Hey guys, it's Vanessa, AKA, The Math Guru, and welcome to Math Therapy. Okay, this isn't just another episode, because as of today, Math Therapy is officially a weekly podcast. If you've been listening to the podcast for a while, which I know so many of you have, you know that normally we've only done 10 episodes a year, and while that was amazing, I always felt like, ugh, there are so many other people I want to interview, there's so many ideas I have, there's so many episodes I wanna do, but I felt so restricted and I've been working a long time to get this going so that we can just have a new episode for you every single week. So every single Thursday you can expect a new episode of Math Therapy. So make sure you're subscribed on whatever podcast app you use so you never miss a week. Now to kick off the season, I know it's back to school and some of you have already been in school for like a month, but as of today, every single educator is back in the classroom. And I know it's such a stressful time. You're getting used to your new classroom, your students, like your new coworkers, if you've changed schools, like new routines, there's so much going on and I wanted to make my first episode something that could be really useful and practical without like, overloading you. So I thought, because so many of you have been doing math therapy book studies with my book, which I have loved by the way, I've also gotten so many messages from you being like, I love this so much, there are so many things I can use in the classroom, and I'm wondering what the one quick thing I can do right away is. I get that question all the time. What's one quick thing I can do right away? And I get that. You know, as educators we're so strapped for time. We have so much going on and math therapy's about healing relationships with math. It's about mitigating math anxiety. It's about deeply healing math trauma. And yeah, there are some things that take a little more time. But there are things we can do in literally five seconds that will totally change the game for us and our students. And on today's episode, I'm going to share five low lift, five second strategies, like tiny teacher moves that will have a huge impact on healing math trauma, and lowering anxiety. I'm actually so pumped because you guys can use these right away in the moment, and they will have a huge impact, and they will take you literally five seconds. So before we get to those, I also wanna tell you a couple of other like announcements. The first is the audiobook for math therapy is done. It is finished. It should be available on Audible and every single other audiobook platform very, very soon. I, I don't know when it just kind of drops and there's no like warning. So I don't know. It might be out right now. Go check. Also so excited to tell you guys that I have created an entire Math Therapy merch line, which will also be available soon. You can go to math therapy.com and click merch, and you're gonna see that all very, very shortly. So now you can wear your love for Math Therapy. Okay, one more thing. You can now text the podcast. So this year, you know, now that we're a weekly episode, or sorry, a weekly, uh, podcast, we're gonna be doing all sorts of cool things. I've got a ton of interviews with incredible guests that you're gonna love, but I'm also gonna be doing solo episodes, like today's episode where I'm just talking and sharing. We're also gonna be asking for questions from you guys and doing mailbag episodes where we ask for your stories. So if at any point you have a question or a suggestion or something you want us to do an episode on, you can now text the podcast by clicking the link in the description of this episode in whatever app you're listening to right now. You can also like DM me at the Math Guru on Instagram. Email me vanessa@themathguru.ca. Okay. Those are all the things I wanted to tell you. But let's do it. Let's get into it. You know, you don't have time. I already just said that. So I want to share right now, five low lift, five second strategies, five tiny teacher moves, that have a huge impact on healing math trauma, and lowering anxiety that you can use right now. And if you've got friends, teacher friends, district leaders, colleagues who are like, Ugh, I really wanna do some math therapy this year. I really wanna make math anxiety a focus. Make sure you send them this episode because this is totally gonna change the game for you and for them. Okay. Let's get into it.​Low lift Math Therapy strategy number one, watch your facial expressions and body language. Okay guys, I have been learning so much about the nervous system for the past two years. It is literally my obsession and it has changed my life. And one of the things I've learned is we are designed, we have evolved biologically to co-regulate with one another. I just, here, let me explain what that means. You know, when you kind of say like, you can feel someone's energy, or you're like, that person has bad energy, or their energy is off, or, I just love that person's energy. It's not a woo woo thing. It's actually science. We have evolved to be able to sense somebody else's energy so we can feel safe and we know when to feel scared. So that's actually often why we like partnership or we have these really great friends and we like spending time with them because when we're around them, our entire body's relaxed. You know, there are those people that like, you're relaxed when you're around them. Your shoulders drop down a bit, you breathe a bit easier. And then there are those people where you're around them and you like get really tense and your back is literally up, like your shoulders are raised and you're like, Ugh, like I just, I, everything feels tighter. Well, it's a real thing. And because it's a real thing, it happens in our classrooms and our students actually regulate off of our cues, and our nervous systems regulate off of their cues. So what that means is our body language and facial expressions actually have a visceral effect on somebody else, right? Like if we are feeling tense and our faces show that we're feeling tense. Our students can sense that, and they tense up alongside with us. In fact, when they say, you guys may have heard that like math anxiety is, uh, contagious, part of what that means is literally when we're really, really anxious because our students are co-regulating with us, that anxiety is contagious. Now, what this means is, it's actually really, really quick. It's a quick fix for you to deescalate when a student is in a state of anxiety. I'm gonna give you an example. The last episode, uh, we recorded when I was in Bali, actually was with this woman named Charizma. She's amazing. She was 30 and I helped her like work through her relationship with math. And so she's on this journey, she's healing her relationship with math, and she had this, like episode where she was doing math in her house and her boyfriend was testing her and she got the wrong answer to something. And she remembers and describes this moment so perfectly where she's like, everything was going well. And then he scrunched up his face. And she said it threw her into a literal spiral. Like he crunched up his face and said, how did you get that answer? You know, you know exactly what I'm talking about because I've done this so many times inadvertently to students. Like, I'm like, what? How did you do that? She said it completely dysregulated her. She had been in this state of like trying to actually do math and like feeling good about it and being okay with making mistakes, but as soon as he did that, it sent her entire nervous system into dysregulation, and that's a very real thing that happens. She ended up like spending the night crying. She talked to ChatGPT, who like gave her some of its own math therapy and eventually she ended up, up having like a really big talk with him and being like, this is what happened, and why you threw it, threw me off. And it was, it's, it's an amazing romcom story. He was like, oh my God, I totally get that and like I'll watch my facial expressions in the future. What this means for you is, we can't help it, right? Sometimes we just have these facial expressions, like our face scrunch up, or you know, like our body language, like we cross our arms. Just from this point forward, be mindful, right? Like when a student seems like they're really flustered, for example, or a student gets a wrong answer or does something in a way that like you didn't expect them to, or that surprises you, just take a, the briefest pause before you react. Check yourself, check what your face is doing, check what, what your body language is saying and just adjust. And the key things to keep in mind are stay neutral. Calm and open, even if you're confused or surprised. So just like really pause and just say the words neutral, calm, open in your mind really quick, and relax your face. Relax your, you know your arms, make sure you're not crossing your arms and just be in a relaxed position so that the student who's trying to co-regulate with you senses safety instead of danger. When you do that, you're telling students you're safe here. Struggle is normal. And that is the first step when it comes to Math Therapy. You are the safe space. You're creating that space simply by your facial expressions and your body language. And you can do that in five seconds. Okay, Math Therapy, low lift strategy number two is to watch your language. Words shape our identity. You know, there's a lot of research that shows the way we talk to ourselves and the way that people talk to us. That really makes its way into our narrative, into our general story about who we are and what we're capable of. But more than that, words have power. They can either reinforce or rebuke stereotypes. And often, even when we are well-meaning and trying to be positive, we might inadvertently reinforce a stereotype that we absolutely didn't mean to. I have a guest coming up that you guys are gonna hear from. She was actually on the Mel Robbins podcast. Her name is Dr. Sarah McKay. She's a neuro neuroscientist. And we had a fascinating conversation about how it's these tiny little micro, like these micro movements we do that can give students the idea that they're not capable of math, therefore reinforcing their math trauma. Because so much math trauma for so many students actually comes from the fact that they were made to feel like they don't belong in math class. And actually, this can happen to groups of people, right? Like girls are often made to feel like they can't belong by a lack of representation that has followed them historically. And in this example, she gives, she talks about how, so often we say the phrase, well, of course girls can do math too. And she pointed out that that phrase, which is obviously well-meaning, and we're trying to say, girls can do math. Just the word too at the end of that sentence makes it sound like boys are the default category of people who can do math, and sure, of course girls can do it as well. But if we just hook out the two and we said girls can do math, look at the difference of those two statements, right? Think about the message we're getting. Imagine someone just said, girls can do math too, versus girls can do math, right? The second one is a statement of power. It's a statement of fact. It's a statement of obvious, like, no, they're not the secondary group. So I'm using that example just to say that, it really is this very subtle thing, you know? I know it's really hard to be like, oh my God, we've gotta watch every single word we say, but that's not what it's about. To me, it's just about reflecting and really thinking about how we use language, right? Being really purposeful with the words we use and being open to examining them. So when we replace limiting language with just more inclusive phrases like, you know, another one I love, like I used to always say to students, oh, this is really easy, don't even worry about it. Or we'd get to like a more difficult concept that I knew most students might struggle with, and I'd say, oh, this is really hard for everyone. And what I thought was when I said, this is really easy, I thought that was gonna deescalate students. And when I said, this is really hard for everyone, I thought it would make them feel like, you know, less like icky if they didn't, if they struggled with it. But what I didn't realize is. Those two words, easy and hard, was actually setting them up for feeling anxious. Right? When I said, this is really easy, don't worry. The message is, well, if everyone else thinks it's easy and I don't, then maybe there's something wrong with me. And when I said, this is really hard, don't worry about it, the message was, oh my God, all these other students think it's hard. I'm never gonna be able to get it. So it just made me really think of like, I'm not perfect, you know, I'm not saying I know the exact words to use, but I really try to think about my language before I say something, right? Especially to students who might be generally anxious with math, but to students in general. So, this low lift strategy really is just about watching your language, right? It doesn't say police your language, it just says watch it. Think about the words you're saying. Reflect about, you know, we as teachers have phrases we say often, we say all the time, like we all have like our thing. Just think about those things and make sure that the intention is really matching the result. So watching your language is really just about that. Just watching our phrases, our everyday language to make sure the intention we have behind saying what we're saying matches the impact that they're having on our students. Just remember every word you say is a part of rewriting your student's math story, and they're so lucky to have someone there to help them do that. And don't be hard on yourselves. Remember, this is about watching your language, that's it. That's all you have to do. All right. Math Therapy, low lift strategy number three, ask students to explain their thinking. I know we've heard so much about this, right? Like we are all about student thinking now and that is so amazing. But here's what I want you to know. Anxiety actually peaks when students think that math is just about right answers. We've seen it firsthand and there's so much research to support it, but anxiety actually peaks for teachers. When they think that math is just about right answers too. So this strategy is for you as well as your students. I don't know about you, but I used to always get super flustered when a student would get to an answer in a way that I didn't know how to get to or like even actually, I think this is worse when they don't get the right answer, but that I can't understand what it is that they're doing. And I feel like I, you know, I feel like I would just be like, no, that's wrong, just do it my way. Instead of, maybe they were actually on the right track but I actually couldn't see them getting there because I didn't know what they were doing. And in my flustered like whole thing, I'd just be like, just do it the way I taught you how. And what was happening in those moments when I look back is my math anxiety was totally flaring and so was theirs because there was this disconnect where they felt misunderstood and I was just so scared that, I didn't know, you know, what was going on, I didn't have a real firm understanding on the math and that they were gonna figure me out. In a few weeks, you're gonna hear from Mike Flynn, and we had an incredible conversation about how asking for thinking builds identity in both teachers and students. When a student feels like their thinking is valued, it breaks the walls down, right? Because often our students just feel like my only job here is to get to the right answer, and if I can't get to the right answer, and if I can't do it quickly, I'm not a math person and I don't belong here just like I thought. But when we, instead of asking for the answer, ask about a student's thinking, all of a sudden there's this huge sigh of relief, right? You'll see them become more able to communicate. Their guard drops, they feel valued, they own the math. And for us as teachers, when we move from, what's the answer to tell me how you were thinking about this, the same thing happens to us, right? Instead of getting all flustered or you know, feeling like insecure about the fact that we don't know what a student is doing on their page, we open ourselves up to becoming the learner. We no longer have to be the expert in the room. Suddenly it's okay in the classroom for nobody to know what the answer is. And with math, that is one of the greatest sources of anxiety, is not knowing the answer. And when we focus on thinking, we normalize not knowing the answer because all of a sudden the focus is on the thinking. So the teacher move I'm gonna give you is simply this. I want you to swap the question, what's the answer for, tell me how you thought about this. And I would go so far as to say, you don't just have to do this when you feel like a student isn't getting it. I would try to replace this as much as possible, make this kind of the classroom code that, yeah, answers are important, but the thing you care about first before the answer is the thinking. Put that in the driver's seat, like put the spotlight on the thinking and the answers come later. This shifts students from performers to valued thinkers. It shifts them from this perfection oriented sense to a progress, process driven purpose. It really changes everything, I've seen it happen so many times, and it'll change stuff for you too, honestly. It opens everyone up to just chilling out, talking, being curious, noticing and wondering like we want them to, and if we want them to, we have to take the focus away from the answer. So your quick teacher move is just that, swap"what's the answer" for"tell me how you thought about this". Okay. Strategy number four. This is about body language, but it's actually so specific that I wanted to give it its own strategy. Strategy number four is actually about positioning yourself at the same height of the student that you are helping. Now, let me explain. I, we interviewed one of my old students, she's in grade 11 right now, and you're gonna hear from her in a few weeks. It was such an incredible conversation because obviously she hasn't read like Building Thinking Classrooms, right? Like she doesn't, she's not reading math education, books or going to pd. But she was explaining to me how her relationship with math shifted and she was talking about a lot of the different teachers she had. And she said that this year she had a teacher, and she said that something that stood out to her and actually made such a differences when her teacher would help her, you know, with a math question, she would kind of like crouch down next to her next to her desk, so she was her, you know, her eyesight, they, they were eye level kind of, and would help her from that vantage point. And she was like, it made such a difference. She was like, normally teachers are like towering over me and they're like shifting around and making it so, you know, they're kind of like above me and making it clear that they don't really wanna be there or that like they have power over me or something. And she was like, when this teacher would crouch down next to me or even like, take a seat next to her, she was like, it completely relaxed me. And it's really interesting because, this works because power dynamics matter. Standing over a kid can actually feel really intimidating. I even think about this weekend, my sister brought her new dog over and I, okay guys, I have to say I'm not like great with animals. I, I, it was a really cute small dog, so I went down to pet it. Now, if you have a dog, you know that the worst thing you can do is from your height as a human. Bring your hand down to pet the dog. The dog almost bit me. Like she freaked out and I was like, oh my God, what's going on? And my sister was like, you can't like calm down from over top like that, right? Like it intimidates the dog. So then I crouched down and I was like eye level with her little cute dog and like pet her that way. And I was totally fine. Obviously our students are not dogs, I'm not like comparing them, but you can kind of like see what I'm talking about, right? For somebody who's low when we're high, there's a very distinct power dynamic. And you have to remember that so much math trauma has unfortunately happened in classrooms for students, right? Like they have had bad experiences with math. They're in our classrooms with baggage from their previous experiences. So a lot of them do have a negative relationship or perception of what being a math teacher is and what the role of the math teacher is in their lives. So just by doing this simple move, again, five seconds just by crouching or sitting beside a student when helping, it completely changes that dynamic. It reduces any anxiety that a student is already feeling from having to ask like this expert in the room, that they may already feel intimidated by, a question. It changes the entire dynamic. When you do that, you're signaling I'm with you instead of I'm above you. I'm really curious for you to try this one out. When, when Taylor said it on the podcast, I was just struck by like, oh my God, she didn't read this in a book somewhere. Like she experienced it and she's living proof that it can completely change a student's relationship with learning math. Okay, guys, we are down to the last strategy, low lift, Math Therapy strategy number five is my favorite one, one that I have used for the past 15 years and it's simply to ask students about their math story. And honestly, guys, I'm gonna, I'm gonna break it down even further because that you're probably like, that's not gonna take five seconds. You know what will take you five seconds? Saying the words, have you ever had a bad experience with math? Here's the thing. Most of us, not only students, most adults assume that they've always been bad at math or they have just always hated math. And they never unpack why. Right? We kind of assume that's just the way it is. Like I, I don't know. I just hate math. I don't like it. Uh, it's really interesting because I've met so many adults who when I ask why, they're stunned. They're like, I, I don't know. I've just always hated it. And then I'll say, have you ever had a bad experience with, and everything changes in that moment. Here's the real fact of it. We as humans are not good at asking questions. Like I, I'm serious. I want you to ne the next time you go out with friends, I mean maybe not your best friends, but like you go out with acquaintances or you meet someone and you have a coffee or like you have a casual conversation, I want you to clock how many questions that person asks you. I have noticed that people ask shockingly few questions. It's like my new obsession in life. I won't go that far into it. My point is that most students and most adults. Are experiencing the same thing. They are not being asked that many questions, that many probing deep questions by the people in their lives. And most people never think to ask, have you ever had a bad experience with math? Because most people assume that if somebody doesn't like math, it's a totally normal thing because most people don't like math, right? Like we've heard the story time and time again. So. By you simply asking, have you had a negative experience with math, the next time a student exhibits math anxiety, they tell you they hate math, they don't wanna do math, like you know, all the signs. Let me tell you what's gonna happen when you ask that question. Number one, it's going to validate their feelings. Number two, it's gonna open up a conversation where they can reflect on why they have a negative relationship with math, possibly for the first time ever. Number three. In that conversation, you are going to be able to see where their math trauma might lie. You're gonna hear stories, right? Not only are they unpacking this for themselves, here's the other thing, when they unpack something for themselves like this, they start realizing there's a reason why I feel the way I do, and that is such a powerful moment. Instead of feeling like I was just born hating math, all of a sudden there's a reason. And when there's a reason, there's an opening to solve a problem. And we as teachers need to hear the reason, right? Like if somebody, if a student says something like, yeah, this one time this thing happened to us, or this one time my boyfriend actually told me that, you know, girls suck at math, all of a sudden we have an opening to be like, oh my God, well now that I can see that, let me help you with it. Right? Like, now we know where our entry point is. And when that happens, it gives you an entry point to reframe their identity, to help them rewrite their math story. We can't help a student rewrite their math story unless we know what math story they've been carrying this entire time in the first place. So your teacher move here is simply to ask the question, have you ever had a negative experience with math, and to see what unfolds? You know, guys, I'm gonna tell you, I know, I know I said these things could be done in five seconds, and you're probably thinking, well, this conversation can't happen in five seconds. Asking the question can happen in five seconds, but let me tell you something. I have often found that by simply asking the question, even if a student is kind of like, Hmm, I'm gonna have to think about this, or they say a couple things and it doesn't seem that impactful, later on you're gonna find out that you asking that question actually unlocked something for them. Seriously, it is the asking that validates a student's experience and allows them to reflect, and that opens up to the possibility of maybe something being rewritten. When you ask that question, you're saying your feelings about math make sense? And guess what? They can change, and I'm here to help you change them. Okay guys, so there you have it. Five low lift, five second strategies you can use right away to bring math therapy into your classroom. I'm gonna recap them all for you so you don't forget. Strategy number one was watching your face and body language strategy. Number two, watch your language. Strategy number three, ask for a student's thinking instead of the answer. Strategy number four, getting on a student's level physically when you're helping them out. And strategy number five, asking a student if they've had a negative experience with math. Each of these take five seconds, but honestly, they send a massive message about safety, belonging, and identity. Like they're gonna make a huge difference. And because they're, I know they're gonna make a huge difference, I'm gonna give you guys, not homework, but like a challenge for the week. I want you to pick one of these five and try it this week and notice how it shifts your classroom. Pick any one of the five and then I want you to text me, text the podcast and let me know how it went. Remember, you can text the podcast by clicking the link in the show description, the episode description right in your podcast app. You can also DM me@themathguru on Instagram, email me, vanessa@themathguru.ca. I really wanna know what happens. And honestly, if you're listening to this and thinking, oh my God, I was just chatting with my friends about how we're gonna tackle math anxiety this year. I want you to send this episode to them right now. Literally, your teacher friend, your district leader, your supervisor. Anyone who you think could benefit.'cause I really wanna make this year about making math feel safe, human, and healing for our students and ourselves. And we can start with these five strategies right away. Okay. Now that we've wrapped all that up, I kind of need some feedback. If you know me, if you've seen me in a presentation, you always know how I talk about needing validation, and it's something I am working on with my therapist. But for now, because we have infinite episodes ahead, I really wanna know what you thought of this podcast, and if you thought it was useful. I, I honestly get very self-conscious about recording solo episodes. Like I'm always like, oh my God. Does anyone want to hear me talking for like 30 minutes straight? I wanna know if you think this was useful and if you did, and great, and if you didn't, just say it nicely. Um, I'm gonna be doing a lot more of these and I wanna know what kind of tips you want, what strategies, what you wanna hear about. So again, you can text that to me as well. Next week you are gonna be hearing from, I'm so excited to tell you this little sneak peek right now. You're gonna be hearing from Eugenia Cheng. I know I've been trying to get her on the podcast forever. I have been successful. Our conversation blew my mind. And that is the next episode you're gonna get. So remember, we're weekly now, so make sure you're subscribed to, you don't miss a single episode. They drop every Thursday morning. Okay. I think that's it for this week. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for all the work you are doing to help students build a better relationship with math. And if you're not a teacher, thank you for all the work you're doing to help us collectively heal, to be open to these conversations, to heal your own math trauma. I always say we may not all be teachers of math, but we are all teachers of math attitude. Seriously. So thank you for being here, for doing the work, for reflecting, for working on yourselves, for being you. And now I will conclude by reminding you that Math Therapy is hosted by me, Vanessa Vakharia. It's produced and edited by David Kochberg. Our theme music is by our band Goodnight Sunrise. And if you guys know anyone who needs math therapy, please share this podcast with them. Rate or review it on whatever podcast app you use. Those things make a huge difference because they help Math Therapy reach more people. I'm as determined as you are to change the culture surrounding math, and I need your help. So spread the word and until next time, until next week, peace, love pi babes.