Mathing Out Loud: How Student Talk Can Accelerate Learning for All Students

Nationwide, post-pandemic math scores are showing the largest decline since 1990 (when the NAEP was first administered).

Engaging kids in math is about making space for them to share their mathematical ideas. Out loud.

Hear from NCTM President Kevin Dykema, Utah State Board of Education Secondary Mathematics Specialist Lindsey Henderson, Instructional Coach Jackie Ricks, Mathematics teacher Kristen Reuter, and TeachFX Head of Partner Success Joseph Hyun for this timely conversation.

Explore how math classrooms that are alive with student talk are classrooms where we accelerate learning for all students. Because all students are brilliant.

You’ll walk away with actionable ideas exploring:

🔓 How inquiry-based math instruction can incite curiosity, unlock brilliance, and accelerate learning for all students

🧠 How engagement mindsets of instructional leaders and teachers can foster student talk in math classrooms

🛣️ How a focus on leading indicators of learning – like student talk time and teacher questioning – can help pave the way for mathing out loud in every classroom

Plus, our panelists share how TeachFX has helped support their shift to a focus on meaningful, equitable dialogue in math classrooms.

“Not teachers talking at kids, but kids talking to each other mathematically—that was something that was really unique and scary to me as a teacher because I was like, what if they talked about the mathematics wrong? And it turns out, that’s important. Being wrong, having ideas, and having a safe space to try to make connections with your peers is super important in the learning of mathematics.” Lindsey Henderson, Utah State Board of Education

“Our role as educators is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to share their reasoning—and their brilliance.” Kevin Dykema, NCTM

Kevin Dykema is President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), an international mathematics education organization with more than 30,000 members. He has taught 8th grade mathematics for over 25 years and is currently at Mattawan Middle School in southwest Michigan.

Dykema was actively involved with the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM) before his serving a three-year term on the NCTM Board of Directors from 2016 to 2019. He served as a regional director for MCTM and later as the organization’s conference chair for six years. He also co-founded an annual conference focused on students with disabilities in mathematics, which he has co-chaired since 2015. For his service he received MCTM’s Regional Directors Award in 2007 for outstanding contributions and leadership in mathematics education as well as the organization’s Service Award in 2014.

Read Kevin’s thinking on mathematics teaching at NCTM’s Messages from the President.

Lindsey Henderson currently serves as the Secondary Mathematics Specialist for the Utah State Board of Education. For 16 years, she enjoyed teaching all of the secondary maths and some science too. Prior to assuming a district-level K-12 mathematics leadership role, she drove rich STEM content integration in the Salt Lake City educational technology startup ecosystem and was honored to be recognized by Utah’s Women Tech Council for her extraordinary commitment to Educational Leadership focusing on modernizing mathematics experiences through Data Science and Mathematical Modeling. She lives in Salt Lake City with her wife, kittens, and two teens.

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