
Ep 3: Break Your Limiting Beliefs, Enjoy Teaching Math with Marta Garcia & Polly Wagner
07/17/22 • 22 min
Summary
Many times, as educators we think to ourselves “my students can’t do this.” Does that statement say more about us and our state of mind than it does about our students? Seasoned mathematics educators Marta Garcia and Polly Wagner join the show to discuss how to support a discouraged teacher and how to design coaching or professional development sessions for math teachers.
Who You Will Hear
Marta Garcia is an independent math consultant who has worked with schools, districts, and universities to "ReImagine '' Math as vibrant, inclusive, and accessible.
Polly Wagner specializes in K-8 mathematics, supporting schools, administrators, and teachers to think strategically about improving the mathematics teaching and learning in their district.
Timestamps
[02:15] Who are Marta Garcia and Polly Wagner?
[05:45] How can you infuse art with mathematics?
[07:20] What if students could say “I didn’t think of it that way”?
[10:17] How do we support discouraged math teachers?
[12:00] How do teacher beliefs limit or empower student ideas?
[16:58] How to design coaching or professional development sessions for math teachers.
Links
Math Coach Connection: https://www.mathcoachconnection.org/
Math Coach Connection: Twitter
Connect with Marta Garcia: Twitter
Connect with Polly Wagner: Twitter
Follow Math Unmuted on Twitter @MathUnmuted
Summary
Many times, as educators we think to ourselves “my students can’t do this.” Does that statement say more about us and our state of mind than it does about our students? Seasoned mathematics educators Marta Garcia and Polly Wagner join the show to discuss how to support a discouraged teacher and how to design coaching or professional development sessions for math teachers.
Who You Will Hear
Marta Garcia is an independent math consultant who has worked with schools, districts, and universities to "ReImagine '' Math as vibrant, inclusive, and accessible.
Polly Wagner specializes in K-8 mathematics, supporting schools, administrators, and teachers to think strategically about improving the mathematics teaching and learning in their district.
Timestamps
[02:15] Who are Marta Garcia and Polly Wagner?
[05:45] How can you infuse art with mathematics?
[07:20] What if students could say “I didn’t think of it that way”?
[10:17] How do we support discouraged math teachers?
[12:00] How do teacher beliefs limit or empower student ideas?
[16:58] How to design coaching or professional development sessions for math teachers.
Links
Math Coach Connection: https://www.mathcoachconnection.org/
Math Coach Connection: Twitter
Connect with Marta Garcia: Twitter
Connect with Polly Wagner: Twitter
Follow Math Unmuted on Twitter @MathUnmuted
Previous Episode

Ep 2: Whose Voices Are Missing? with Jenny Cheng & Ed Campos Jr.
In this episode, we discuss how teacher voice and student voice are connected. For students to feel empowered, teachers must also be empowered. In our conversation, we explore how to safely encourage quieter students to speak up, how teachers can gradually develop their unique teacher voice, how to prioritize the many tasks you have to juggle as a math teacher, and how math teachers can use observation as an opportunity to raise student and teacher voice in the classroom.
Who you will hear from
- Jenny Cheng is a Mathematics Coordinator at the Santa Clara Office of Education
- Ed Campos Jr. is a Consultant at Kings County Office of Education
Links
Connect with Jenny Cheng: Twitter
Connect with Ed Campos Jr. Twitter
Follow Math Unmuted on Twitter @MathUnmute
Next Episode

Ep.4: How To Give Collaborative Feedback As A Math Coach with Marta Garcia & Polly Wagner
Summary
In this episode, we talk about how math coaches can elevate the math experience for teachers and students and discuss how you can become an even better coach. In our discussion, we explore how to provide feedback without being controlling, how to uncover teachers’ hidden goals, and how to avoid making your math coaching overwhelming to math educators.
Marta Garcia is an independent math consultant who has worked with schools, districts, and universities to "ReImagine '' Math as vibrant, inclusive, and accessible.
Polly Wagner specializes in K-8 mathematics, supporting schools, administrators, and teachers to think strategically about improving the mathematics teaching and learning in their district.
A small taste of today’s episode:
(15:23) “The job of a mathematics coach is to see teachers, to believe in them, and their potential, and their capacity for learning and teaching - while also giving them something new to get excited about.”
(15:53) “We certainly believe that schools are places where students learn and grow, but they must simultaneously be places where the adults who are in that building are also learning and growing.”
Links
Connect with Marta Garcia: Twitter
Connect with Polly Wagner: Twitter
Follow Math Unmuted on Twitter @MathUnmuted
Join the professional learning network: https://www.mathcoachconnection.org/virtual-match-coaches
Join the math coaching collaborative: https://www.mathcoachconnection.org/general-5
Listen to Episode 3 - Break Your Limiting Beliefs, Enjoy Teaching Math with Marta Garcia & Polly Wagner: Apple Podcasts
Jim Knight’s 7 Partnership Principles: https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/What-Good-Coaches-Do3.pdf
Zaretta Hammond’s work: https://crtandthebrain.com/about/Central Valley Networked Improvement Community (CVNIC)
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