Let’s chat—send me a text!

“Projects sound great…but when are students actually learning the math?”

That’s a fair question—and the answer isn’t simply putting more calculations into the project.

In this episode, we’re talking about how to intentionally keep deep, rigorous mathematics at the center of PBL using one of my favorite project-design tools: milestones and milestone markers.

Using my Wasted Space Geometry Project as an example, we’ll explore how students can use surface area, volume, modeling, constraints, and optimization to redesign product packaging—and how intentional checkpoints make their mathematical thinking visible along the way.

We’ll talk about:

• The difference between a deadline and a mathematical milestone
• How milestone markers give you evidence of student learning
• Checking individual understanding during collaborative projects
• Using project evidence to decide when students need instruction or practice
• Why the final product should never be your only evidence of learning

Milestones organize the learning journey. Milestone markers give us evidence that the learning happened.

✨Ready to design your own meaningful math PBL experience? PBL Kickstart is my $17 on-demand workshop designed to help you get started with the mathematics you already teach. Enroll in PBL Kickstart Today

Reflection: If I looked only at the milestones in your project—not the final product—could I tell what mathematics you want students to learn?

This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There.

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!

*Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text!

“I’d love to do more projects…but I just don’t have time.”

If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you.

Because somewhere along the way, we started assuming that good project-based learning has to mean a massive, multi-week project complete with research, presentations, fancy final products, and approximately 47 things for the teacher to manage.

It doesn’t.

In this episode of The Modern Math Teacher, we’re talking about how to right-size PBL for the mathematics, your curriculum, and the instructional time you actually have.

We’ll explore the continuum from rich tasks and performance tasks to mini-projects and full PBL experiences—and why bigger doesn’t automatically mean better.

I’m also sharing four practical ways to shrink a project without shrinking the mathematics.

In this episode:

• Why good PBL doesn’t have to take three weeks
• How to right-size a project around the mathematical goal
• The difference between rich tasks, performance tasks, mini-projects, and larger PBL experiences
• Why smaller projects aren’t watered-down PBL
• How “project bloat” steals instructional time from the mathematics
• Four ways to make a project more manageable
• Why you can weave a project into instruction instead of saving it for “project week”
• What you should NEVER cut when shortening a project
• Why starting with one manageable project is enough
• The goal isn’t to find more time for PBL.
  It’s to design PBL that fits the time you actually have.
  
  

Ready to Get Started with PBL?

If you’ve found the place in your curriculum where a project makes sense but you’re still wondering how to turn that idea into an actual learning experience, PBL Kickstart is for you. Enroll in PBL Kickstart and Start Planning Now

PBL Kickstart is my $17 on-demand workshop that walks you through planning your first project-based learning unit in three simple steps—without assuming you have unlimited planning time or three empty weeks in your pacing guide.

Because you don’t need to transform your entire classroom.

You need one good place to start.

This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There.

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!

*Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text!

Two hundred episodes ago, I thought I had a much clearer idea of what kind of math teacher I was.

I was a project-based learning teacher.

Since then, I’ve taught using the Modern Classrooms framework. I’ve embraced Building Thinking Classrooms. I’ve changed the way I think about mastery and assessment. Now I’m teaching with Illustrative Mathematics and falling in love with inquiry, mathematical discourse, and giving students more opportunities to make sense of mathematics together.

And somewhere along the way, I realized:

I don’t actually need to choose.

For Episode 200 of The Modern Math Teacher, we’re taking a break from strategies, resources, and the usual back-to-school conversations to reflect on how my teaching has evolved—and why I hope it never stops evolving.

I’m sharing how my relationship with EdTech has changed, why I’m increasingly interested in AI as a tool for teachers rather than something we need to put into students’ hands simply because we can, and why I no longer think being a “modern” teacher means chasing the newest thing.

We’ll also talk about what hasn’t changed.

PBL still has my heart. I still want students experiencing mathematics that is real, relevant, and rigorous. I just have a much bigger instructional toolbox for getting them there.

In this episode:

• How I’ve evolved from a PBL teacher using Modern Classrooms to BTC and now an inquiry- and discussion-focused IM classroom
• Why I no longer feel like I need one instructional identity
• What each phase of my teaching has added to my instructional toolbox
• How my relationship with EdTech has changed
• Why I’m rethinking the role of AI in the math classroom
• Why “modern” teaching has more to do with intentionality than technology
• Why PBL still has my heart—even though I don’t need every day to be a project
• The value of staying curious enough to keep changing your mind

Let’s Stay Connected

For Episode 200, I just want to hear from you.

What’s something you’ve changed your mind about as a math teacher?

Reply to one of my emails, find me online, or send me a message and tell me what the teacher you are today believes that the teacher you used to be didn’t.

Thank you for listening, reflecting, experimenting, and learning alongside me for 200 episodes.

Here’s to whatever we learn in the next 200.

Until next time, keep it real!

This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There.

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!

*Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text!

When Should You Use Math Projects? 4 Signs a Topic Is Ready for PBL

Not every math standard needs a project.

Yep. I said it.

Sometimes students need an authentic problem to solve, decisions to make, and an opportunity to actually USE the mathematics they're learning.

And sometimes? They need practice.

In this episode of The Modern Math Teacher, we're talking about how I decide which parts of my curriculum have real project potential—and which ones I'm perfectly happy teaching, practicing, and moving on from.

I'm sharing four things I look for when deciding whether a topic is a good fit for a project:

- Does the math have a natural real-world application?

- Does it give students something meaningful to reason about or decide?

- Is the content meaty enough to justify the instructional time?

- Can I connect it to something my students will actually care about?

We'll also talk about why real-world doesn't automatically mean relevant, why forcing every standard into a project isn't the goal, and how some of the best math projects actually have procedural practice baked right into them.

Because projects and practice aren't opposites. The goal is knowing when each one is the right tool for the learning.

🎧 In this episode:

- How I identify standards with strong project potential

- Why modeling, interpreting, comparing, and decision-making are project green flags

- When procedural practice really IS the better instructional choice

- Why a real-world context isn't enough if students don't care about it

- How my Spheres of Relevance help me evaluate project ideas

- Why strong projects can—and should—include opportunities for practice

- How to find one realistic place to start adding projects to your curriculum

🆓 RESOURCE: Project or Practice Guide

Want help figuring out where projects make sense in your math curriculum?

Grab my free Project or Practice Guide. I've gone through the secondary standards to help you identify which ones lend themselves naturally to projects and which ones may be better suited for practice.

👉 moorethanjustx.com/guide

Ready to Design Your First PBL Unit?

Once you've found the right place in your curriculum, PBL Kickstart will help you turn that idea into an actual project-based learning experience.

This $17 on-demand workshop walks you through planning your first PBL unit in three simple steps—without turning your entire curriculum upside down.

👉Join the Kickstart: PBL Kickstart

Until next time, keep it real!

This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There.

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!

*Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text!

What if creating more meaningful learning experiences in your math classroom didn’t require completely changing the way you teach?

Because when teachers hear “project-based learning,” it can feel like a complete classroom makeover.

Rewrite every unit. Redesign your curriculum. Stop giving direct instruction. Turn everything into a project.

Nope.

In this episode of The Modern Math Teacher, we’re talking about why meaningful change happens one intentional decision at a time—and why you’re probably much closer to creating the classroom you want than you think.

I’m sharing how my own classroom evolved through years of small changes in questioning, discussion, assessment, collaboration, relevance, and instructional design before project-based learning became one powerful piece of that bigger picture.

And most importantly, we’re taking the pressure off becoming a “PBL teacher.”

You don’t need projects everywhere.

You need to find one place where students could move from knowing how to DO the mathematics to actually USING the mathematics.

In this episode:

• Why meaningful teaching doesn’t require a complete classroom makeover
• How small instructional decisions transform classrooms over time
• Why I became an intentional instructional designer before I became a PBL teacher
• Why you don’t have to become a “project-based learning teacher” to use projects
• How PBL can create real, relevant, rigorous mathematical experiences
• Why projects are one tool—not the goal
• The pieces of PBL you may already be using in your classroom
• Why your first project shouldn’t be your giant dream project
• How to identify one realistic place to start

Ready to Take Your First Step into PBL?

If you love the idea of project-based learning but don’t want to completely overhaul your classroom, PBL Kickstart was created for you.

Inside this $17 on-demand workshop, I’ll help you take mathematics you’re already teaching and begin turning it into a real, relevant, rigorous project-based learning experience.

Sign Up for PBL Kickstart

You don’t need to redesign your entire curriculum.

You need one good place to start.

Your Reflection Question

Where in your curriculum are students currently learning how to DO the math—but could have an opportunity to actually USE it?

This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There.

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!

*Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text!

What if the biggest shift you could make this school year wasn't changing your curriculum—but changing the way you think about planning?

In this episode, I share the mindset shift that has transformed my classroom. Instead of asking, "What activity should I do?" I now start with a much different question: "What experience do I want my students to have?"

We'll explore how this simple change impacts every instructional decision, why meaningful learning experiences don't have to be elaborate, and how intentional planning can make mathematics more memorable for your students.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why planning experiences changes everything
• The difference between activities and learning experiences
• Questions to guide intentional lesson design
• Why meaningful learning doesn't require elaborate projects
• How small instructional decisions create lasting impact

🎁 Free Resource

Download the Gold Standard Project Planner:

👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/projectplanner

This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There.

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!

*Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text!

Being a Modern Math Teacher isn't about using the newest technology or following every educational trend.

It's about intentionally designing learning experiences that help every student think deeply, feel like they belong, and see themselves as capable mathematicians.

In this episode, I reflect on five beliefs that have transformed my own classroom and explain why becoming a Modern Math Teacher isn't a destination—it's an ongoing journey of intentional growth.

In this episode you'll learn:

• The five beliefs that guide every instructional decision I make
• Why intentional teaching matters more than trendy teaching
• How reflection fuels professional growth
• Why becoming a better teacher is about asking better questions
• What it truly means to be a Modern Math Teacher

🎁 Free Resource

Download the Gold Standard Project Planner:

👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/projectplanner

This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There.

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!

*Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!

Let’s chat—send me a text!

Have you ever felt like your curriculum was holding you back?

You're not alone—but what if the curriculum isn't actually the problem?

In this episode, I share how my perspective on curriculum has evolved and why I no longer believe great teaching comes from finding the "perfect" textbook. Instead, I explain how small, intentional instructional decisions can transform the learning experience for your students.

Whether you teach Illustrative Mathematics, CPM, Reveal, Carnegie, Big Ideas, Eureka, or another curriculum entirely, this episode will help you see your role as more than someone who delivers lessons—you are the designer of your students' mathematical experience.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why curriculum is a tool—not your identity as a teacher
• Simple ways to adapt lessons without rewriting them
• Questions to ask before teaching any lesson
• How professional judgment improves student learning
• Why two teachers can teach the same lesson and create completely different classroom experiences

🎁 Free Resource

Download the Gold Standard Project Planner:

👉 https://moorethanjustx.com/projectplanner

This podcast is a member of the Teach Better Podcast Network. Better Today. Better Tomorrow. And the Podcasts to Help You Get There.

Connect with Kristen:

• Follow on Instagram @moorethanjustx
• Join the Facebook Community: The Modern Math Teachers Movement

More About the Modern Math Teacher Podcast

Kristen Moore, classroom teacher and instructional coach at Moore Than Just X, empowers modern secondary math teachers to transform the student experience with the strategies and the confidence to implement project-based learning, mastery-based assessment, and student engagement strategies in their classrooms.

Whether you're a math education newbie or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something new and inspiring in every episode. You’re already a listener, why not join the Movement inside ✨The Modern Math Teachers Movement Facebook group. Join the community of math teachers who are not afraid to shake things up and make math class the best part of the day for our students. So tune in each Tuesday, have some fun, and let's elevate our math teaching game together!

*Amazon orders may provide a small affiliate payout at no extra cost to you. These payouts help keep the podcast free for all!