072 | Welcoming the Magic: Building a Connected Math Journey with Ann Elise Record | May 20, 2026

About this episode

Pamela Brett interviews Ann Elise Record about building a connected math journey for students and teachers.

What does it really mean to build a connected math journey — for students and for teachers? In this episode, Pam sits down with Ann Elise Record, elementary math consultant, coach, and co-author of Fluency Doesn't Just Happen series, for a conversation that is equal parts inspiring, honest, and deeply practical. Ann Elise shares her own math story: from being a memorization champion who "thought she had the math brain," to a fifth-grade teacher who unknowingly kept her students stuck in counting — and the pivotal moments that cracked open her understanding of what math teaching could truly be. From a week-long intensive with Dr. Mahesh Sharma that took her from multiplication facts to polynomial division using the same area model, to discovering flexible, relational strategies through Dr. Nicki Newton, Ann Elise's journey is a testament to what happens when educators put themselves in the room and stay curious. Together, Pam and Ann Elise explore: Why fluency isn't about speed — it's about flexibility, efficiency, and accuracy The power of Cuisenaire rods and manipulatives at every grade level What Math Running Records reveal about student reasoning (and how to use that…

People in this episode

Host: Pamela Brett

Guest: Ann Elise Record

Topics covered

• connected math journey
• math teaching
• fluency in math
• manipulatives in education
• teacher resistance
• student reasoning
• intervention strategies

Keywords

• math journey
• fluency
• Cuisenaire rods
• Math Running Records
• teacher resistance
• additive reasoning
• multiplicative reasoning
• proportional reasoning

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Fluency Doesn't Just Happen

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