Every December, classrooms start to feel different. The pace slows just enough for teachers and leaders to lift their heads and ask the question we avoid when we’re pushing through the day-to-day: Are students really thinking  in our math classrooms—or are they just complying? That question isn’t about blame.  It’s about possibility. Because when students disengage from mathematics—whether quietly or loudly—it isn’t a reflection of their ability. It’s feedback. It tells

Creating classrooms where students take the lead, and teachers reclaim the space to notice, guide, and grow learning. Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash Ms. Johnson is on her feet the entire class period. She hustles from desk to desk, crouching down to check one student’s answer, then another’s. Every time a hand goes up, she rushes over—“Yes, that’s right,” “No, try again,” “Almost, but check step three.” By the end of the lesson, she’s exhausted. Her students? Many haven’t

Every classroom operates with an invisible compass: what teachers believe about how students learn math. These beliefs quietly shape the...

Far too many students are navigating our math classrooms with a single, destructive belief: “I’m just not a math person.”  This belief...