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This verse stuck with me the other night. "Be merciful to those who doubt" Jude 1:22 NIV The main point of the book of Jude is for believers to “contend for the faith,” and the verse above comes toward the end of the letter, in a section about how we should contend for the faith. When someone has doubts, we should show compassion for them, not judgment or condemnation. But what struck me the other night wasn’t just that we ourselves should be merciful to those who doubt. My m

We agree on our grading philosophy, but my students increasingly choose to not do practice assignments. I actually arrived here looking for a strategy to increase students completing practice assignments. I recently received this comment on one of my Standards-Based Grading workshop videos, and I think it gets at a frustrating reality for teachers: How do we get students to complete practice assignments? That’s a loaded question. Student motivation is complicated, and every c

One of the more impactful paragraphs I’ve read about teaching mathematics came from Henri Picciotto in his post, Mapping Out a Course. Throughout the unit, go back and forth between easy and hard the whole time. Avoid the trap of starting easy and gradually making it harder, for two reasons. One, starting too easy gives the wrong impression, and students don’t launch into the unit with the right attitude. Two, gradually getting more difficult gives the impression to some stud

What if one of the most useful assessments you gave your students wasn't graded? Free Chances are one of my go-to formative assessment strategies in math. They're short, ungraded assessments designed to give students a low-pressure opportunity to make mistakes while giving teachers a quick snapshot of what students understand and where they need help. The idea is simple: Give students a chance to show what they know before the learning is finished, then use what you learn to

I made a shift to teaching exclusively with students sitting in groups late in my classroom career, and it was one of the best changes I made. But if students are going to sit in groups all class, we need activities that are actually groupwork worthy. Not every activity has to be completed as a group, but I found that planning each class with collaboration in mind made groupwork much more natural. One of my go-to collaborative activities is the classic card sort. Card sorts a

Practice is a necessary part of learning mathematics, but that doesn’t mean it has to feel repetitive. Even a well-designed practice set can turn into students quietly working through problems one after another. Sometimes that’s exactly what students need. Other times, a simple change in structure can turn the same kind of practice into an opportunity for collaboration, discussion, and deeper thinking. Partner A Partner B is one of my favorite ways to do that. What Is Partner

There tend to be strong opinions when it comes to homework. Our goal here isn't to add fuel to that debate. We simply want to explain our philosophy, acknowledge that teachers may disagree, and share some ideas for what we'd do if we did give homework. Does Homework Help Students Learn? Research on homework is more nuanced than a simple yes or no. A major research synthesis by Harris Cooper and colleagues found that homework was more strongly associated with academic achievem

If you’ve ever browsed the When Math Happens curriculum, you may have noticed that spiraling practice is everywhere. In our courses, we call these assignments Staying Fresh Problem Sets because we think that name makes more sense to students and parents. So what exactly is spiraling practice, why do we use it so often, and how can you use it in your own math classroom? What Is Spiraling Practice? A spiraling practice set mixes problems from multiple math concepts. Spiraling p

One of the big themes of the When Math Happens Geometry curriculum and Geometry courses is Math is Art. That’s why you’ll find construction art challenges throughout the curriculum, with an art challenge included in every Geometry chapter. But it wasn’t always this way. When I first started teaching Geometry, I tried to avoid constructions as much as possible. They seemed confusing, difficult to teach, and even harder to make engaging for students. Then I discovered that a co

One of my favorite ways to unlock curiosity in math class takes just a few minutes. It's called an estimation challenge. For years, I put an estimation challenge on the projector as students walked into class. They made a guess, completed their warm-up, and then we paused to share estimates before revealing the answer. An estimation challenge is waiting for students as they walk into class. It was simple. No elaborate setup. No special materials. And students loved it. If I e

I’ll be honest: I don’t really like vocabulary. It’s not exactly exciting, and I think vocabulary can sometimes be overemphasized in math classrooms. But vocabulary is important. Students need a common language to communicate, explain their thinking, and make sense of mathematics. So instead of making vocabulary a list of words and definitions to memorize, I like to give students a reason to think about the word first. Here’s my favorite 5-minute routine for introducing math

Have you ever been in this scenario? You’re out with family or friends, and someone generously picks up the tab for everyone. For many of us, this is a difficult gift to receive. We politely protest, or we offer to at least pay the tip. If those don’t work, we make sure to return the favor later. And sometimes, it’s actually expected that we return the favor. But God doesn’t work like that. God’s Free Gift: A Debt Paid God has also paid the tab for us, but this time on a much

I’m nearly 40 now, so I’m almost, or maybe already, in the technical range of being called middle-aged. Where has the time gone?! I had a realization a few months ago that I think was confirmed recently while hanging out with friends. When we were younger, there always seemed to be so much to look forward to and strive for. What do I want to be when I grow up? Will I find a spouse? What things do I want to see and accomplish in my life? As time went on, we started checking ma

One of the most common questions I get about standards-based grading is this: “What do you do when a student misses a quiz?” And honestly? There isn’t a perfect one-size-fits-all answer. The best solution depends heavily on: your school context, your schedule, your student population, your campus policies, and your own personal bandwidth as a teacher. What works beautifully in one school may completely fall apart in another. So instead of giving a rigid formula, I think it’s

One of the most controversial parts of our grading system is this: The lowest grade in my classroom is a 50, not a zero. For some people, that statement immediately raises concerns. Doesn’t that lower expectations? Doesn’t that let students off the hook? Doesn’t that create entitlement? I understand those questions because I had many of them myself. And just like with retakes, I believe there absolutely need to be healthy boundaries around this policy. But after years of teac

Few topics in education create stronger opinions than retakes. Some teachers strongly support them. Others believe retakes lower standards, encourage poor habits, or fail to prepare students for the “real world.” And honestly? I think many of those concerns are valid. Retakes absolutely can become harmful if they are implemented poorly. I’ve seen situations where retakes turned into endless second chances without accountability or growth. But I’ve also seen the opposite probl

Once teachers see the structure of our concept quizzes, the next question is usually: “Okay… but how do you actually grade them?” Do we grade them like traditional tests? Do we give partial credit? Does this take forever? After years of refining the process, we’ve found that grading standards-based quizzes can actually be faster, clearer, and more aligned with student understanding than traditional grading systems. The Structure of the Quiz Each quiz in my classroom has: 3 pr

Once we’ve created our concept checklist, the next step is designing assessments for each concept. In my classroom, I call these assessments quizzes instead of tests. That may seem like a small detail, but language matters. The word “quiz” tends to feel less threatening to students, which helps create a classroom culture focused more on growth and learning than fear and performance. But the bigger question is this: What actually makes good standards-based grading quizzes? Aft

One of the biggest shifts in standards-based grading isn’t actually the grading itself. It’s deciding what truly matters. Before we can create quizzes, assess learning, or build a gradebook, we first need clarity on the most important concepts students should deeply understand during the school year. That’s where concept checklists come in. Example of a standards-based grading concept checklist from my classroom. What Is a Concept Checklist? A concept checklist is the foundat

Early in my teaching career, I kept running into the same frustrating pattern. A student would make a very low test grade… and then mentally check out for the rest of the grading period. Sometimes for the entire year. At first, I didn’t understand it. I cared deeply about my students. I encouraged growth mindset. I told students that mistakes were part of learning. I worked hard to create a positive classroom culture. But eventually I realized something important: My grading