Teach Division First?!

I just listened to that podcast
because I missed the, on the 13th

because I was involved with school
and so my head's already going with

the tier one, division.

I'm already thinking about that
from a different perspective,

Hey everybody, it's Cheri Dotterer
here at Tier One Interventions podcast.

I'm here today with Jonily Zupancic
and we are in class today with a live

group of ladies and gentlemen who are
learning about the Mastery Math method.

So I'm gonna let Jonily talk and if
there's any intervention that I wanna add

to the puzzle, we will do but for now,
I'm signing it all over to Jonily and let

us learn a little bit about mathematics.

Girl.

Y'all, this is Jay-Z.

I'm Jonily Zupancic, I'm your math
specialist, your main Mathineer.

I if you are listening to this podcast or
you're watching this podcast on YouTube I

want to give a disclaimer and a warning.

This is level two.

You're listening in on a level two
version of Mastery Math method.

Mastery Math Method is strengthening
our tier one core general classroom.

We cannot have in our schools effective
interventions and effective tier two and

tier three without the strongest core.

So if you're listening to this, that's
the mindset that I want you to have.

You should be listening to this.

If you are a general classroom teacher,
a special ed teacher, a parent, a

school board member, a superintendent, a
curriculum director, a principal, every

stakeholder should be involved in the
qualities of a strong tier one general

classroom environment and the experiences
that students are going to have.

But again, the disclaimer
is this is upleveled.

Natalie, I'm gonna use your word.

I love it.

I think it was uplevel it like
you're, it's, this is definitely the

level version of the mathematics.

So to get the lower level versions,
you'll listen to some other podcasts,

but don't not listen to this
because you don't understand it.

And I was just telling Beth,
Beth is coming into level two not

having the exposures to level one.

And that is actually almost better
because if you're listening to level

two and you're a first grade teacher
and you think to yourself I'm not

gonna teach that math to my kids.

It's not about the math.

Today I'm gonna be sharing
Uplevel Mathematics.

But what I want you to hear
is not about the mathematics.

What I want you to hear today is
about how we get high achieving

kids, and I'm gonna do that through
some high level mathematics.

I am back in the classroom this year
after 14 years of not having been

teacher of record for my own students,
and I am loving every minute of it.

Please share the movement, and subscribe
on YouTube Tier one interventions podcast.

Tell your friends, neighbors,
relatives, enemies.

We don't care who it is.

And subscribe.

So behind me, you're gonna see
the result of many other groups

that I am leading this year.

So I'm leading a masterclass
group, a mastermind group.

And actually before I jump into the
math, because we're gonna get, we're

gonna get real spicy on the math today.

Does anybody have anything to
or share or comment or whatever

the podcast is still on.

I know there was a little pause, but
I think it's important, even if you're

listening to the podcast, one of the great
instructional strategies is wait time.

So I'm gonna ask again.

I'm gonna wait again and I'm
going to give double wait time.

So anybody listening here live,
do you have anything to add?

Any questions, any words of wisdom?

Any thoughts?

Go ahead.

If you're missing, put in the comments.

Got it.

If you're on the podcast,
put them in the comments.

We will respond.

It may take us a couple weeks.

'Cause I don't, we don't
check the comments every day.

Unfortunately.

I don't, just don't have the time.

But put your information in the comments.

We will get back to you.

You know what, Cheri, I
always forget about this.

I always forget about this.

You are so good.

I love you so much.

And I'm gonna reiterate that if you're
listening on a podcast or you're

watching the podcast on YouTube,
I've already said and subscribe.

But now it's even more important.

To comment and start the conversation.

Start the conversation
and comment to each other.

Even if Cheri and I don't get in there to
respond, create your own community there.

Get the comments going, say stuff.

If you are tired of this
too, then say it now.

I do have to give another disclaimer.

Let's try to be as positive as we can.

So I think that just, being a B and
being negative and being that's,

that hasn't changed anything.

We see that all the time on
socials and we continue to do that

and it's not changing anything.

It's like when students, they have
bad behavior in schools and then

we give a detention and we call
home and we do this and we do that.

We have to ask ourselves, did
any of it change the behavior?

Did any of it change the behavior?

And if the answer is no, then
we have to do something that's

gonna change the behavior.

So don't just get online and throw out
your complaints about the school system.

Okay.

Nobody wants to hear that.

Let's have good positive energy and
real conversations about strategies

and techniques that can actually
make a difference and make changes.

I just listened to that podcast
because I missed the, on the 13th

because I was involved with school
and so my head's already going with

the tier one, division.

I'm already thinking about that
from a different perspective,

I know.

It's crazy.

It's not something I wanted to do,
but it's almost a necessity now.

I know.

Now tell them,

listen.

Okay.

I just put on, I just put on
Simon and I was listening to

him for the past half hour.

Love him.

He's just, and I don't even know,
and I'm like I'm not abnormal.

All I have in my head was
interleaving, all that.

The stuff we talked about.

Y I say yesterday, but the other
day, and I'm thinking, oh my God,

how appropriate is this for the
education of the kids and the math?

And I'm thinking, oh my
God, if you only knew.

It just connects.

It's, you guys.

You guys put a fever in us.

It's, I started with her and
then she connected me with you.

No, you guys, I tell you, every
single time I get inspiration.

I go and move with it.

It's that's why your keeping in your
little bubble is not gonna work.

You need to branch out and agreed.

I'll be your cheerleader, because
you can't stay in your little bubble.

, I'll be one of the
bubbles that move along.

You know what I mean?

Blow your bubble.

Blow your wand, and we'll
be at your little bubbles.

Think about that.

Okay, here's one bubble
and here's another bubble.

Okay?

Just think of us as
moving along in the wind.

But you have to move.

You can't just be stagnant in there.

Don't make me cry, but I'll take
your thoughts and move them this way.

Everybody, grade two will
take your thoughts and grade,

grade six Krista, right?

You'll take her thoughts and move them.

Everybody, Natalie will take
your thoughts and move them.

We're not gonna say, oh, this is my idea.

We give you credit because you
are inspirational to us and

you've made us want to do this.

I don't, I, I have crafts up the yin yang.

I could go do, I'm not doing that.

I'm here with you.

I made my office up better, just
because of you and Cheri, glad it's

you guys are not my just mentors.

You guys are my friends now.

Like you say, we're the
elite, but we're friends now.

We want this to happen.

You're in the right place for

this.

I know.

I listened to your that podcast
that Cheri sent me about the

division is counting and I have been
using the , what do you call it?

The one 20 chart . . . But now this
kind of refines it and I'm really

excited 'cause I have couple math
groups at different age levels.

Age levels.

I'm real excited about that.

I wanna hear, do you, can you start with
division or do you have to go to addition?

I'm just not sure.

'cause my kids are really behind and
it's very hard for them, to learn.

Math is a big emotional.

X for them.

So agree.

Hey everybody, it's Cheri again.

If you're loving these strategies
and you want to join our Mastery

Math Method Masterclass, we hold
this hour long event once a month

and we'd love to have you join.

What we talk about there is how to
improve your math skills in 10 days.

Can you imagine 10 days, whether you
are a math teacher or an occupational

therapist, you can see exactly how to
shift teaching so that every student,

no matter their starting point, can
master core math concepts and reserve.

So reserve your seat today and go
over to disability labs.com/calendar

to check out the next event.

So you're saying it beautifully, but
I will answer one of your questions.

Yes.

Okay.

I'm a huge proponent of beginning
with division before addition.

Oh wow.

I like to teach Wow.

The other

operations.

Okay.

Through division.

And actually I do it because wow.

Toddlers, they know sharing,
they know equal sharing.

They're very clear if they don't
get the exact same as somebody else.

So that is the essence of division.

So addition.

Conceptually means really nothing to kids.

I don't know why we start with addition.

And it's not easy.

Okay.

That's

a pa Oh, go ahead.

No,

it's a paradigm shift for me.

I gotta, it's, roll it around.

'cause that hasn't been the way
I've been approaching it as a

special ed teacher, but I've always
been a little bit lost on how to

sequentially get them involved in math.

I only have 30 minutes.

That's the other thing, they
just, limit me in what I can do.

But I'm going to use Brain Gym
because they're coming from their

intensive settings and they're
frustrated and everything.

Yeah.

And yeah.

So I gotta do that.

And.

Anyway.

Beth I'm let me warn everybody today.

So this is level two, so I'm
not going to go back and review.

So Beth, you might be lost,
but don't stop coming.

Okay.

That's what I wanna say because
I'm going to uplevel the math.

The purpose of mastery math method,
tier one interventions level two

for this 20 25, 20 26 school year
is for us to record and document the

content for the level two course.

I don't want you to not come because
I'm gonna teach something here and

I'm not scaffolding to get there
because any exposure is fine.

You don't need the
exposures in order because,

okay.

. You should have more stuff
that you can access now.

Beth, you're jumping into like in college
when we have like level 6 0 3, like the

600 level, you're jumping into that.

But I don't want you to, I want you to
keep coming don't let this scare you

off, but then you have access digitally
to level one where it's gonna take

it all the way back to the beginning.

Even before the beginning, so you're
just gonna get it in a different order.

Okay.

Which

is counterintuitive.

It's like teaching division first.

You can do this, there's no order to it.

Okay.

So don't worry about that.

Okay.

And then just know the math that
I'm teaching you on these Saturdays

for level two is not what you're
going to implement with your kids.

You are here to actually learn the
content as an adult so that you can

better implement this the other math
stuff from level one, if that makes sense.

Oh, okay.

Yes it does.

So I have to go back to level one

and don't worry about and look at
that when I'm gonna refer to level

one stuff and make connections,
but you're gonna be like, I'm not

gonna teach that math to my kids.

No, you're not.

You're not Even my Natalie's
and Christa's, and especially my

Amy's here, my Amy is not gonna be
teaching the math on these Saturday.

She teaches first grade, so she's
not gonna be teaching the math that

I'm teaching to her first graders,
but she's been through level one.

She's been through like
everything with me.

She just won't leave

Amy.

Oh boy,

You're my doll and I love you so much.

I can't do this without Amy.

I could not do what I did with my content
with the littles without Amy Garrison.

I just need to say that and I
need to say it to the whole world

because I'm secondary trained.

So Amy Garrison has been the
absolute necessity for putting

Informal notation what this
looks like in first grade.

Thanks for tuning in to this
first episode of our Level Two

Mastery Math Method series.

Today you heard why division is the
true starting point in math, and

how equal sharing is actually the
foundation of every other operation.

Next time, we’ll take this
one step further and ask: what

moral obligation do we carry as
educators once we see the data?

Our next episode digs into the
responsibility we have to shift

practice—not just for test scores, but
for student confidence and future success.

Until then, remember.

every student deserves the chance to
see themselves as a mathematician.

And as Cheri and Jonily
say, Go Be Awesome!

Go Be Brilliant!

For you were put here
for such a time as this.