Math Therapy explores the root causes of math trauma, and the empowering ways we can heal from it. Each week host Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru, dives into what we get right and wrong about math education, and chats with some of today’s most inspiring and visionary minds working to make math more accessible, diverse, and fun for students of all ages. Whether you think you’re a "math person" or not, you’re about to find out that math people don’t actually exist – but the scars that math…
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Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Have you ever felt like math education needs to take a good long look at itself in the mirror and make some major changes before everything goes off the rails? Like one of those Hollywood interventions - but for math class? Well today's guest, Juliana Tapper, is a math interventionist! She steps in to help students before they slip through the cracks.…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Some of you have already started school, while the rest are just counting down the days ... so Vanessa is back this week with 3 easy & actionable strategies you can bring to your math class RIGHT now, to set the tone that each of your students belongs in your classroom this year and has the ability to build a better relationship with math. Collect: find…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Things have been a little crazy over here so Math Therapy is going to take a couple weeks off to catch our breath, but we will be back later this month to get you fired up for back to school! In the meantime, here are a few ways you can get your Math Therapy fix: Vanessa was recently featured in episode 2 of the 3-part series on math anxiety called Heart…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) One of the most misunderstood words in math ed right now is "fluency", so Vanessa invited an expert on the podcast to demystify it: educator Christina Tondevold. Christina calls herself a "recovering traditionalist" - she committed to stop teaching students in the same ineffective ways she was taught as a student. They discuss a ton of practical…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Today we bring you part 2 in Vanessa's two part Math Therapy Masterclass on how to start the coming school year with renewed confidence - for yourself and for your students! In part 1 she shared 4 exercises/experiences you can try this summer ( check it out here ICYMI ), and she's back with 4 more: 5) practice being bad at something 6) find a…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Summer is a great time for some much needed rest after the school year, but it also provides some rare quiet time for reflection and personal projects. For many of us, that includes preparing for an even better year ahead - and that often starts with feeling more confident about math. So Vanessa assembled this 2-part mini-masterclass to walk you through 8…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Prior to spontaneously recording this convo between sessions at CAMT in Fort Worth, TX recently, Vanessa and today's guest Cathy Marks Krpan had only really spent time together while frantically travelling through airports trying to make their connections. And in between panicked pleas to airport golf carts and documenting every detail on Instagram, one…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) As her Screen Time app will confirm, Vanessa spends way too much time online - so when trends involving math pop up, you can be sure she has commented, shared, ranted, and made her own version. Sadly, most of these “trends” involve negative stereotypes around math ability. These cliches are also extremely gendered, specifically directed at women and…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Summer is officially ON, so it's a great time to hear from YOU in another mailbag episode where Vanessa reads the texts you've sent us! This batch pulls together a few threads from episodes we've released over the last few months - some will make you laugh, and some might make you tear up just as Vanessa did when reading them out. And if you want to send…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Today's episode truly puts the "therapy" in Math Therapy! Vanessa chats with her friend Amy Johnston, a psychotherapist and empathic deep thinker, to discuss how trauma takes root in us, how it transfers through generations, and how being vulnerable about our own experiences can help us inspire students to rewrite their own narratives. This is a truly…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Vanessa recently took one step closer to her dream of hosting a Netflix show, recording the first ever live Math Therapy interview! For her session last week at Leander ISD's annual Math Joy Conference in Texas, she interviewed self-proclaimed "chaos-driven non-compliant educator" Chase Orton - and you can now hear their extremely unfiltered conversation…
Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Exam season is upon us, but NOBODY PANIC! Today's guest, learning strategist Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer, joined Vanessa to share some simple but game-changing study tips to help you get through exams without breaking a sweat. They discuss: what actually is learning, and what does and does not count as studying why we get trapped trying to perfect to-do lists…