Building Math Professional Development Teachers Want
K-12 Math Leaders: Download our free Math Coherence Compass to help your teammates, system leaders, and educators create aligned instructional practices—without adding another initiative. https://makemathmoments.com/coherence-compass/Not sure what matters most when designing math improvement plans? Take this assessment and get a free customized report: https://makemathmoments.com/grow/ K-12 Math Leaders: Ready to design your math improvement plan with guidance, support and using structure? Partner with us to follow our 4 stage process. https://growyourmathprogram.com Looking to supplement your curriculum with problem-based lessons and units? Make Math Moments Problem Based Lessons & Units In this episode, Jon Orr talks with Hillary Larbus, Mallory Messenger, and Courtney Fain, elementary math coaches in Dublin City Schools near Columbus, Ohio. As part of a team of eight math coaches serving 15 elementary schools, they noticed their math professional development felt disjointed, especially while much of the district’s attention was on literacy.They share how the team used the Make Math Moments District Program Assessment to align, narrowed a detailed district vision to two priorities, and chose teacher content knowledge as their focus. They describe the eight-session, for-credit course they built where teachers do the math first and bring back student work, and how monthly and weekly team meetings, content leads, and coaching cycles keep their work connected and sustainable.In this episode, you'll explore:What a team of elementary math coaches learned about planning and meeting teachers where they areHow the Make Math Moments District Program Assessment helped eight coaches find common groundHow the team distilled a detailed district vision into student discourse and problem solvingWhy building teacher content knowledge became the highest-leverage focusHow an eight-session, for-credit course gave teachers time to do the math themselvesHow teachers brought student work back to reflect on what they tried in their classroomsWhat participant feedback revealed about teachers’ appetite for math PDHow a month-by-month coaching plan supported the rollout of a new curriculumHow content leads, opt-in coaching cycles, and administrator partnerships extend the team’s reachWhy shared decision making helps math improvement survive turnoverLook at the math professional development your team offered last year and ask: Was it connected by a clear focus, or was it a collection of one-off sessions? Choose one priority that matters across all of your schools, map out how teacher learning could build toward it over the year, and decide how you’ll gather feedback from the teachers doing the work in classrooms.We are grateful to join the Making Math Moments That Matter Podcast to share the story behind the math professional development series that our team created in Dublin City Schools and the coaching model that supports it. This work reflects a shared commitment to meaningful math learning and would not be possible without the collaboration, encouragement, and expertise of our district, administrators, and colleagues. A special thank you to Lori Marple, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning; Christina Hutchison, PK-12 Coordinator of Curriculum; Kate Baker, Math Intervention Lead Teacher; and our fellow Math Instructional Coaches, Alex Abbadie, Alex Schlater, Kami Wenning, Kiley Wilkins, and Lauren Gallerno. We appreciate your partnership and thoughtful collaboration. We are proud of what we've built together and thankful for the educators and leaders who help make this work possible. If you would like to get in contact with Mallory, Hillary, and Courtney, please reach out to the Make Math Moments team, and they will connect you with us!Thank you for all that you are doing for the Math Ed Community!Mallory MessengerTeaching & Learning Coach, Scottish Corners | Wyandot Dublin City SchoolsShow Notes PageLove the show? Text us your big takeaway!We’ve partnered with them to help bring more collaborative learning into classrooms. Whether you’re supporting one class or math instruction across multiple schools, find the right way to get started at wipebook.com/mathmoments. Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don’t want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.
