Classroom? - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - November 27, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
We welcome back Ryan Kinzler, an 8th grade teacher from Pittsburg. Ryan is here to fill us in on the changes he’s made in his classroom since he last spoke with us over two years ago.  He shares how the teacher moves he implemented resulted in his best year ever and then subsequently followed b...

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The Myth of the Math Brain and the Underdiagnosis of Dyscalculia - An interview with Dr. Sandra Elliot

Making Math Moments That Matter - November 20, 2023 10:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
“I’m not a math person.” I’m sure that is something you two have heard more than once. But have you ever heard someone say, “I am not a reading person?” It seemingly is socially acceptable to be bad at math, but there may be more to it, including the underdiagnosis of dyscalculia.  The research...

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Visual Patterns & Practice Standards: A Conversation with Fawn Nguyen

Making Math Moments That Matter - November 13, 2023 10:00 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
This week we bring on another 2023 Make Math Moments Virtual Summit speaker: Fawn Nguyen!  Fawn is on the Math Advance Team at Amplify Desmos Math. She was a math coach for a K-8 school district for three years. Before that, Fawn was a middle school teacher for 30 years. Fawn was the 2014 Ventu...

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Integrating Numeracy Beyond the Math Block: An interview with Kendra Jacobs

Making Math Moments That Matter - November 06, 2023 10:00 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
Join us for a lovely chat with Kendra Jacobs about mathematizing our world around us and bringing it into our classrooms.  Listen in and learn the one simple thing you can do in your classroom to get students to enjoy mathematics instead of despise it.  Kendra is an adjunct professor at the Un...

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Uplifting Students by Uplifting Mathematics: A Conversation with Sunil Singh

Making Math Moments That Matter - October 30, 2023 09:00 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
On today’s show, we’re bringing on Sunil Singh, a colleague, friend, and fellow Ontarian from the math education world for a second time.  Sunil, the author of three books (Life of Pi, Math Recess, and Chasing Rabbits) with his fourth on the way (Sonic Seducer), joins us to share his unique ins...

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Empathy and Effective Math Teaching: Lessons from Rick Wormeli

Making Math Moments That Matter - October 23, 2023 09:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
In today's episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with author, speaker, educator, Rick Wormeli. Rick is a true trailblazer in the field of education, and he brought a wealth of wisdom and experience to our conversation. In this engaging discussion, Rick delved into some thought-provoking...

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Math Is Figureoutable - An Interview With Pam Harris

Making Math Moments That Matter - October 16, 2023 09:00 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
Pam Harris is here and she’s changing the way we view and teach mathematics. She is a mom, a former high school math teacher, a university lecturer, an author, and a mathematics teachers educator.  In this session Pam is going to share how and why you need to use problem strings to get your stu...

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When Students Are Missing Valuable Background Knowledge - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - October 09, 2023 09:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
On this episode we speak with Jason Garner, a veteran 5th grade teacher of 15 years. Jason joined us on episode 127 and we’ve brought him back to provide an update on his journey.  After spending the last two years being more intentional in his problem based lessons Jason seeks guidance on how ...

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Why Equity Is Just a Buzzword In Education - An Interview With Dr. Kristopher Childs

Making Math Moments That Matter - October 02, 2023 09:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
In this episode, we’ll dive into a conversation with Dr. Kristopher Childs, a Mathematics Educator, Presenter, and Speaker from Orlando, Florida. Kris joins us for an insightful conversation about shifting professional learning opportunities for districts, schools, and teachers.  Join in and yo...

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How Do I Align My K-12 Mathematics Program? - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - September 25, 2023 09:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
In this episode we bring back Shawn Hershey, a math interventionist teacher and department chair from Pennsylvania. Shawn joined us back in episode 223 and we discussed how to strengthen his math team. This time around Shawn is seeking advice on how to create alignment across his school’s K-12 g...

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How To Engage The Disengaged - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - September 18, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
Today we speak with Robert Barth, a high school math teacher from the South side of Chicago. Robert shares his experience with teaching with the original flipped classroom model and how he’s morphed it over the years to incorporate Peter Liljedahl’s work on Building Thinking Classrooms and the M...

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The Two Bucket Approach To “Fitting It All In” - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - September 11, 2023 09:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
We welcome Lisa Marentette onto the podcast to discuss how to transition from 9 years in the Kindergarten classroom environment into the grade 2 classroom.  After so many years in the Kindergarten classroom, she wonders what changes she needs to make to the structure of her mathematics program ...

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Peter Liljedahl and How To Close Your Building Thinking Classroom Lesson

Making Math Moments That Matter - September 04, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
In this episode we bring back on the podcast for the third time the godfather of the Thinking Classroom Peter Liljedahl. We spoke with Peter way back on episode 21 of the podcast about how he built the components of the thinking classroom, episode 98 on group work and how to choose tasks, and in...

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How Do I Avoid Burnout and Still Achieve Success

Making Math Moments That Matter - August 28, 2023 09:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
In our latest episode, we dive into a topic of utmost importance: maintaining a harmonious equilibrium between achieving success and nurturing your well being as an educator. Join us as we explore invaluable insights that equip you with the tools to avoid burnout while making strides in your tea...

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Where to Start In Order to Gain Momentum? - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - August 21, 2023 09:00 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
This week, California high school mathematics teacher leader Giovanni Patalano returns to continue where we left off last time. While his goal is still clear in that he strives to assist in pushing practice forward in his school and across the district, today we dig into where that work might be...

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What You’ve Missed: The Most Essential Component of Every Math PD Session

Making Math Moments That Matter - August 14, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
Today you’ll hear from Yvette Lehman, an elementary educator from Windsor, Ontario. Yvette is a Primary and Junior Division Teacher Consultant for the Greater Essex County Board of Education and if the name seems familiar then you’re right, we have referenced Yvette’s work numerous times here on...

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#267 Cornered feat. Luisa Díez

Radio Free Tote Bag - August 10, 2023 17:13 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 57 ratings
Folks! We've got Luisa Díez returning to the show this week, first time with all three of us in a while! And we go long on this one, talking on an extended intro about brain disorders and the psychology of bad guys. Then it's question time:   What to do when a partner or friend or loved one fa...

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Balancing Group Dependence & Independence - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - August 07, 2023 09:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
This week we spoke with Lauren Sawyer, a middle school math teacher from the Chicago area. Lauren has been implementing Peter Lilijedahl’s work Building Thinking Classrooms and is trying to find the right balance between collaborative work and individual think time.  In this episode we help Lau...

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#266 Skibidababy feat. Alex Ptak

Radio Free Tote Bag - August 04, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 57 ratings
Listen it got stuck in our heads and it's like a virus, we had to spread it to our guest this week our dear homie Alex Ptak from Quorators. It's goofy time at the top and then we hit your questions:   What is cumballs? | How to navigate having sex when you have a roommate and are new to this w...

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Micro & Macro Teacher Moves - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - July 31, 2023 09:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
In this “Where are they now” Math Mentoring Moment Episode, we bring back Jeremy Sarzana, a high school math teacher at a Vocational High School in Boston, Massachusetts.  Jeremy shares concerns over how to keep “flow” in his math classes when many of his students are engaging at varying levels...

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#265 Rail That Sludge! feat. April Clark

Radio Free Tote Bag - July 27, 2023 19:34 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 57 ratings
Pedialyte yum yum! Protein pizza so good! Welcome back to the show gang we're unhinged out the gate because we have the hilarious April from Girl God with us to banter and answer your Qs. We talk Jackass, protein powder, April tells a very sad dating story, and a very happy current relationship ...

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[REPLAY] Morphing Your Assessment Practices - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - July 24, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
Today we’re releasing a replay episode where we spoke with Nick Rhodes who has been teaching online in one of the largest cyber schools in America. Nick shares his story from transforming from a rock band front man to working in accounting to teaching math to being a founding member of our Make ...

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#264 Foot Gloryhole feat. Sam Szabo

Radio Free Tote Bag - July 20, 2023 09:26 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 57 ratings
Greetings and salutations dear listener. Gather close and heed the words of your beloved hosts and their delightful guest this week, author of Enlightened Transexual Comix and other fine works, Sam Szabo!   Thrill at the thought of your boyfriend affecting "Las Vegas Swagger!" Witness as we te...

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Helping Students Find the Why - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - July 17, 2023 09:00 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
In this "Where Are They Now?" episode, we reconnect with Tom Marker, a dedicated 6th grade teacher from Ohio, who continues to inspire us with his dedication to improving his teaching strategies.  We dive into another conversation with Tom where we tackle:  Helping Students Break Away from Cal...

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#263 Death And Cuteness feat. Aries Jo

Radio Free Tote Bag - July 13, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 57 ratings
*Church bells ringing* It's a somber occasion this week. Jk but we are talking about death, as we have Aries Jo from Death Curious with us! We talk about the detrimental cultural norms around death in the west as well as our own thoughts on the Big End and what we want done with our remains. And...

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Lost in the Middle: Maximizing Achievement for Every Student in Math Class

Making Math Moments That Matter - July 10, 2023 09:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
Join us in our latest podcast episode as we dive into an important discussion about improving mathematics instruction and ensuring accessibility for all students. In this episode, we reflect on the common tendency to focus solely on students who are struggling or behind in math, neglecting those...

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#262 Dreamcatcher Back Tattoo feat. Tony Boswell

Radio Free Tote Bag - July 07, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 57 ratings
What's good in Toteland? We're back once again with a banger episode featuring our good friend Tony Boswell from Minion Death Cult!   We talk golf, skipping straight to the sweatpants phase of a friendship, The Simpsons tattoos, curiosity about sex without a whole lot of visceral desire and be...

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How Can I Engage My Students Consistently?

Making Math Moments That Matter - July 03, 2023 09:00 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
Today we speak with Cara Carbone, a high school teacher from Bellingham Washington. Cara is here to share a pebble in her shoe around engaging her high achieving students with rich tasks. She implements some low floor/high ceiling tasks but struggles to do this consistently due to time constrain...

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#261 Dry Folks vs The Smoke

Radio Free Tote Bag - June 30, 2023 13:31 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 57 ratings
Smoke week continues, we did this after the bonus cause we had a scheduling issue with April but she'll be on next month! And so we're enjoying a good old fashioned just the two of us riff fest and also some very heartfelt discussing on some tough questions from yall, here's what we get into:  ...

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Shift Teacher Practice with Measurable PD Goals - A Math Mentoring Moment

Making Math Moments That Matter - June 26, 2023 09:00 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 376 ratings
In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Amy Buchheit, an instructional coach from the Chicago area. In our chat, Amy discusses her current mathematics leader pebble related to creating measurable professional development (PD) goals in mathematics that can truly shift teacher practi...