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Happy new year!  To get in the mindset for a great 2026, here's a motivating episode about one of last year's hottest topics in math ed: student engagement. 

Why is it so hard to get students to really engage in the classroom?  What does engagement even mean?  What can we try differently this year?

In this episode, Vanessa explores four reasons students might not engage in class (and offers tips for each):

1. They don't feel heard (democratize engagement)
2. They don't know how to engage (explain what it is)
3. They think there's no point (create more entry points)
4. Their needs aren't met (don't take it personally)

Let us know if these resonate with you or if there are any that we missed, and most importantly have a great start to the school year!

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

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Five years ago, Vanessa fell head over heels in love with a Christmas movie.  The plot twist? This wasn't one of the countless Hallmark romcoms she actually consumes throughout the year - this was a movie about a little girl who literally saves Christmas with math!

Back then she interviewed Producer Lyn Sisson-Talbert and Writer/Director David E. Talbert about their groundbreaking Netflix film Jingle Jangle, so we’re resharing the conversation today as Christmas approaches.

On that note, we'll be taking a break next week but will be back in your feed Jan 1st to give you some inspiration to make 2026 a great year in the classroom.  Until then, happy holidays!!

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Getting students to think is a hot topic - but what does it actually mean?  When kids are asked to "show their thinking", can we really blame them for being like "WTF?!?!"

Today on Math Therapy, Vanessa explores the surprising number of ways we can define & interpret "thinking", and shares 5 strategies to demystify it in the classroom:

1. Explain what thinking actually means
2. Normalize that the thought process isn't always quick
3. Give prompts that invite students into a conversation
4. Outer process - talk it out before writing it down
5. Model your own thinking as a teacher

How do YOU define thinking?  Let us know below!

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Since our humble (and as you'll find out, quite disorganized) start in 2019, Math Therapy has come a long way ... and today we celebrate our 100th episode!

Join host Vanessa Vakharia and producer David Kochberg (with a cameo from OG MT producer Sabina Wex) as they reminisce and argue about:

• The (mostly) true origin story of Math Therapy
• Where the “final 2 questions” came from
• Fave past episodes
• Dream future guests
• If ChatGPT listens to our show

Whether you've been listening from the start or just finding this show now, thank you for listening and being part of the change we all want to see in math education.

And please please please SHARE this podcast with someone that needs to hear it, and let US know what you want to hear in the next 100 episodes!

Past episodes mentioned:

• What the Blue Jays taught us about math education (Nov 2025)
• Pi Day in Prison (Seriously) (Mar 2023)
• “Dude Walls” & the lost women of science w/ Katie Hafner (May 2022)
• Dancing on the moon w/ Dr. Merritt Moore (Apr 2022)
• Can math predict the Oscars? w/ Ben Zauzmer (Mar 2022)
• How math rehabilitated a murderer w/ Christopher Havens (Jun 2021)
• I’m not a math person, don’t @ me w/ Bex (Jun 2021)
• Recalculating your destiny w/ Miguel Escobar (Jun 2020)
• A mathemagical crisis w/ Jonah Babins (Oct 2019)

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Today we follow-up last week's episode with unfiltered celeb moms Cat and Nat (listen here) by interviewing Nat's daughter Taylor!  Currently in Grade 11, she's a wealth of hard-earned wisdom, having taken her education into her own hands to overcome a system that literally told her not to bother even trying.

This ep is overflowing with real lessons right from a student who's been through it all.  Taylor describes:

• how being "bad" at math really felt & how she decided to rewrite her narrative
• small supports that made a huge difference, like teachers/tutors talking to her like a real person or literally getting down to her level instead of standing over her in class
• how she wished it hadn't taken so long in her educational journey for adults to simply tell her they believed in her

Teachers, parents, and students can all learn so much from Taylor's story, so share this ep with someone who needs to hear it and get in touch below to let us know how it resonated with you!

About Taylor: (Instagram, TikTok)

Taylor Telfer-Thompson is a high school student who has faced significant struggles with math throughout her education, but has never given up.  Her story shows what it looks like to persevere in the face of difficulty, to wrestle with identity, and to keep trying even when math feels impossible.

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

From the moment Vanessa met bestselling authors/podcasters Cat and Nat on Breakfast Television, where the 2 moms proudly professed to hate math ... she knew she had to have them on Math Therapy to dig deeper and find out why.  They are the definition of unfiltered, so they are a perfect fit!

This interview may be uncomfortable for teachers to hear - honestly, it was difficult for Vanessa at times to not be defensive.  But the fact is, we need to know what students and parents are really going through; not just in the classroom but in their entire, completely chaotic modern lives.

About Cat and Nat: (Website, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube)

Between the two of them, bestselling authors & podcasters Cat & Nat have seven kids, zero down time, and an unshakable belief that motherhood shouldn’t feel like solitary confinement. 

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

*call-out before we get into today's ep* - If you or a colleague/parent/student has a story about incorporating the absurd 6-7 phenomenon into actual learning, we need you!  Seriously, send us a brief text or a voicenote via Instagram DM or email.  We've heard some stories and want to do an episode about enhancing learning by reaching kids through their interests (no matter how ridiculous we think they are...)

On today's episode w/ Rob Baier:

Vanessa often goes into our interviews with a thorough plan, and then as soon as we hit record she instead asks the first random thing that pops into her mind and never looks at the outline again.  Well, today's episode with trailblazer Rob Baier is one of those rollercoasters!  Some of the rabbit holes they end up in include:

• how our assessment systems contribute to math anxiety/trauma
• why we actually became so obsessed with getting every student into calculus
• what student learning has in common with binging an entire season of Ginny and Georgia (spoiler alert: we have it all backwards)

About Rob: (LinkedIn)

Rob is passionate about inspiring the next generation of math enthusiasts! As a Growth Lead at Innovamat, Rob is dedicated to bringing innovative math education solutions to schools across three states. With a diverse background in education, including roles as a math teacher, curriculum director, and professional development leader, he is committed to empowering educators and students. He is also a co-host of the #DebateMath podcast and a frequent presenter at national and regional conferences.

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

This past weekend, hearts across North America shattered as the plucky underdog Toronto Blue Jays lost to the LA Dodgers in extra innings of the deciding Game 7 of the Major League Baseball World Series.  And if none of those words matter to you at all - then you and Vanessa have much in common!

However, as a self-admitted bandwagon jumper, even though she was down in the US on a math ed conference tour, she was all in on this series and sucked a bunch of colleagues into her orbit along the way.  While this is obviously not a sports podcast, she and her teacher friends couldn't help observe parallels between what they saw on the field & went through together as new fans, compared with what they see day to day in their students' journeys through the education system.

So Vanessa and David jumped on to discuss some of these parallels, share some voice memos from her teachers-turned-superfans group chat, and even call in a pinch hitter (a term she learned last week) to share the inside scoop on what might actually be going through these pro athletes' minds in the most high pressure situations imaginable and how a student can approach a math test the same way.

The dream team: (aka teachers Vanessa literally forced to watch the games)

• Jenna Laib (Website, Bluesky)
• Alison Mello (Website, Instagram)
• Kim Montague (Instagram, Bluesky)
• Shelby Strong (Website, Bluesky)

Guest "analyst": (aka ex-Olympic athlete / current math ed rock star)

• Peter Liljedahl (Website, Instagram)
• Past ep: Teaching students to ... think?! w/ Peter Liljedahl

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Most episodes, Vanessa is chatting with colleagues about the root causes of math anxiety/trauma and exploring how math education can change to avoid causing them.

But as long as math remains a 4-letter word for some, we need some practical coping strategies!  So today, Vanessa details 5 ways you can flip anxious math moments into empowering ones - for teachers, parents, and students.

Learn how to:

1. Trade control for curiosity
2. Admit what you don't know
3. Not be afraid to follow tangents in class
4. Coregulate before you educate
5. Heal your own math trauma

Other episodes mentioned:

• How to find the "why" in math class w/ Mike Flynn
• Why 1 + 1 isn't always 2 w/ Eugenia Cheng
• 5 simple Math Therapy strategies for your classroom

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Sometimes an interview fires us up so much here at Math Therapy HQ, that we end up debriefing and debating it long after the guest has signed off - at which point producer David says to host Vanessa "we should have recorded THAT too!"

So today, we actually did!  We kept the mics rolling after interviewing last week's guest, Dr. Raj Shah, resulting in a discussion on the mechanics of memory & aptitude and a spirited debate as David pushed back against Vanessa's war on the words "natural ability".  

We would LOVE to have an expert in this field on the podcast, so if you have any suggestions let us know!

And we want to know what you think as well - are some people born better at some things than others?!  Let us know below!

Episodes referenced:

• Why math sucks and how to fix it w/ Raj Shah
• Math ed needs more conversations like this w/ Pam Harris

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here