Math Therapy

Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru

Math Therapy explores the root causes of math trauma, and the empowering ways we can heal from it.  Each week host Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru, dives into what we get right and wrong about math education, and chats with some of today’s most inspiring and visionary minds working to make math more accessible, diverse, and fun for students of all ages. Whether you think you’re a "math person" or not, you’re about to find out that math people don’t actually exist – but the scars that math class left on many of us, definitely do. And don’t worry, no calculators or actual math were involved in the making of this podcast ;)

  1. 1d ago

    Fluency & Flexibility aren't the math F-bombs you think they are w/ Christina Tondevold

    Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) One of the most misunderstood words in math ed right now is "fluency", so Vanessa invited an expert on the podcast to demystify it: educator Christina Tondevold.  Christina calls herself a "recovering traditionalist" - she committed to stop teaching students in the same ineffective ways she was taught as a student. They discuss a ton of practical strategies you can bring to your classroom, such as: showing students how connected math is (in class and in their lives)building fluency on 3 balanced pillars: efficiency, accuracy, and flexibilityteaching students to learn math by teaching them to be problem solversIf you enjoy this conversation, sign up for Christina's free 3-day virtual summit August 10-12, 2026 featuring Vanessa and a ton of other incredible speakers! Register here for the FREE "Build Math Minds Thinking Summit"About Christina: (Website) Christina Tondevold is a Recovering Traditionalist - she previously taught mathematics traditionally and expected the students to parrot back what she taught them.  Now she gets to work with teachers in developing students’ mathematical understandings in a balanced way by developing conceptual understanding while working on procedural fluency through her site BuildMathMinds.com where you can get PD at Your Fingertips. Contact us: Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, EmailMath Therapy: Text the PodcastMore Math Therapy: Get the book: Corwin, AmazonAudiobook: Audible, SpotifyMerch store: Shop here

Trailers

4.8
out of 5
35 Ratings

About

Math Therapy explores the root causes of math trauma, and the empowering ways we can heal from it.  Each week host Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru, dives into what we get right and wrong about math education, and chats with some of today’s most inspiring and visionary minds working to make math more accessible, diverse, and fun for students of all ages. Whether you think you’re a "math person" or not, you’re about to find out that math people don’t actually exist – but the scars that math class left on many of us, definitely do. And don’t worry, no calculators or actual math were involved in the making of this podcast ;)