Math ed needs more conversations like this w/ Pam Harris episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 9, 2025 · 46 MIN

Math ed needs more conversations like this w/ Pam Harris

from Math Therapy · host Vanessa Vakharia

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)Today's ep ended up in a different place than Vanessa expected when she first sat down to chat with Pam Harris, founder of Math Is Figureoutable. Their first real interaction was on the DebateMath Podcast; Pam insisted that learning algorithms/shortcuts can actually hold students back from true learning, while Vanessa advocated for kids to learn however works for them.Often, that's where it ends.  Worse, especially in the "everyone yell at each other" media landscape, the conversation never begins!  Which makes today's episode so refreshing - a debate that was more philosophical than ideological. Pam and Vanessa had the time to really go into depth about what they disagree on and where they see eye to eye ... spoiler alert, they're actually pretty aligned!Links discussed:Math Is Figureoutable PodcastFree resource download: mathisfigureoutable/big#MathStratChatVanessa & Pam debate algorithms on the DebateMath PodcastOutliers by Malcolm GladwellAbout Pam: (Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook)Pam Harris is a leading math educator, author, and speaker best known for her work on making math figure-out-able. Through her books, podcast, and teaching, she helps classrooms move away from rote memorization and answer-getting, and toward math as something students can sense-make, reason through, and truly understand. She’s passionate about showing that math isn’t about tricks or steps—it’s about thinking, starting with the knowledge students already bring to the table.Contact us:Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, EmailMath Therapy: Text the PodcastMore Math Therapy:Get the book: Corwin, AmazonAudiobook: Audible, SpotifyMerch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Today's ep ended up in a different place than Vanessa expected when she first sat down to chat with Pam Harris, founder of Math Is Figureoutable. Their first real interaction was on the DebateMath Podcast; Pam insisted that learning algorithms/shortcuts can actually hold students back from true learning, while Vanessa advocated for kids to learn however works for them. Often, that's where it ends. Worse, especially in the "everyone yell at each...

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Math ed needs more conversations like this w/ Pam Harris

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This episode was published on October 9, 2025.

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Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)Today's ep ended up in a different place than Vanessa expected when she first sat down to chat with Pam Harris, founder of Math Is Figureoutable. Their first real interaction was on the DebateMath Podcast;...

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