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Building math fluency through games

Join Math Teacher Lounge as we continue our season-long discussion on math fluency with a special live recording at NCTM 2023. In this episode, our guest, Jennifer Bay-Williams, Ph.D., and Dan dive into math fluency games to discuss how we can bring joy into the classroom while building math fluency.

Meet our guest(s):

Jennifer Bay-Williams, Ph.D.

Jennifer Bay-Williams is a mathematics education professor at the University of Louisville. She is passionate about ensuring every student develops competence and confidence in mathematics. She has written over 30 books, including two book series on mathematics fluency – Math Fact Fluency and Figuring out Fluency. She is also an author on the iconic Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally and a popular workshop facilitator and presenter, engaging teachers and teacher leaders in supporting real math fluency.

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Meet our hosts: Bethany Lockhart Johnson and Dan Meyer

Bethany Lockhart Johnson is an elementary school educator and author. Prior to serving as a multiple-subject teacher, she taught theater and dance, and now loves incorporating movement and creative play into her classroom. Bethany is committed to helping students find joy in discovering their identities as mathematicians. In addition to her role as a full-time classroom teacher, Bethany is a Student Achievement Partners California Core Advocate and is active in national and local mathematics organizations. Bethany is a member of the Illustrative Mathematics Elementary Curriculum Steering Committee and serves as a consultant, creating materials to support families during distance learning.

Dan Meyer taught high school math to students who didn’t like high school math. He has advocated for better math instruction on CNN, Good Morning America, Everyday With Rachel Ray, and TED.com. He earned his doctorate from Stanford University in math education and is currently the Dean of Research at Desmos, where he explores the future of math, technology, and learning. Dan has worked with teachers internationally and in all 50 United States and was named one of Tech & Learning’s 30 Leaders of the Future.

Transcripts and additional resources

Quotes

“I was in grade one and two classrooms watching with dismay at how children are learning their facts. You just see the joy coming right out of whatever they brought to school with them. So, that’s when I started thinking, how can you bring more joy to the learning of math?” – Jennifer Bay-Williams, Ph.D.