New Cubed Conference Recap

This year I attended my first New Cubed conference held by the Associations of Mathematics Teachers of New York, New Jersey, and New England. For short AMTNYS, AMTNJS, and AMTME. Get it now “New Cubed”. Here are my takeaways from the conference.

Mike Flynn a keynote speaker touched on creating powerful moments in class. It led you to reflect on how many powerful moments you experienced in math class, and how many of those experiences are we providing to our students.

Negative and positive math experiences listed. Negative are worksheets, homework, lecture, tests and quizzes. Positive are hands on and open ended.

Some negative experiences we’ve had and are giving are worksheets.

My friend Hilary Kreisberg gave a compelling presentation on how to prepare students for the future. Students need to be proficient at complex problem solving for jobs that haven’t even been created yet. I had a great partner during that session that worked with me on solving some rich tasks. 

Quote- 65 percent of children entering primary schools today will ultimately work in new job types and functions that currently don't yet exist.

By the way, Hilary, along with Matthew Beyranevand, are the authors of Adding Parents To The Equation which I highly recommend for parents to get. I’m also going to suggest that districts purchase this book. Raffle it off during a math/parent night. Hold a book club in your community with your parents. Help build the bridge between parents and math. It will help alleviate the math anxiety some parents have.

Alison Mello and Nicki Newton had us explore how to use bead strings as a number line. I was familiar with bead string activities. I was floored when they shared that you could change the bead colors to represent decimals. I always found that using bead strings for decimals was confusing because students just spent so many years seeing these bead strings as whole numbers. What a small detail that has a strong impact.

Heidi Bromley presented some hands-on activities you could use when balancing equations at the primary level. I want to point out how the clothespins have digits on one side but the representation of those digits on the other. I found some ways to differentiate this activity, which I plan to use at my future PD’s.

Clothespins on a popsicle stick with the equation 1 plus for equals 2 plus 3
Clothespins on a popsicle stick with the equation 1 plus for equals 2 plus 3 using dots not digits.

Lynda Brennan had us reflect on productive beliefs from Principles To Action using a Q-Sort. Whenever you can be reflective throughout the year and see how much you’ve grown as an educator it is a positive experience.

Mary Altieri spoke about differentiation and truly hit the nail on the head. I say this all the time during my presentations. Differentiation does not mean everything you make has to be different. You can have one activity that reaches all students in different ways. 

Jenny Tsankova presented some great strategies to unpack word problems. 

Marianne Strayton had us explore photo number talks. I know many of us have seen these. My recommendation is to go out in your community to find photos that could be brought back to math class. Below is an example of one I posted on Instagram a while back. It is the ceiling of my nail salon. How many arrays do you see?

The ceiling of a nail salon with arrays of tiles and arrays of lights.

Denise Rawding had us play with some numberless word problems and shared great resources from her site Primary Math Stations.

The last presenter I saw was Jim Matthews. He kept me on my toes with some high-quality tasks. Putting yourself in the “student” seat is very humbling. There were many other great presenters, the ones above were the sessions I attended.

The theme that ran across all these sessions was that our classrooms need to be an environment of problem solvers not problem performers, with opportunities for compelling experiences. Below are some of the ones I played with, feel free to share your answers in the comment section.

Math problem. In the bard there are chicken and pigs. There are 13 heads and 46 feet. How many pigs and chickens are there?
The proof is in the pudding word problem

It’s always an excellent conference if you can leave with some swag. I was fortunate enough to get all of these resources. 

A pile of math books and math games.

Going to conferences is important for growing our pedagogy. But not all districts can afford to send many teachers and coaches to national conferences like NCTM. It can be very expensive with travel included. State and regional conferences can be much cheaper which means you can send more teachers for the same amount it would cost to send a few teachers to a national one. So I am encouraging you to take a look at the state/regional conferences in your area. If you are from New York like me check out the AMTNYS website.

Check out:

Math Struggles Ain’t Just About Numbers

Let’s be B.F.F.R—math can stress kids out. You’ve seen it: the frozen-in-place stare, the pencil tapping like it’s sending an SOS, or the classic “I CAN’T DO THIS!” meltdown before even trying. But here’s the thing—most of the time, their struggle isn’t about numbers. It’s about mindset.

What if we borrowed some life coaching techniques to help our students not just survive math but actually thrive in it? Let’s break it down into simple, practical ways you can empower your students without turning into a full-blown therapist.

 Reframe the Narrative (A.K.A. Flip the Script on “I’m Bad at Math”)

Ever notice how kids say “I’m bad at math” like it’s their official personality trait? That belief is holding them back more than any tricky word problem ever could.

How to Do It:

  • When a student says, “I suck at math,” respond with: “You’re still learning. Let’s find a way that makes sense to you.”
  • Introduce the Power of Yet: “You don’t get it… yet. But your brain is working on it!”
  • Share stories of people who struggled with math and overcame it (bonus points if you can find famous athletes, musicians, or influencers).

Remind them that they once thought tying their shoes was impossible, and look at them now—shoe-tying pros. Math is just another skill that takes practice.

Teach Emotional Regulation (Because Frustration Is a Math Blocker)

We can’t expect students to push through challenges if they’re spiraling into math-induced panic mode. When frustration kicks in, their brains hit the “I’m out!” button.

How to Do It:

  • Pause & Breathe: Before jumping to the “I CAN’T,” have students take a deep breath. Try “breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4.” Simple, but it works.
  • Break It Down: Instead of tackling the whole problem at once, ask, “What’s one thing we DO know?” Small wins build confidence.
  • Normalize Struggle: Post a sign in your classroom: “Mistakes Mean You’re Learning.” Say it. Live it. Believe it! As Naruto says.

Set Micro-Goals (Because Big Goals Can Feel Overwhelming)

If a kid already feels lost, telling them “just keep practicing” is like saying, “just climb this mountain real quick.” Instead, break it into steps.

How to Do It:

  • Instead of “Get better at multiplication,” set a goal like: “Practice a doubling/halving strategy.”
  • Use progress charts so students can SEE their growth. 
  • Celebrate the small wins! Even if they only got one more right than last time—that’s growth!

Remind them “If you can memorize every single lyric to that TikTok song, you can 100% remember a few math strategies.” 
Honestly research shows long term memory is activated when we leverage different modalities in our lessons. It’s how the brain learns math.

Shift from Performance to Progress (Because Speed Ain’t Everything)

Fluency is about thinking efficiently, not racing to the answer. The goal isn’t to turn kids into human calculators—it’s to help them use numbers flexibly.

How to Do It:

  • Replace timed tests with strategy-based challenges (ex: “How many ways can you solve 12 × 8?”).
  • Instead of praising fast answers, celebrate smart strategies: “Ooooh, I love how you broke that down!”
  • Remind them that even adults use tools like calculators and sticky notes—real math is about knowing how to approach problems, not just getting the answer instantly.

 Teach Self-Talk (Because Their Inner Voice Matters More Than You Know)

The way kids talk to themselves about math shapes their experience with it. If they constantly say, “I can’t do this,” their brain believes it. Time to switch up the self-talk game.

How to Do It:

  • Teach “I can” statements: Instead of “I don’t get it,” try “I don’t get it YET, but I can figure this out.”
  • Have students write down one math strength (even if it’s “I’m good at counting on my fingers” – that’s a start!).
  • Encourage students to talk to themselves like they’d talk to a friend. Would they tell a friend, “You’re dumb at math”? No? Then don’t say it to yourself either!

Emphasize- “You wouldn’t let your best friend talk trash about you, so don’t let your brain do it either!”

Coaching Math Mindsets for the Win

At the end of the day, teaching math fluency isn’t just about numbers—it’s about helping kids believe they can figure things out. When we shift from just teaching math to coaching their mindset, we create students who are not only fluent in math but confident in life.

So, here’s your challenge: What’s one small move you can try this week? Whether it’s shifting self-talk, celebrating small wins, or breaking down frustration, pick one and run with it.

Oh, and if you want more strategies like these, check out my Figuring Out Fluency series, (Book 1) (Book 2) where we make fluency engaging, empowering, and (most importantly) actually make sense.

And if you want more math mindset strategies, grab my Guide For Teachers To Help Students With Growth Mindset