2025 MidSchoolMath National Conference

Join us for an engaging and interactive session focused on research-informed strategies to support multilingual students in their mathematical learning journey—by getting miles on the tongue! As Jen York-Barr states, “The person who is doing the talking is doing the learning.”

This session will explore strategies to increase student engagement and scaffold mathematical discourse, while considering the unique way mathematical vocabulary develops. You'll have the opportunity to collaborate in discourse routines, examine current research on math vocabulary instruction, and learn lesson design principles that support all students in developing a deep understanding of mathematics. This session will also demonstrate how to transform traditional vocabulary practices—such as the copy-definition format—into a dynamic, student-centered learning environment.

Let’s build student agency with collaborative, structured oral routines and card sorts to help students get miles of math language on the tongue!

How can we achieve student agency while focusing on a subject’s syllabus and content?

Question Formulation Technique can be a successful tool in achieving student agency and ownership without losing scope of the subject’s syllabus. I'll share examples from my own experience of using this strategy in a diverse school of international learners.

In recent years, researchers have made significant discoveries about the brain's neuroplasticity. As math educators, we often receive training on the brain's learning processes; however, there is limited emphasis on imparting this knowledge to students in the math classroom. It is crucial for students to not only acquire learning skills but also to understand the neuroscience behind how they learn, as this understanding supports their learning and addresses social and emotional challenges.

This session will explore the latest research-based strategies that enhance learning in the classroom, examining how the brain functions, the processes of thinking and memory, and the impact of emotions and belief systems on learning. Participants will engage in collaborative discussions and interactive activities, ensuring they leave with actionable insights and strategies that they can implement immediately with their students and colleagues.

Tangrams pieces can be a good tool to provide students opportunities to explore and use their imagination with geometric shapes.

We will share geometric puzzles tricks you can use to help students develop spatial sense. You'll learn strategies to easily make a 7-piece Square, Triangle, Parallelogram, Trapezoid, and a rectangle from 5-piece square using tangram sets.