Naomi Meredith [00:00:00]:

What are some practical ways that you can implement math and also help kids think about math differently in your STEM instruction? This is the 7th episode of my STEM in action series, where we are breaking apart each letter in STEM to give you ideas on how to boost up each component in your instruction. I am interviewing guests who specialize in each of the letters, and I also share my quick tips to give you some ideas when you are lesson planning. For our guest today, I am talking with Dr. Christopher Roblész, who is the founder and CEO of Math N' More. Doctor Roblész possesses a profound passion for mathematics and holds a professional teacher certification in mathematics and special education across various states. He recently completed his doctorate in education and applied learning sciences and has an application of metacognition in secondary mathematics. Throughout his educational career, doctor Roblész has undertaken various roles, including math interventionist, network math specialist, special education director, and school administrator. Robos and I were on a live call together for the STEM Crew Magazine, and I thoroughly enjoyed his passion for math and how he helps students to be successful. His philosophy definitely aligned with mine in terms of how you should teach kids math.

Naomi Meredith [00:01:46]:

During the live, I actually asked him in the chat for his email so that he could be a guest on my podcast for you guys to hear. But, also, he was also a guest on my podcast for kids, the STEM Career Quest podcast, where I interview people who are in STEM jobs to help inspire them about what they wanna be when they grow up. So in that episode, he shares about what it's like being an entrepreneur with a math focus. So make sure to go and check out that episode. I am so excited for you to get to know Roblész and all of the amazing tips and tricks when it comes to implementing math and also getting kids excited when they are thinking through those problems. 

Naomi Meredith [00:02:52]:

Well, thank you so much, Roblész, for being here. We met on a live call with Tiffani Teachey for the STEM Crew Magazine. And when you were speaking as this whole guest experience we were in together, I knew I had to have you here on the podcast. And I actually messaged you in the chat during the live event. Like, I need your information. We need to connect. And so, I really appreciate you being here today and talking with teachers and parents out there about all things math, and I'm so excited for our conversation.

Naomi Meredith [00:03:32]:

So, if you wouldn't mind telling us, brief if you could briefly describe your background about you and Math N' More and how you got into this space.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:03:41]:

Yes. Indeed. First of all, thank you for having me. I am excited and elated to be here today. Happy Pi Day. Today is March 14th, so happy Pi Day. And just a little brief overview about myself and Math N’ More. I've been in the education space my entire life.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:03:59]:

I started out in 2009 as a math interventionist at a middle school in New York City. Then I progressed my career over the years, from being a math coach to an assistant principal to special education coordinator, and district leader, all of these different roles. That was not the order in which I served in those roles, but I've done all of those different things. And then at the height of the pandemic, I saw a need that needed to be addressed as it pertains to mathematics and students having access to mathematics, mathematic education, and, like, tutorial services. So, I created Math N' More. So, Math N' More was founded in the height of the pandemic to address scholars who had deficits in that. And it was because of those deficits and my experience as an educator that I was able to address those concerns and support students right where they were. So all of it culminating, yes, it was a very hard time and COVID was a very unique experience for us all.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:04:58]:

But out of COVID, we had the birth of Mathew Moore. So I do think that it was an experience for us.

Naomi Meredith [00:05:05]:

I love that. That way, I love how you just culminated all of your teaching experience into your program and saw that need, and I feel like there are so many different things that popped up during that time with teaching online. And like you said, you noticed those gaps in math and all of that. So what does Math N' More what do you, specialize in? So math, obviously, but what does Math N' More do?

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:05:33]:

Tutorial services after school and during our summer program. We offer personalized tutoring services throughout the school year for students in 1 on 1 and small group instruction. During the summertime, we offer a very unique small group intervention type style program where students are in small groups, where there are peer instructions with an adult educator who is actually honing in on just those high-ticket items that you would normally see as deficits in a classroom throughout the school year, but they're actually going through them and combing them out. So that way, when they go to the school year, the new school year, they have summer gains and not summer losses. The and or part of it is where we support students with wraparound services. So I'm really big on community programming and making sure that the whole student is supported. The majority of our scholars do have an exceptionality, meaning that they have an IEP or a 504, the IBA, act. And we do support with IEP writing.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:06:35]:

We sit on the board, the panel of the IEP meeting, the 504 meeting. We sit through the MTSS process if necessary for the parent. We educate parents. We host workshops. Our most staple event that I'm sure you know about, is Pi Day. So Pi Day just happened in Atlanta, Georgia, this past Saturday, where we brought community school leaders from different STEM organizations together, and we celebrated the Mathematica constant pie.

Naomi Meredith [00:07:04]:

Oh, that's great. This is so perfect. I'm I love how we are recording a big event for you. That's amazing. That's so cool. And I love how it's there's so many different offerings to help support students in math. And, how how do the kids respond to these types of interventions? Because maybe they've had certain experiences in school that have been positive or not so positive. What have you seen with the kids in your programs?

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:07:38]:

So the students that are in our program, we've had a 100 percent matriculation rate to the next grade. And particularly, and I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but I think we started off at, like, 45%. In our last inaugural summer program in our 6th/7th grade cohort, we started off at, like, a 45% proficiency rate. So the students take a placement exam at the beginning of the program, data data data. Right?

Naomi Meredith [00:08:06]:

Yeah.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:08:06]:

But then at the end of the program, students scored a 93% proficiency as it pertains to the skills that we targeted. So it really does show that our program through individualized support, through this, connection because as Stephen Covey said, no good learning happens from people that you don't like. So we build connections, we build bonds, and then we teach. And then through that teaching, we allow for exploration and saying, it's okay to fail forward. It's okay to not understand. We create a safe space, and then, ultimately, students learn.

Naomi Meredith [00:08:42]:

That is so true. And I feel like with any teaching space, it really goes back to those relationships. And, like, it does change your whole teaching environment, whether it is the small group or the whole group instruction. Students definitely need to feel safe in your space and, connect with you, and I've seen that with even creative projects. I've talked about it in the podcast before where when I first started my STEM class, my students had a hard time getting into the projects because they weren't they didn't know me yet, and they didn't know the type of environment it would be to fail forward and, be creative because it is such an a vulnerable, place to be in when you're creating something. And so, we definitely built that up built that up, and it changed students' attitudes for sure, towards our STEM projects and how they wanted to attack everything. And so I'm so glad that that is a core value of what you're doing with kids. That is extremely, extremely important, and I don't know if all programs are like that.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:45]:

And so that's really good that you keep that in the forefront with what you're doing.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:09:50]:

Yes. Absolutely.

Naomi Meredith [00:09:52]:

So, speaking of the things that you are doing to encourage, students in math, you mentioned the relationships and, you have yours and then you teach your programs. When it comes to their mindsets and encouraging the kids in math, are there any strategies you recommend for teachers or things that you do in your program where maybe a teacher well, there's a couple things. So kids who might be reluctant in math, and then we can go into more of, even with teachers that they're really struggling just teaching math in general. So, two audiences.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:10:26]:

Yes. So, the one thing that makes what I do so important in the work that it makes it so impactful is because I actually use metacognitive strategies to implement the teaching of mathematics. So, it is so underutilized. And, honestly, I'm not too sure how many people studied metacognition. I know that Flable in 1977 was like a staple researcher as it pertains to metacognition, but there are not really many new studies that pertain to it. But it actually lends itself to so many other things as it pertains to the development of mathematics and then self esteem, which can lend itself to social emotional loan learning and growth. So utilizing those metacognitive strategies inside a classroom is a tip that I would give teachers because it's just honestly the thought process about the thought process. Yeah.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:11:26]:

But it's also a great strategy for the students because now the students are being reflected about what they did, how they did it. They're actually using graphic organizers. They're structuring their work in a way that is unique. We don't think about math as a as a structure. We think about computation. We think about just input, output, and values and numbers, but it is a structure. It is the way sySTEMs work. It is a language indeed.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:11:53]:

So by getting kids to understand that, to respond to it in that way and not just these numbers that they see isolated for 45 to 60 minutes a day, and that it is something that is cross-curricular, that it is something that you will see in science, something that you can see in art, something that you can see, in your daily life when you're just going down to the grocery store, then it gets them to buy in a little bit more, and now they're intrigued. Now, their interest is sparked. Now they know what to do and how to respond because they have reflected and know what that reflection process is like. And now they can circle it back again. Like, okay. I didn't get it, but I reflected on it. I know what I'm doing, and this is what I can do for next time.

Naomi Meredith [00:12:36]:

Are there, like, specific, like, a lesson you have in mind where what that might look like? Like, if you're teaching, like, fractions or place value, like, how does that look if a kid is reflecting on a specific math problem?

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:12:52]:

So in elementary school, I don't teach elementary school, very often, but, I have coached and supported elementary school teachers.

Naomi Meredith [00:13:02]:

Mhmm.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:13:03]:

So just thinking about fractions, as you said, getting kids to think about stop think and locate, stop think and locate the denominator, stop think and locate the numerator. Where would this number go? If it's an improper fraction, where are you gonna put this? How are you gonna set this up? Do you need a graphic organizer? How do you structure an improper fraction? Having kids a think aloud is nothing more than a metacognitive strategy.

Naomi Meredith [00:13:29]:

Yeah.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:13:29]:

You don't have to use this big word, to appease these kids because the kids aren't gonna know what you're talking about anyway.

Naomi Meredith [00:13:36]:

Yeah.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:13:36]:

So just tell them to, like, okay, well, think about it. What would you do? How would this work? Get them to reflect in real time about that particular lesson, and then also tell them remove the word math out of it. We're talking about a fraction. A fraction is a part of a whole. If I have a cookie and you have a cookie, how many cookies do we have? How many whole cookies do we have? And if I was to break the cookies in half, what does that look like? You're taking away the math and creating a vulnerable space because a 2 year old can talk about how many cookies they have.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:14]:

Yes.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:14:16]:

Now you're putting a standard and a strategy to it by calling it fractions and teaching it in 3rd and 4th grade. That's the only difference.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:25]:

Mhmm.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:14:25]:

But a 2 year old knows how many cookies they have. Trust me. So now build on that prior knowledge and talk about those sand cookies that they talked about when they were younger.

Naomi Meredith [00:14:35]:

That's so great and making it real. Like, there is a connection to these math concepts. They're not so ambiguous, and even going back to, like, that concrete pictorial and abstract, like, connecting those together and making it, very visual, whether it is a STEM teacher or just a teacher, implementing, math in general. I mean, in elementary, you almost teach everything. Most teachers have to teach all the subjects, and so, I like how you're using that positive language and also just here's what's happening, that let's think about this. Let's make sense of it. It's not as scary as you might think. That's really that's really, really, really helpful in just the language that teachers can shift in the way that they're talking about math.

Naomi Meredith [00:15:21]:

And you made it sound so happy. And, I mean, cookies.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:15:26]:

Right. Exactly. I really do think that, one of the strategies that we can do and we should implement is implementing in the use of the math dictionary. Not many people are aware that there's an actual math dictionary.

Naomi Meredith [00:15:41]:

Yeah. I didn't know this. But

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:15:44]:

but when you use the math dictionary let me backspace for a second. When you're in English class and you are trying to write a paper and you're trying to synthesize and you're let's take it down to elementary school. When students are learning vocabulary words for the first time, they have to learn the vocabulary word. What do they have to do? They have to look up the word. They have to do all of these things. Right? They are exploring. They're using exploration to define in their heads what this means.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:12]:

Yeah. Why

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:16:12]:

aren't we using the same strategy in mathematics? Mhmm. So you utilizing a math dictionary allows for students to feel safe with the concept now because they're using a strategy that was already taught to them in a different classroom. Mhmm. A Freya model is an a great example of a metacognitive strategy that can be implemented in a math classroom, that can support with math language.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:39]:

Gotcha.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:16:39]:

And if at any point you want me to explain, because I know I've now I've used metacognition for your mom all the time. Like, I trust that the teachers listening to this podcast fully understand all of these different ideas, but I'll be happy to explain.

Naomi Meredith [00:16:54]:

Oh, yeah. Just give a recap of the Frayer model because some people might just be listening on the go. They probably know, but then when you're explaining, like, oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:17:04]:

the Freer model is very simple, and depending on how you set it up, because there are different ways that you can set up the graphic organizer. But it's just simply a graphic organizer with the word in the middle. The student is now synthesizing it by getting a synonym. They're drawing a picture. They're writing out the definition, and they're giving an example. So it's just their way of solidifying their understanding of what this new concept, a new vocabulary word is.

Naomi Meredith [00:17:29]:

I think that would work really well in a STEM lesson. Like, when you're thinking about introducing a topic, one lesson that I would do with 4th graders is we were coding robots, to well, before that, we were coding robots, but we were creating, symmetrical snowflakes, and we were talking about lines and angles and different types of angles. And they hadn't gotten to that unit yet in their 4th grade classroom, and that's okay. I mean, that doesn't always line up, but that would have been a great connection. I was introducing the vocabulary, but just another way to, really make sense of, okay, what is an angle? What are they? How what is symmetry and all of that? So that's a really Where

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:18:12]:

do you see it? Where do you see angle?

Naomi Meredith [00:18:14]:

Mhmm. What happens?

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:18:15]:

If it's at the end of the corner, you have to make a left. What happens? So getting to understand that those angles are in real life as well, not just in shape.

Naomi Meredith [00:18:24]:

Yeah. That's so good, and it's so true. And making it all connect together, like, why do we need math? Well, math is everywhere. So that's really, really, really awesome and, really good to think about where, yes, let's say you're teaching STEM, you still need sometimes you really do need to be explicit about what you're doing in your class. We can't assume that they know. Unlike my example, my 4th graders hadn't had that lesson yet in their classroom. And so I was the one introducing that topic, and that can happen, which is great. It's there's no problem with that.

Naomi Meredith [00:19:00]:

It's just how it goes sometimes. So, that's a really great I love how you're using that in math, the Frayer model, because I did use that when I teach, literacy. That's really, really smart.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:19:11]:

Correct. Yes.

Naomi Meredith [00:19:13]:

So in terms of what you do, I'm sure it's fun all the time. Do you have any fun projects you're working on? You did talk about Pi Day, but, anything that you have going on in terms of your fun math world?

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:19:26]:

Yeah. So a couple of different fun activities that you can do on Pi Day, So every student, we knocked down, like, in a box, rolled up a dice, shook it up, and there were certain number of digits on everybody's postcard. Then everybody had to use it. So in a classroom, a full classroom, you might get 3.14. Somebody else might get 1.59, but it's on a graph it's on a graph paper, and then everybody brought their, skylines together. And we created 1 period skyline, so each period had their own skyline. And then now they're all in sync together with and there's different abstracts and different arts, but they all work culminating with the different digits of pi. So that's a very simple elementary school activity that teachers can do, and it could be cross-curricular.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:20:24]:

Right? Because that art teacher can do one set of numbers, the math teacher can do another set of numbers, then you put it in a hallway on Pi Day, and now here you have this beautiful collage of the digits of pi and students are engaged and having fun with art in Now Math.

Naomi Meredith [00:20:40]:

Do you have a picture of this?

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:20:42]:

It might be on my website. It actually might. I think it's like the first, like, the literally, the first picture of the students coloring in the digits of pi.

Naomi Meredith [00:20:50]:

Okay. I will find it, and we will link this because I'm so curious to see how this looks. Yes. I love that. Now I'm curious about this too. I'm gonna ask where people can find you. But is white you do only in person, or do you have, like, online resources as well?

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:21:08]:

So everything we do actually is in, is virtual. And we do in person activities throughout the city of Atlanta with different schools and different organizations.

Naomi Meredith [00:21:20]:

Love that. So, if you're in Atlanta, you guys are super lucky. But with virtual

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:21:26]:

I'm open to, traveling. So if there's anybody that or a school that wants to have a high experience, we call it, at your school or a different sort of ex experience, just reach out and we'll build something together.

Naomi Meredith [00:21:42]:

I love that. I think teachers would really be interested, in that. So how can they reach out and connect with you? Where are the best places to look?

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:21:51]:

So our website is www.math, the letternmoore.com. And that is also our social handles everywhere except for Twitter. Twitter is math n more or x now. Mathnmoreone. But everything else is at math, the letter n, and more.

Naomi Meredith [00:22:12]:

Perfect. Well, I'm sure teachers are gonna look you up and just really rethink just some of the strategies that they are when they're, teaching math in their classroom and integrating that in their content. And, we I mean, no matter what you're teaching, you want it to be a positive experience. And, you know, for sure with math, it also can be very positive and very fun. And, just even just those refreshers of things when you, go into that space. I think all of the strategies you explained, and I'm sure there's way a ton of great things too on your website, to help support teachers.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:22:47]:

Yes. 

Naomi Meredith [00:22:49]:

Well, thank you so much, Roblész, for everything that you're doing with kids, and I appreciate your knowledge so much on this show.

Dr. Christopher Roblész [00:22:57]:

Thank you. It was lovely being here. Thank you for having me.