In this episode of Room to Grow, Joanie and Curtis have conversations with middle and high school students to gain their perspectives on learning math. They interviewed six students from grades 7-12 in three different sessions. Because all of these conversations were rich with great comments, the next two episodes of Room to Grow will be devoted to these students’ perspectives.

Part 1 focuses on what the students said their teachers do or don’t do in the classroom that supports their learning. We heard about the importance of being able to talk to others during class, to move around and actively engage students in the lesson, and understanding, supporting, and normalizing that students learn at different paces. Future episodes center on the conversations around homework and the importance of their teachers in forming their own mathematical identity and the culture of learning in the classroom. You may be surprised at how much you learn from these students.

We encourage you to explore the resources below, referenced in this episode:

• Riya’s Ramblings podcast – find on your favorite podcast platform or HERE on Apple Podcasts
• Resources for getting students talking in math class
• Blog post on developing math language routines
• Blog post with strategies for supporting mathematics discourse in your classroom
• Resources for getting students up and moving in class
• Blog post with ideas for beginning, middle and end of class
• Blog post with easy to implement ideas

Did you enjoy this episode of Room to Grow? Please leave a review and share the episode with others. Share your feedback, comments, and suggestions for future episode topics by emailing roomtogrowmath@gmail.com . Be sure to connect with your hosts on Twitter and Instagram: @JoanieFun and @cbmathguy.