Ep 22: Coaching Students Thinking through Word Problems with Mona Iehl

Modern Math Teacher

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Inside this week's episode of The Modern Math Teacher, Kristen is joined by guest Mona Iehl-- the go-to expert on teaching and learning from word problems. After years of teaching in the classroom and working as an instructional coach for elementary and middle grades, Mona is no stranger to the struggles teachers and students have with word problems. Today she shares the biggest take aways she has had for why students struggle with word problems and her go to strategy for successfully utilizing word problems in your classroom!
Today's Topics Include

• The need for risk taking and creating a classroom community that supports it
• Changing when and how you use the word problems
• Choosing the right kinds of tasks-- real, relevant and rigorous-- promoting thinking and culturally relevant
• The power of student voice in the classroom discussions

It's a bit of a longer episode this week, so listen in while you're cleaning the house or prepping the food for the holidays or check out the episode in bite sized pieces:
Timestamped Bites

• The Word Problem Workshop TM method (15 minutes in)
• Productive vs Unproductive Struggle and the ZPD (20 mins)
• Elevating Student Status -5D+ Friends check this one out!- (26 mins)
• Word Problems within Curriculum Constraints + Lesson Design (36 mins in)
• Math Class as Math Practice aka The Golden Goose (41 mins)
• Getting Started (43 mins)

Meet Mona
Mona is a former math avoider, teacher & instructional coach in Chicago. Her passion for math came when she discovered how to engage every student in a subject she, too, disliked. Through intentionally changing her math class to help students BE mathematicians using a student centered approach math came alive for Mona and her students. Now Mona collaboratively coaches teachers in building a math culture through rigorous student centered math instruction. You can listen to Mona every Monday on her podcast, Honest Math Chat and connect with her anytime on Instagram @hellomonamath

Resources That we Mentioned

• Building Thinking Classrooms
• Teaching Problems and

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!