Now I'm wondering about if it's a good problem for kids and, if so, what grade.

I never heard of Tony. I love him already.

I often have used chocolate bars as a context for teaching fractions, but I'm flummoxed about this one. Thoughts?

It's not a takedown!

Did you miss @jennalaib.bsky.social's Session? Watch the recording of it now! www.terc.edu/mathequityfo...

This is a terrific read. I know I should explain why, but I'm still chewing on the ideas and suspect I will for a while.

Session 3 of our Speaker Series is 7-8 EST on 2/4/26. Hear @jennalaib.bsky.social on how data gathered from students can inform responsive instruction that builds on their strengths, addresses their needs & creates meaningful math learning for all. Register: lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/HKaippJ

I'm looking forward to this tomorrow! Free for all.

Lots of math here. Makes me want to go to Milwaukee.

Need a mathematical deep dive diversion? This from today's NY Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/s...

"This is why I return again and again to interviews: they help me see growth that scores alone cannot capture, and guide me towards the thinking students are ready to build next."

Inspired by @mburnsmath.bsky.social's session, Session 3's speaker @jennalaib.bsky.social wrote this. "To assess learning & development, I need to look more closely at how Mia reasoned thru the tasks, not just how many ?s she answered correctly. This is what I love most about interview assessments."

A question to explore with your students? Without pennies, should retailers round up or down? States offer their 2 cents. stateline.org/2025/12/18/w...

So reaffirming to read your post. Interviews have changed my teaching dramatically and I've blogged lots. (Marilynburnsmath.com) I loved reading about your perspective and experience.

Yes, late for holiday gifts this year, but good for exploring anytime in math class. Now I'm thinking about the cowlick theorem.

No wonder those kids in a class my first year of teaching could all talk out loud without their lips moving. Ah, being a first-year teacher had its unique challenges.

Did you miss Session 2? Watch the recording of @mburnsmath.bsky.social's talk about reasoning: www.terc.edu/mathequityfo... Then register for @jennalaib.bsky.social's session which will explore how data gathered from students can inform responsive instruction! lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/HKaippJ

I hope you'll join me. I'm ready to share.

Math and cake. I love it. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/d...

I'm looking forward to giving this talk. Hope you'll join me.

New Blog Post: Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them?

I loved this article. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/s...

I'm looking forward to being one of the presenters at TERC's Speaker Series and also hearing from the other speakers. www.terc.edu/mathequityfo...

Hah! And here's one a student told me: "Going fishing, got no bait, 6 times 8 is 48." But when I asked him to use that to figure out 6 times 9 (which he didn't know), he wasn't able to do it. I had our work cut out for us.

Math and Art. I love it. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/s...

From this morning's NY Times -- Barcelona Is Made of Math www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Tomorrow is the day for my webinar. 2:30 Pacific time. 5:30 on the east coast. Hope you join.

I'm excited to present a free webinar on September 30. Register here: heinemann.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

A screen shot from a new sitcom, The Paper. I wrote Math for Smarty Pants in 1982! How did it get here?

I never heard before about "highly composite" or "highly abundant" numbers. I learned about them from Cambridge Mathematics. createsend.com/t/y-2916A5BF...

I picked bush beans this morning from our garden. No, I didn't count, but I confess that I was tempted. Will they serve 4 at dinner tonight?

Why am I confused by this sign?

Wrote a post about pedagogy for all the math freaks out there. pershmail.substack.com/p/practice-s...

I was teaching 8th grade math when Tom Lehrer released the album with New Math. I played the song at back-to-school night. (I was required to teach new math with the SMSG materials.)Tom Lehrer was a wonder.

I loved this!

I read The Way It Spozed to Be by James Herndon in the 1960s as a beginning teacher and it spoke to me then. I haven't reread it. Then The Having of Wonderful Ideas by Eleanor Duckworth, which I've gifted to new teachers and which I've revisited over the years.

Oooh, I liked this string about squares and rectangles. Some new ideas for me.

Nice! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This reminds me of what I learned from my undergraduate advisor Bob Davis. He said that a student's wrong answer is the right answer to a different question. My job is to uncover that other question and move from there.

I really appreciated the openness and civility of this exploration of differing perspectives of the ‘science’ of mathematics. A good listen.

Thanks. Yup, a typo for pronic. I also checked Wikipedia. Sometimes automatic spell check is really annoying.

Zero is a phonic number? I'd never heard of phonics numbers. Cool.

Thanks, @mpershan.bsky.social, for this quote and your blog. And thanks, @larryferlazzo.bsky.social, for hosting and posting.

How did I get this far without ever learning about semiregular tilings? Cool. polytope.miraheze.org/wiki/List_of...

I love this blog post . . . for so many reasons.

Not for everyone, I know, but I found this to be a really good read.

I asked a student today which of these fractions was not equal to 1/2. He said, "It has to be one of those with a 3 on top--they can't both be 1/2" I'd never heard that before.

I hesitated before sending it, but I couldn't resist.

I found this fascinating. You can read this gift article from The New York Times for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/s...