We are instructed to teach our curriculum with fidelity. I am all for this, but today I had a really hard time with it.

I am teaching Algebra 1 to eighth graders. Because it's an algebra 1 curriculm, the curriculm assumes they mastered numerous things from 8th grade math​.

So for instance today, they were supposed to create equations to represent the graphs of numerous lines. Much of the lesson focused on when to use point slope form as opposed to standard form or slope intercept form.

I realized immediately in the lesson though that students had never seen point slope form. They only just learned standard form yesterday. So, I felt like it made sense to slow down the lesson and try to actually explain point slope form.

I was being informally observed, and I was told I spent too long on the beginning of the lesson, which the curriculm dictates should be something like 5 minutes.

But if students could not do the first few problems at all, I didn't realize what sense it would make for them to attempt way harder problems.

The admin also wants to see students engaging in rich mathematical discussion, using specific sentence starters, to discuss the content. But again, I dont see how they are supposed to have a discussion about something that to them amounts to nothing but a soup of random math symbols.

I really want to please my admin but it's feeling more and more like an impossible gap between expectation and reality.

My students tell me I am a great teacher, and I know part of that is because I am a patient and understanding teacher (I always got that feedback when I tutored, too.) But whenever I get observed it makes me feel like I'm terrible.

And admin seems to expects much better behavior from the kids too. Sometimes they will have quiet little conversations about the math while I am demonstrating something, but I'm fine with a little noise as long as things stay in control and on task. But I got feedback today too that the students weren't well behaved enough, and that terrifies me because that class is by far my best behaved class so like if they aren't good enough for admin, I worry that I am completely doomed.

Any help highly appreciated!!​

I (university student) did a calculus midterm test last week. One of the questions gave me the following equation:
3\^x = 3x + 5
As far as I know, the value of x is just a single constant. The question asked me to use Newton’s Method to get from a given initial picked value to the next one. I didn’t understand how that could make sense, since with the given equation, x is just a constant value and you can’t find a root unless you have a 2-variable equation because that’s an actual relation.

I asked the professor today about it, and he said that I was supposed algebraically rearrange the equation to make everything on one side equal to 0. Then I am supposed to *infer* a relation out of it, with f(x) being equal to the one side with everything in it, and then I could use the formula for the next term of Newton’s Method to solve it.

The problem is that I take everything literally (I have autism), and what was exactly stated in the question never told me to infer a relation to solve it. All I saw was a one-variable equation, which in a literal sense has constant solutions for x instead of a relation. I can’t do Newton’s method on a one-variable equation. Therefore I thought the question was nonsense and couldn’t figure it out, missing out on the mark for that question.

On a side note, there were actually several questions formatted as a 1-variable equation instead of 2, which didn’t make sense to me.

Is the question and solution reasonable to put on a test or am I validly frustrated?

For a few years, my dream was to be a software engineer. Then that dream was crushed.

Then, my dream was to be a mathematician. Now that dream is crushed.

What do I dream about now? Why bother if it's just going to be crushed? Why do they keep going for the things that I dream of instead of what's practical? Where are the AI managers, recruiters, execs, etc., why do they get to keep their dreams?

I’ve been building interactive math and physics experiences for SPECS AR glasses. Here are a few early examples: a hyperbolic paraboloid, solids of revolution, a double pendulum, and refraction (Snell’s law).

What interests me is the possibility of interacting directly with mathematical objects in 3D space, rather than just looking at diagrams or equations on a screen. Research suggests that gestures can support learning abstract mathematical concepts and generalizing to new problems (Goldin-Meadow et al., 2012; Seccia & Goldin-Meadow, 2024), so AR glasses with hand tracking feel like an especially compelling medium for this.

Any recommendations for mathematical concepts that would be a good fit?
How would you use something like this in your practice?

Hi, I'm studying for the placement test using the paths. But I'm barely memorizing anything because it constantly just throws me new stuff. I just need a 14 in the test to get the class I need, any tips? Learning on what to focus on and tricks to memorize and recognize equations would be really helpful.

i do the how many halves fit in 3 thing and it works fine with whole numbers, but the second it's something like 2/3 divided by 4/5 the kids lose it and invert and multiply turns into a magic trick again.

what do you actually show them that sticks, or do most of you just go with common denominators

Today is the last one we will experience all our life and the last one of the century, the next one will be in April 5, 2103 so enjoy it

I want to be good at maths.

Here is a short contest-math warm-up I use to see whether students understand a ratio as equal-sized parts, rather than treating 2:3 as a fraction of the total.

Prompt: A box has red and blue counters in the ratio 2:3. After 4 red counters are added, there are equally many of each color. How many counters were in the box originally?

Before anyone calculates, ask students to sketch two equal boxes for red and three equal boxes for blue. The extra blue box is exactly the difference that the 4 added red counters close. So one box is 4 counters: originally 8 red and 12 blue, for 20 total.

Two quick checks reveal more than the answer alone:

• Ask, “What does one box represent?” A student who says “one fifth of the original total” can connect the picture to 20; a student who calls red “two thirds of the total” needs another look at the whole.

• Ask, “If 4 blue counters were removed instead, what would the original counts be?” They should still get 8 and 12.

For a one-minute extension, change 4 to 6. Students can predict the original total is 30 without redrawing; then explain why the total is always five times the initial difference in this particular 2:3 setup.

How do you help younger students move from a bar model to a general rule without rushing into cross-multiplication?

Disclosure: I publish paid visual AMC 8 beginner workbooks. This full classroom prompt is free to use.

Posting on Saturday, following sub rules. I'm very interested to know what math teachers think of this idea, since my background is computer science.

Some background: I'm a parent, not a teacher. I've been building math games for my kids, and one of them turned into something bigger than I planned, so I'd like opinions from people who actually teach this stuff.

The core idea is a target number. A monster has shields like 15 or 77, you have a hand of number cards, and you build an expression that equals the shield exactly. 5 × 3 for the 15, (5 + 6) × 7 for the 77. What I noticed with my own kids is that they start working backwards: "77, that's 7 × 11, can I make an 11?" That's the kind of thinking I was hoping for.

A few design choices I'm not sure about:

1. Brackets are locked at the start of a run and you earn them later. My thinking was that kids should get comfortable with order of operations first, but maybe that's backwards.

2. In the fraction tower, division never fails. 3 ÷ 4 just becomes a 3/4 card. That made fractions feel a lot less scary for my kids, but I don't know if it skips over something important.

3. The negative number tower (3 − (−5) = 8 and so on) is noticeably harder than the other two. I can't tell if it's good hard or just frustrating hard.

It's here if you want to poke at it: https://mathmancer.numberdale.com (browser, no ads, nothing collected that identifies a student).

I'm also wondering whether this could work in a classroom. Everyone gets the same Daily Tower each day, so a whole class could try the same climb and compare. Would you actually use something like that as a warm-up, or is it too much of a game for class time?

But the brackets question is the one I keep going back and forth on. Would you give them from the start?

Hi, I'm a solo developer and a teacher's friend, so I built this for classrooms first. Hexamat is a daily math puzzle: students combine 7 digits on a honeycomb board with + − × ÷ to reach a target number.

Why I think it might work in class:

- Everyone gets the same daily challenge, so you can talk about the same solutions the next day.

- Group rooms for up to 20 players: you create the room and students join from their own phones.

- Practice mode with a time attack for warm-ups.

- It's free on Android, with ads. There's no account needed to start.

I'd genuinely value feedback from teachers: is the rule clear for 11–14 year olds? What would make it useful in your lessons? Happy to answer any questions.

Hi everyone—I’m behind MathsLove, a website with grade-specific maths assessments for Grades 4–10.

Each assessment has 15 questions and a 10-minute limit. The basic assessment and MathsLove’s MIQ score are free, and students can review their answers afterwards.

One way to use it is as a starting point for a follow-up conversation: choose a missed question, ask the student to explain their approach, then work through a similar example together.

MIQ takes accuracy and completion time into account. It’s an educational assessment score, not a clinical IQ result or a fixed measure of a child’s ability.

You can explore the grade options here: https://mathslove.com

Happy to answer questions about how the assessment works.