Teaching math so students learn with Craig Barton (Ep 63)

About this episode

Anna Stokke interviews Craig Barton about effective math teaching strategies informed by learning science.

In this episode, Anna is joined by Craig Barton, former secondary maths teacher, host of the Mr. Barton Maths Podcast, author of How I Wish I’d Taught Maths, and a new Tips for Teachers book series. Craig reflects on how his teaching evolved after engaging deeply with learning science and educational research. Together, they explore what effective explicit instruction looks like in math from atomisation and worked examples to checking for understanding, purposeful practice, and problem solving across the I do, we do, you do phases. This practical, research-informed episode is essential for educators looking to improve math outcomes by aligning instruction with how learning works. This episode is also available in video at www.youtube.com/@chalktalk-stokke Order How I Wish I’d Taught Maths here: https://shorturl.at/rGTin Craig Barton’s Tips for Teachers books & websites: https://mrbartonmaths.com/ TIMESTAMPS [00:00:22] Introduction [00:05:09] What changed Craig’s mind about how to teach math [00:09:07] When struggle isn’t productive [00:12:29] Essential components of a well-structured, explicit instruction lesson [00:14:54] An introduction to atomisation [00:16:16] Purposeful…

People in this episode

Host: Anna Stokke

Guest: Craig Barton

Topics covered

• math education
• explicit instruction
• learning science
• educational research
• effective teaching strategies
• problem solving

Keywords

• math teaching
• explicit instruction
• atomisation
• purposeful practice
• checking for understanding
• problem solving

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mr. Barton Maths Podcast, Tips for Teachers, Engelman & Carnine

Books & works: How I Wish I’d Taught Maths

More episodes of Chalk & Talk

• Mailbag I: Choosing math resources and handling mixed classes with Jon Regino · June 12, 2026 · 41 min
• Inside one of England’s top-performing non-selective schools with Robert Peal (Ep 72) · May 29, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Conviction vs. evidence: What’s driving math education’s worst policies with Thomas Briggs and David Shuck (Ep 71) · May 15, 2026 · 1h 3m
• What to do when “Research Shows” shuts you down: A guide for parents and teachers (Ep 70) · May 1, 2026 · 23 min
• We know more about teaching than ever—so why is change so slow? with Joanna Barbousas (Ep 69) · April 17, 2026 · 1h 2m
• The Finland myth, East Asia’s rise, and what makes education systems work with Montserrat Gomendio (Ep 68) · April 3, 2026 · 1h 9m