Developing deeper math thinkers, with Kelly Serpa, Ed.D.
Meet Our Guest(s):
Kelly Serpa, Ed.D.
Kelly Serpa, Ed.D., is a STEM Product Specialist at Amplify and a passionate advocate for equitable math instruction. With roots in the classroom and a doctorate focused on culturally responsive teaching, she is dedicated to helping educators better understand how students think about math. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Kelly partners with districts across the country, showcasing how Amplify Desmos Math can drive meaningful, measurable impact for students. She regularly shares practical strategies for using tools like Boost Math® and mCLASS® Math to create a more complete portrait of each learner, ensuring that students are seen as more than just data points.
Meet our host, Ana Torres.
Ana has been an educator for 30 years, working in both the K–8 and higher education sectors. She served as an administrator and instructor at various public and private colleges and universities and as a bilingual and dual language teacher, dual language math and reading interventionist, dual language instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal in K–8 schools. Ana is currently the Senior Biliteracy and Multilingual Product Specialist at Amplify, and delivers literacy and biliteracy presentations across the nation. Ana’s passion and advocacy for biliteracy and support for all students from all walks of life has led her to educate leaders, teachers, and parents about the positive impact of bilingualism and biliteracy in our world.
Meet our Classroom Insider, Eric Cross.
Eric Cross is a middle school science teacher who hopes to someday be a lifelong educator, like the guests on Beyond My Years! In each episode, Eric connects with host Ana Torres to discuss her guests’ best insights, gleaned from their long and rewarding careers in the classroom. Then, Eric talks about bringing some of their wisdom into his current classroom and busy life.
Transcripts and additional resources:
Quotes
“Show yourself the love that you show your students.”
“Engagement in the first five minutes of your math class is the most important thing.”
“Every single kid needs fluency practice every single day.”
“We're all literacy teachers, and we're all math teachers, too.”
“Kids know stuff. They don't come to us as an empty slate.”
“When we assume that kids are empty, we over-scaffold everything, and when we do that, they can end up in this kind of learned helplessness.”