To understand what a math gatebreaker is we must first understand what math gatekeeping is. When I first became a math teacher, I didn’t kno

I have seen first hand the power of setting high expectations of grade level content with students and I will never go back. I have seen...

The other week I had an experience that has helped change my mind and see the value of PBL math resources in some situations. I've been supporting Colorado Department of Education Facility Schools since 2020. If you're unfamiliar with a "Facility School" it's a school - sometimes located within a hospital - where students receive mental health services along with education. They might be on a mental health hold for 72 hours at this facility or they might be ordered there for

Maybe you’ve been asked to teach a middle school math intervention or RTI class or an intervention math class for high school. Maybe...

Math has long been the most failed subject in middle school and high school. According to Ron Schachter's work, Solving Our Algebra Problem: Getting All Students through Algebra I to Improve Graduation Rates,* math is the reason cited by over 80% of high school dropouts that they gave up on school. And the pandemic has made math equity issues far more robust in the US and beyond. LAUSD, one of the largest school districts in the country, has “lost 20 years of math progress du

I think most of us remember learning about the Pygmalion Effect in our teacher education classes. Here’s a refresher in case you need it… Rosenthal and Jacobson originally described the Pygmalion Effect as the following: “When we expect certain behaviors of others, we are likely to act in ways that make the expected behavior more likely to occur.” (Rosenthal and Babad, 1985) In terms of teaching students who are multiple grade levels behind, I take this to mean: When we pass

Let’s talk about how to structure your math intervention period. Most schools give teachers free rein over structuring this class, which sounds amazing, but is actually more challenging in practice than it sounds. In this post I’ll be tackling two challenges with structuring math intervention: What do I teach in math intervention? How do I fill the time period for the intervention class? You might also find this previous blog post helpful about different types of interventio

You might be hesitant about an independent math consultant who claims to help teachers working with students who struggle. You might be...

DISCLAIMER: I have not been offered nor have I received any compensation for this post or the recommendations I share. None of the links...

It’s natural to wonder, “is this experience going to be worth my time and money?” Especially math professional development. You might be...

It’s natural to wonder, “is this experience going to be worth my time and money?” Especially math professional development. You might be...

It’s natural to wonder, “is this workshop going to be worth my time and money?” Especially math professional development. You might be...

I’ve taught math at three different high schools. I’ve attended some amazing professional development for math teachers, and I’ve also...

I’ve been a high school math intervention teacher at 3 different schools. I’ve been told to teach below grade level, at grade level, and...

Since I left the classroom in 2018 to found CollaboratEd Consulting, I’ve been hired by over 45 schools and provided high quality math...