# Science of Math: The movement everyone's talking about with Sarah Powell (Ep. 65)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/chalk-talk-6066907/science-of-math-the-movement-everyone-s-talking-about-with-sarah-powell-ep-65
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/chalk-talk-6066907/science-of-math-the-movement-everyone-s-talking-about-with-sarah-powell-ep-65.md
Podcast: [Chalk & Talk](https://stenobird.com/podcast/chalk-talk-6066907)
Published: 2026-02-20T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://chalkandtalkpodcast.podbean.com/e/science-of-math-the-movement-everyones-talking-about-with-sarah-powell-ep-65/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/z3humvcasb7s3p8z/Ep_65_-_Final6ijk5.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/chalk-talk-6066907/episodes/science-of-math-the-movement-everyone-s-talking-about-with-sarah-powell-ep-65
Duration seconds: 3905

## Resource

In this episode, Anna is joined once again by Dr. Sarah Powell, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin whose research focusses on supporting students with math difficulties. They respond to a recent NCSM statement criticizing the Science of Math movement. Anna and Sarah unpack what the Science of Math is and why high-quality evidence matters. They address misconceptions about explicit instruction and “one-size-fits-all” teaching and explore why math instruction deserves the same scientific scrutiny as reading instruction. This episode is a must-listen for educators, school leaders, policymakers, and parents navigating the current math education landscape. This episode is also available in video at www.youtube.com/@chalktalk-stokke SHORT COURSE La Trobe Short Course: Evidence-informed Mathematics Teaching – An Introduction https://shortcourses.latrobe.edu.au/evidence-informed-mathematics-teaching TIMESTAMPS [00:00:22] Introduction and an overview of the NCSM statement [00:10:25] What is the Science of Math? [00:12:07] Is this only about special education? [00:14:24] Math learning through the general lens of learning science [00:17:19] Is the Science of Math equivalent to the Science of Reading? [00:20:01] The instructional hierarchy applies to learning anything [00:24:07] The same groups tried to discredit What Works Clearinghouse [00:26:30] Responding to claims about research citations [00:29:49] Addressing the NCSM’s claims about quantitative research [00:31:21] Why quantitative research and data matter [00:38:24] Why alignment with IES and What Works Clearinghouse is a strength, not a flaw [00:40:18] Importance of measuring learning [00:42:59] Strange statements about an impoverished pedagogical approach [00:47:30] Misconceptions about explicit instruction…

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