emergent math

Lessons, Commentary, Coaching, and all things mathematics.

Category: math

  • No pushback: So I guess education has given up

    In 2019, North Carolina attempted to push through a bill that would force trans individuals to use the bathroom of their sex assigned at birth, rather than their current gender. It was only a few years ago, but there was mass outrage in a way that seems unthinkable today. Most notably, the National Basketball Association…

  • Is the Subway Footlong Pass Worth It?

    This post is for all you Italian BMT heads out there. For the month of April 2023, Subway customers have the option of purchasing a “Subway Footlong Pass” for $15. You then get 50% off all (I think) Subway sandwiches for the month (digital orders only). Please don’t look down on me, but I get…

  • A few reasons to teach, learn, and do math

    As you may have heard, adults don’t need or use math. One can be a successful human without being a successful math learner. In fact, most adolescents and young adults will stop taking mathematics as soon as their school no longer requires them to do so. So why do we force adolescents and young adults…

  • Qual Guy: How I came around to Qualitative Research 

    In between teaching math and where I’m at today – in the final year of a PhD program in math education – I obtained a master’s degree…. in atmospheric science. Makes perfect sense right? I won’t bore you the details, but my reasoning was that I’ve always been interested in weather and climate and I…

  • The Warm Body Problem: Digital Curricula and the Looming Teacher Shortage

    How ought digital curriculum developers be thinking about teacher shortages?

  • Three Strategies to Help Improve Students’ Conception of Math – Part 3: Do Math With Students (Not at Students)

    You know how teachers are supposed to join in when they do “Drop Everything and Read”? We should have the same attitude in math. My third recommendation to help students reconcieve of math as a discipline that goes beyond calculation is to do math with students. Most teaching time is spent with the teacher doing…

  • Three Strategies to Help Improve Students’ Conception of Math – Part 1: Do Creative Math

    How can we offer students a truer and more open conception of mathematics? Part 1: Do creative math.

  • Explainer post: A year’s worth of Algebra Warm Ups

    We all have summer projects. Personally, I like to go into my back yard annually and destroy it a little bit (followed by putting something in its place). In addition to year projects, I always like to give myself at least one summer blog-ish project. These projects are a bit more intentional than the random…

  • Delightful Data Visualization: Polypad and Young Statisticians

    We all acknowledge that data analysis and representation is a key part of our math curricula in the 21st century. But while it’s baked into Common Core and other state standards, it can be a bit unwieldy at lower grades. One of the barriers between students and sophisticated data analysis has been (until recently) lack…