Michaela Epstein

Maths educator. Founder, @MathsCirclesOz. Dominoes enthusiast. New mum.

I share:
- interesting maths & education ideas
- maths problems/puzzles I like.

[Angela Stott @ajgadd]

Wondering who to learn something new from in the world of math instruction?

I'm one of @mic_epstein's new fans & you might want to be too. Check out https://t.co/HcO1Z5zkqK & also @MathsCirclesOz to learn about what I am excited about.

Thanks @MakeMathMoments for the intro!

[Naomi Fisher @naomicfisher]

One of the first things many young people learn at school is that learning means being still.

At primary school it’s about sitting on your bottom and not fiddling with your pencil. Walking not running, and putting your hand up before you speak. Staying in your chair, even when you’re desperate to crawl under the table or lie on the floor.

At secondary school it carries on. Some schools insist that young people track the teacher with their eyes, and won’t allow them to reach into their bag for a water bottle without asking. Every move is choreographed and on command. They say this maximises learning.

We tell children that to learn they need to listen, and to listen they need to keep still. That’s particularly hard for children, and so a lot of their energy is spent trying to conform with that. For some, it’s much harder, and they get in trouble for bouncing and jumping. The movement bursts out of them, and then we tell them they can’t learn like that.

It’s not true. If you watch children learning out of school, they move and twirl and jump. They lie on the floor whilst listening to stories and hang off the monkey bars whilst they think. They ask unexpected questions at inconvenient times. They make new connections whilst sitting on the toilet, bouncing on the trampoline or when watching TV. They run around and then come back to the story. They express their feelings through their body.

Schools control children’s bodies to manage large numbers, but that doesn’t mean that stillness is the best way to learn. As adults, many of us must work hard to reconnect to our bodies. We’ve learnt to ignore our urge to move and we can’t understand why we feel so terrible after hours at a desk.

The things we learn at school run deep. But learning is about connection, not disconnection, and we can’t leave our bodies out of that.

Let’s reclaim our right to be active.

Many of us need to move to learn, and that goes both for our children and ourselves

[James Tanton @jamestanton]

Congratulations Michaela! What you have created and have thrive is beautiful and fabulous and wonderful. So impressive and so valued!
Here's to joyous math thinking, doing, playing, mulling, teaching, learning for all (especially homeland Aussie alls!)
@GlobalMathProj @AIMathCommunity

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

Hi @evernote , your recent update has meant that your product is no longer useful for me.

I have >10 yrs of content and want to download my data.

Your Help page isn't clear on how to do this. Please provide instructions.

Thank you.

[Carol Matsumoto @camats10]

@MakeMathMoments #MMMSummit2023 Powerful Math Routines for All Learners by @mic_epstein What math routines are you doing in your classroom? @camats10

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

@matthras @nomad_penguin Ooh this is fun. Thanks for sharing!

[Eddie Woo @misterwootube]

🃏 Excited to roll out the playing cards when I join @MathsCirclesOz on 26 Sep for this session with @Lenghaus & @mic_epstein. We're going to have fun exploring 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆 - register at https://t.co/kbnstZAZYm and join us!

[Joyful Math Jamborees @mathjamborees]

The very first JMJ of the year will be the fantastic @mic_epstein, presenting “Three Colour Towers” on Monday, June 12, 4pm PT/7pm ET!! This is going to a lot of fun! All are welcome!
@jamestanton @ejmgerber

Registration: https://t.co/K6mIlxA3dJ

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

@SergeGatari ACB

[Michaela Epstein @MathsCirclesOz]

Maths is the representation of numbers and structures.

[Michaela Epstein @MathsCirclesOz]

ON TOMORROW! Join us online for 2.5hrs of practical maths PL to deepen & inspire your teaching.

Connect w/ like-minded teachers, explore quality tasks, insightful teaching strategies & more. ❤️

HURRY - registrations close today! ➡️ https://t.co/afUzgnOfCn

#mtcoz #MTBoS

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

@mpershan haha I def didn't see the carbonated part in front of tea & coffee.

But leave that out & seriously - we have the BEST coffee here. Worth the trip over.

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

@DB_Barnhart @stephaniemlee @chronicle You can get access to 3 articles for free if you sign up.

[Michaela Epstein @MathsCirclesOz]

How often do you DO maths & play around with new ideas?

Join teachers like Carmen & take time out to invest in YOUR own learning.

We run regular practical & interactive professional learning sessions all year. They're online - so you can join from wherever you are.

[Michaela Epstein @MathsCirclesOz]

If you're a teacher, and want engaging AND quality maths lesson ideas-

We're running an exclusive online session next week - you'll get hand-picked tasks you can use with all your students, & new teaching strategies you can implement right away.

Interested? DM us.

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

@s_hellessey @MathsCirclesOz This is interesting.

One edit to what you've got: n/0 is undefined. Does that change what you're thinking?

[Michaela Epstein @MathsCirclesOz]

How can justifying & explaining ideas help students to go deeper & better remember what they learn?

Join like-minded teachers together with presenters Margarita Breed, Thomas Moore & @mic_epstein to find out!

Register today ➡️ https://t.co/afUzgnOfCn

#MTCoz #MTBoS #iteachmath

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

@hamma_town @MrDixonMath 😃😊 I'm saving this thread!

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

@danmcarr Yep, we're on the same page. Thanks for teasing this out, Dan.

[Michaela Epstein @mic_epstein]

Each school in Australia has an ICSEA ranking. It stands for Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage.

But did you know one of the 3 factors behind how this is calculated is 'Percent indigenous student enrolment'? How does that make sense?