October 30, 2026higher-order thinking (HOT), Math Classroom, Teaching Mathby Math for All

Teacher Questions that Advance Student Higher Order Thinking in Mathematics

We math teachers tend to ask a lot of questions as we work with students. These questions have various purposes, including building relationships, establishing and strengthening norms, communicating processes, and managing student activities. Many, of course, focus on mathematics content. Here we explore teacher questions that support student higher order thinking about mathematics content. These questions are designed to develop facility with those mathematical practices necessary for complex problem-solving, including connecting concepts and approaches, extending students’ thinking by making and testing conjectures, making generalizations, being creative, and applying critical thinking.

September 17, 2026Belonging, family math, Learningby Math for All

Family Math Starts With Belonging

A family math event can be a joyful opportunity for children, families, and educators to play, talk, and discover mathematics together. But creating a welcoming event involves more than selecting an activity, sending an invitation, and arranging refreshments. It begins with a deeper question: How can schools create a space where every family feels that they belong—and where families’ knowledge, languages, experiences, and ideas help shape the event?

June 12, 2026Growth Mindset, Math Classroom, Mathematicsby Math for All

Fostering Mathematical Hearts

You have likely heard of a growth mindset in the math classroom, and maybe you even follow the work of Carol Dweck and Jo Boaler. The concept of a growth mindset has helped many of us rethink how students approach challenges, maintain effort, and learn in mathematics. But I ask you to consider something slightly different: What does it look like to foster students' mathematical hearts, not just their mathematical minds?

May 19, 2026Cognitive demands of mathematical tasks, higher-order thinking (HOT), Neurodevelopmental Functionsby Math for All

Teacher A and Teacher B: Seeing the Possibilities of Universal Design for Learning 3.0

It can be said that teaching is an art because teachers can be eclectic in shaping and refining their instructional approaches using a variety of research-based strategies, mentor-informed tools, and action-oriented guidelines. One noteworthy set of guidelines is Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The guidelines support teachers in incorporating the UDL concepts into their practices while also offering viable ways for teachers to support learners. UDL 3.0 is the current version that has value-laden principles and meritorious themes for promoting student learning and student efficacy. It was developed in response to the robust appeal from educators and researchers to “address critical barriers rooted in biases and systems of exclusion for learners with and without disabilities” (CAST, 2024).

April 16, 2026Math Classroom, Teaching Mathby Math for All

Self-Differentiating Problems

Years ago, I served as a math specialist at a small progressive pre-K–8 school. The classes were generally small, and during one year in particular, the fifth grade population happened to be predominantly male and included a few precocious boys who tended to dominate math class. The parents of the girls in this grade banded together and asked that the girls be taught math separately to make sure their developing mathematicians’ minds weren’t squashed by the vocal majority. So I was called in to teach this experimental class.

March 25, 2026Language, Math Classroom, Multilingual Learnersby Math for All

Planning for Multilingual Learners in Math, Part 2

There are two broad considerations when planning support for the English language development (ELD) of students who are multilingual learners (MLs) within general education mathematics lessons in the United States. As we wrote about in Part 1 of this blog series, the first consideration is to understand and articulate mathematics language expectations for your students. Second—and the focus of Part 2 in this post—is to determine whether and how to adapt an individual lesson so your students meet those language expectations along with the associated mathematics content objectives. A language-focused version of the Math for All lesson adaptation process can act as a springboard for the co-development of language and mathematics.

February 10, 2026Learning, Mathematicsby Math for All

Setting High Expectations

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't—you're right.”
—Henry Ford

This quote is attributed to Henry Ford in 1947, but it stems from a long history of ideas about mindset, self-fulfilling prophecies, and expectations. As a teacher, I adapted the wording to my context: “Whether you think they can, or you think they can’t, you’re probably right.” I learned the truth of this rephrasing during my early years as a classroom teacher.

January 9, 2026Language, Math Classroom, Multilingual Learnersby Math for All

Planning for Multilingual Learners in Math, Part 1

As math teachers, when we are serving students from different countries—those whose parents studied outside of the U.S., or those for whom English is a second or additional language—we should take time to orient ourselves to their background knowledge and assets. It is through a growing understanding of who they are, and the resulting dialogue, that we can honor the “funds of knowledge” they and their families contribute to our educational system and to our math classrooms.

December 3, 2025Cognitive demands of mathematical tasks, higher-order thinking (HOT), Neurodevelopmental Functionsby Math for All

Math for All and Supporting Students’ Higher-Order Thinking

Over the past few decades, researchers, educators, and policymakers have agreed upon the importance of fostering students’ higher-order thinking (HOT) in mathematics, which has led to reforming mathematics curriculum, instruction, assessments, and teacher training (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Developing higher-order thinking is essential for students’ success in learning mathematics. Math For All employs a neurodevelopmental framework (NDF) to analyze the cognitive demands of mathematical tasks. This framework identifies eight key areas of cognition that can come into play when learning: language, sequential ordering, spatial ordering, motor functions, psychosocial functions, attention, memory, and higher-order thinking.

November 4, 2025Mathematics, Rich Mathematics, Strengths-Based Approachby Math for All

Engaging all Students: Rich Tasks and a Strengths-Based Approach

Consider the following 6th-grade task from Illustrative Mathematics. Take a few moments to solve it using any method you like.

Jessica gets her favorite shade of purple paint by mixing 2 cups of blue paint with 3 cups of red paint. How many cups of blue and red paint does Jessica need to make 20 cups of her favorite purple paint?

Did you read the problem and hear yourself mutter “Hmmm…”? Were there multiple options to consider for working out a solution? Did you find yourself mulling over why one strategy was stronger than another? Could you solve this question quickly or did you need to take your time? Did you arrive at an answer?

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