For far too many students, the classroom experience of learning math devolves into rote memorization of algorithms and procedures without true understanding. Unfortunately, 5th grade elementary teacher Crystal Harris can relate—her own early math struggles planted the seeds of math anxiety.

"During my younger years in school, I always tried to be the best student I could be, but math didn't come easily for me, and I felt like the teachers rushed through it," she shared during a talk with Brittany Hege from Mix and Math. "I actually received outside tutoring growing up, which I think attributed to some of my anxiety as well. I felt as if I wasn't as smart as other kids because I needed outside help." Those feelings of insecurity around needing extra math support followed Crystal into her early teaching career and helped shape her thinking as a teacher.

It took deep reflection before Crystal could start changing those beliefs. She suggested, "We really have to reflect on our own schooling to see if something just didn't click with us and how can we change the explanation of the concept to make sure that we don't have kids falling through the cracks like we did."

A pivotal shift in Crystal's beliefs occurred when she carefully analyzed her students' data. "I had been through some PDs where we talked about how your students' percentages sometimes reflect on your own teaching. So maybe it's not the students, maybe it's you, and you need to look back at what YOU need to change," Crystal recalled. "And so for me, that was kind of an 'aha moment' that inspired me to go back and figure out, okay, either I don't know what I'm doing or I need to change something."

This 'aha moment' catalyzed Crystal's heartfelt journey to transform her mathematics instruction and regain her confidence in the subject she had once struggled with. The path wasn't easy, but Crystal immersed herself in meaningful professional development that proved transformative. This included Mix and Math's summer training opportunities, which had Crystal "amped and excited to show the students in my class how to do it, [which then made] their excitement grow."

Opportunities to deepen her content knowledge of using models and math manipulatives, like base ten blocks, were real game-changers. "I got to work with manipulatives alongside some district math teachers who showed us how to use base ten blocks to multiply. And I just was flabbergasted," Crystal raved. "I think that may have been my turning point."

While incorporating new instructional strategies did invite some initial student pushback, Crystal remained committed and created systems to make it work. Crystal shared how having a system for manipulative use made a positive impact on her classroom. She uses organized manipulative boxes for students and follows a routine every time. "You must put those in place and keep repeating and repeating that structure over and over again. You can't assume that they will remember it the next time you get manipulatives out. You have to go through that structure."

Crystal’s routine also includes allowing students "two minutes of play" with the manipulatives before each lesson, a classroom routine she admittedly "wouldn't have thought of had I not gone through some of [Mix and Math's] trainings," she told Brittany.

As her own math content knowledge grew through professional learning, so did her courage to deviate from the pacing when her students needed more in-depth instruction of certain concepts. "You need to teach the standards and pull in what helps teach that standard. A curriculum shouldn’t prescribe everything because that may not be the best fit for every student," she advised other teachers.

Many teachers feel pressure following the curriculum's pacing guide even when they know their students haven't fully grasped the concept yet. Prioritizing student understanding over pacing has allowed Crystal to focus on conceptual understanding and helping students truly make connections to build their math foundation.

She explained, "We have this scope and sequence that says we're supposed to be at a certain spot at a certain time of year. So I spoke with my principal about how it just wasn't going to work that year. If my students didn't understand multiplication, we would not be able to move on to division because they would be able to divide appropriately if they didn't know multiplication to begin with."

Perhaps most impressively, Crystal's passion and enthusiasm for refining her craft through professional learning opportunities appear insatiable. "I love professional development. What teacher says that?" she laughed when recounting how friends questioned her desire to engage in Mix and Math's summer training. Her passion for learning is evident when she says, "I'm just always looking for those opportunities to better myself and how to better my own teaching." She embodies a life-long learner.

Crystal's journey showcases how stepping out of your comfort zone, being vulnerable, and purposefully building your own math content knowledge can transform your teaching. While her path to becoming an empowered, engaging math teacher wasn't easy, Crystal’s story serves as an inspiration for any educator struggling with math anxiety or searching for ways to help their students find deep understanding and joy in math.

As Crystal and Brittany expressed, "It's a journey—it takes time, experience, learning, and collaboration,"—but it is a journey worth taking if you're committed to growing as an educator.