Math Therapy

By Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math GuruScience Education Self-Improvement Mathematics

Math Therapy episodes

August 203 things every math teacher should do from day one
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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 out what baggage kids might be bringing into class
Co-Create: make ALL voices valued, heard, and respected (including yours!)
Connect: break down the student-teacher barrier, even in a big class
For more, download the FREE Math Therapy Toolkit here and let us know how it goes - you've got this!
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
37 min
August 06Taking my own advice
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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 Work by Imagine Learning
She was also just interviewed on the Modern Math Teacher podcast
Math Therapy Roulette! Go to the podcast feed in your app, scroll way back and randomly pick an episode to listen to - we've been podcasting since 2019 so there are a lot of gems back there!
Enjoy the rest of your summer and we'll be back soon - and make sure to take care of yourself too if you need it!
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
5 min
July 30Fluency & Flexibility aren't the math F-bombs you think they are w/ Christina Tondevold
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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 strategies you can bring to your classroom, such as:
showing students how connected math is (in class and in their lives)
building fluency on 3 balanced pillars: efficiency, accuracy, and flexibility
teaching students to learn math by teaching them to be problem solvers
If you enjoy this conversation, sign up for Christina's free 3-day virtual summit August 10-12, 2026 featuring Vanessa and a ton of other incredible speakers!
Register here for the FREE "Build Math Minds Thinking Summit"
About Christina: (Website)
Christina Tondevold is a Recovering Traditionalist - she previously taught mathematics traditionally and expected the students to parrot back what she taught them. Now she gets to work with teachers in developing students’ mathematical understandings in a balanced way by developing conceptual understanding while working on procedural fluency through her site BuildMathMinds.com where you can get PD at Your Fingertips.
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
51 min
July 23Math Therapy Masterclass Part 2: How to start next year with confidence
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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 mindset/psychology book/podcast (suggestions below)
7) try Duolingo Math
8) face your math trauma as a grown up
Let us know if you tried any of these and what happened!
Books/podcasts mentioned:
Mel Robbins Podcast
Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz
Atomic Habits by James Clear
How Minds Change by David McRaney
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
30 min
July 16Math Therapy Masterclass Part 1: How to start next year with confidence
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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 tiny exercises you can try this summer, starting today with:
don't do it alone - find a math friend
replace "proving" with "improving"
build an evidence folder of your successes
collect your moments of math confidence
You don't have to do them all! But you do have to text us if you try any :) And tune in next week for 4 more!
*SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED* This episode is sponsored by Texas Instruments! Listen to the episode for instructions to enter to win an "Oh My Math" box featuring:
the new TI-84 Evo graphing calculator + 4-yr license
an adorable plushie TI calculator keychain!
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
40 min
July 09Why math class might be more stressful than air travel w/ Cathy Marks Krpan
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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 thing kept coming up - how the stress and uncertainty of air travel held so many parallels with the anxiety we feel in math class.
Cathy has an incredibly warm & empathetic approach to teaching and shares inspiring insights on:
sitting with the unknown
empowering people with choice & agency
treating students like the complex, emotional humans they are
About Cathy: (Website, Instagram)
An award-winning author and former classroom teacher, Cathy Marks Krpan is a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, at the University of Toronto, where she teaches graduate courses in mathematics education. She works with classroom teachers and school districts across North America and internationally on effective teaching and learning strategies in mathematics.
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
36 min
July 02What 3 viral trends tell us about math trauma in 2026
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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 girls.
So today she discusses 3 recent viral trends and what we can do to flip the script (click the links for examples):
“I'm creative ... bc I suck at math"
"I'm just pretending to do math - you’re the smart one"
"I'm too pretty to do math"
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
43 min
June 25Math in prison, chaotic podcast energy, and the legend of Sister Beth (summer mailbag)
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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 us a message about the podcast or about something you'd like Vanessa to discuss over the summer - just tap the link right above/below!
Episodes mentioned:
May 2026 - text from an inmate with the Prison Mathematics Project
May 2026 - Vanessa's meltdown over tax season
April 2026 - our last mailbag episode
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
18 min
June 18Math anxiety, vulnerability, and the secrets to building student confidence w/ Amy Johnston
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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 heartfelt conversation exploring questions like:
Why your own math trauma is actually your greatest teaching superpower
How to use strategies like narration real-time in the classroom
How intergenerational trauma is like a snowball rolling downhill - and how to finally stop it
About Amy: (Website, Instagram)
Amy Johnston, MSW, is an Integrative Therapist specializing in inner world explorations with her clients. She lives in a magical forest up in Northern Ontario, Canada.
*CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED* This episode is sponsored by Texas Instruments! Listen to the episode for instructions to enter to win an "Oh My Math" box featuring:
the new TI-84 Evo graphing calculator + 4-yr license
an adorable plushie TI calculator keychain!
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
50 min
June 11How to get fired up about teaching (even if the system has crushed your spirit) w/ Chase Orton
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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 in front of a room full of teachers whose gasps are VERY audible throughout!
Chase and Vanessa share a fearlessness in calling out the education as it is, and in this convo they cover hot topics like:
how teachers can stay motivated in a broken system
who standardized testing benefits (hint: not students or teachers!)
how to follow the rules while rebelling against the status quo
About Chase: (Website, YouTube)
As an accomplished facilitator of lesson study for K-12 math teachers, Chase Orton partners with districts who are interested in taking a teacher-centered, teacher-directed approach to professional development. Chase is also the author of The Imperfect and Unfinished Teacher of Mathematics.
Contact us:
Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
Math Therapy: Text the Podcast
More Math Therapy:
Join the Facebook group
Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
Merch store: Shop here
49 min

About Math Therapy

From the publisher's feed

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…