Conceptual vs Procedural Math: What Effective Math Instruction Looks Like When You Stop Picking Sides

In this episode, hosts Jon Orr and Yvette Lehman unpack a tension that’s been debated in math education for decades: conceptual understanding vs. procedural fluency. Yvette shares a powerful realization from her math classroom experience: in striving to teach conceptually, she may have unintentionally neglected opportunities for students to build automaticity and recall. Meanwhile, Jon highlights the importance of helping students move fluidly between visual models, strategies, and algorithms...