Mathematics Webinar Series

K-12 Mathematics Strategies

Effective mathematics classroom instruction is essential for academic and lifelong success. This webinar series is designed to help educators understand mathematical proficiency and promote deep, meaningful math learning.

Meet Your Presenters

The Lastinger Center Math Team features experience in education and education research.

Zandra de Araujo
Zandra de Araujo
Director & Research Scientist,
Mathematics

Jose De Leon Alejandro
José D. De León Alejandro
Manager, Mathematics

Chris Engledowl
Chris Engledowl
Senior Coordinator,
Math Research

kayla sutcliffe
Kayla Sutcliffe
Postdoctoral Researcher,
Mathematics

Taylor Bainter
Taylor Bainter
Coordinator, Math Content

Don’t Take That Pencil! Strategies for Getting Students Unstuck in Math Class

November 10, 12–1 p.m. EST

When students get stuck in mathematics, our instinct is often to jump in and show them what to do. But what happens when we take over the thinking? In this webinar, participants will explore practical strategies for supporting productive struggle without removing students’ opportunities to reason and make sense of mathematics.

  • Examine how teacher and student responses to struggle can influence opportunities for mathematical thinking and learning.
  • Identify strategies for noticing and eliciting student thinking during mathematics instruction.
  • Apply practical strategies for helping students move forward when stuck while maintaining student ownership of the mathematical work.
Recording coming soon!
Webinar 1

Identifying Opportunities to Foster Mathematical Proficiency

  • Recognize the five strands of mathematical proficiency.
  • Identify opportunities in tasks and curriculum to develop these strands.
  • Analyze and adapt instructional choices to support all strands.
  • Apply strategies across grade levels to promote proficiency beyond procedural fluency.

Educators will deepen their understanding of mathematical proficiency and explore practical strategies for fostering it through instruction and curriculum. Participants will examine how the five strands of mathematical proficiency—conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition—can be intentionally developed in classrooms.

Through examples and activities spanning elementary, middle, and high school mathematics, teachers will learn to identify opportunities within tasks, lessons, and curriculum materials that promote meaningful mathematical learning. Participants will also analyze how instructional choices and curricular design can either support or limit students’ development of mathematical proficiency beyond procedural fluency, and consider ways to adapt tasks to better engage all five strands.

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Webinar 2

Strengthening Math Proficiency Through Mathematical Discourse

  • Identify key components of effective mathematical discussions and their role in developing math proficiency.
  • Analyze curriculum materials and tasks to determine how they promote or limit opportunities for mathematical discussion.
  • Implement teacher moves that encourage student reasoning, justification, and sense-making.
  • Develop actionable next steps for integrating meaningful mathematical discussions into daily instruction.

This webinar will help educators strengthen their instructional practices by leveraging mathematical discussions as a powerful tool for improving student understanding, reasoning, and communication. When students engage in purposeful discourse, they develop conceptual understanding, mathematical precision, and confidence in sharing their ideas. Teachers will benefit by gaining strategies that promote shared participation, support all learners (including English language learners), and make student thinking more visible—leading to more responsive and effective instruction.

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Webinar 3

Designing Rich Math Tasks That Build Mathematical Proficiency

  • Identify the defining characteristics of rich mathematical tasks.
  • Apply strategies that support student discourse across the four language domains: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Analyze existing curriculum tasks to determine their potential for promoting mathematical proficiency.
  • Apply strategies to enhance or adapt current tasks to increase rigor, engagement, and opportunities for reasoning.

Educators will deepen their understanding of what makes a mathematics task “rich” and how rich tasks foster mathematical proficiency. Teachers will examine characteristics of high-quality tasks that promote reasoning, problem-solving, conceptual understanding, and productive struggle. Participants will analyze sample tasks, identify elements that increase cognitive demand, and explore practical strategies for enhancing existing curriculum materials to create more meaningful and rigorous learning experiences for students.

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Webinar 4

Building Math Proficiency Through Mathematical Connections

  • Identify different types of mathematical connections (within grade, across grades, within mathematics, and to real-world contexts).
  • Understand how fostering connections supports the development of mathematical proficiency.
  • Analyze curriculum and instructional practices to determine how they support or limit connections.
  • Apply strategies to intentionally highlight and build connections during instruction.

Participants will explore the essential role of mathematical connections in developing deep and lasting math proficiency. Teachers will examine how connections within a grade level, across grade levels, within mathematical domains, and beyond mathematics to real-world applications strengthen student understanding. Through practical examples and instructional strategies, participants will learn how to intentionally design learning experiences that help students see mathematics as a coherent, connected discipline rather than a set of isolated skills.

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Webinar 5

Student Habits, Engagement and Mathematical Proficiency

  • Understand the role of productive struggle in building mathematical proficiency.
  • Recognize the value of errors as a natural and important part of the learning process.
  • Identify strategies to increase student engagement and perseverance in mathematics.
  • Apply instructional practices that promote positive mathematical habits and mindsets.
  • Develop actionable steps to foster a classroom culture that supports risk-taking, reflection, and sustained effort.

In this webinar, participants will explore the critical role of student habits and dispositions in developing mathematical proficiency. Teachers will examine how productive struggle, perseverance, and a positive approach to errors contribute to deeper understanding and long-term learning. Participants will learn practical strategies to create classroom environments where students are actively engaged, take intellectual risks, and view mistakes as valuable opportunities for growth. The session will also highlight ways to foster student ownership and sustained engagement in mathematics.

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Webinar 6

Strengthening Math Professional Learning in Florida: Findings and Recommendations

  • Understand the current landscape of mathematics-specific professional learning across Florida, including key gaps in access, quality, and support
  • Identify the features of high-quality professional learning most valued by teachers, coaches, and administrators and how these align with research
  • Consider strategies for strengthening mathematics-specific PL through job-embedded learning, coaching, and system-level support

This webinar will share key findings from two recent briefs on mathematics-specific professional learning in Florida and highlight what they mean for the design of stronger, more coherent PL systems. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the current gaps in access, quality, and system support for math-specific PL, as well as practical insights into how districts and state leaders can better support sustained, job-embedded, high-quality professional learning.

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Webinar 7

When Students Need More: Increasing the Impact of Mathematics Instruction

  • Examine research-informed practices that increase the impact of mathematics instruction for students who need additional support.
  • Use evidence of student thinking to identify current understandings, misconceptions, and specific barriers to learning.
  • Identify targeted instructional supports that address students’ learning needs while maintaining access to grade-level mathematics.

The purpose of this webinar is to help educators respond effectively when students struggle with grade-level mathematics. Teachers will examine research-informed practices that can increase instructional impact while preserving the rigor and coherence of grade-level mathematics. Participants will leave with practical strategies for using evidence of student thinking to identify specific learning needs, provide targeted support, and make instructional adjustments that build both immediate understanding and long-term mathematical proficiency.

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