The OpenEd Podcast Stop Trying to Make Your Kid Love Math | Math Academy
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Feb 26, 2026 Justin Skycak, Director of Analytics at Math Academy, builds adaptive learning and assessment systems. Jason Roberts, Co-founder and former K–8 math coach, led students years ahead through personalized instruction. They explain why lectures fail. They unpack spaced repetition, interleaving, and real-time adaptivity. They describe mapping subskills, mastery-first practice, and how tech frees teachers for higher-level work.
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Interleave And Space To Prevent Forgetting
- Spaced repetition and interleaving beat unit-by-unit teaching by preventing forgetting and strengthening long-term retention.
- Justin Skycak explains expanding review intervals and recommends mixing topics so each item is periodically revisited rather than taught in one block.
Teach Math Like You Teach Shoe Tying
- Teach skills like tying shoes: show once, guide step-by-step, give immediate feedback, then schedule short repeated practice later.
- Jason Roberts uses the shoe-tying analogy to justify short guided instruction followed by spaced practice.
Lectures Survive Because They're Easy Not Effective
- Lectures persist because they're easy to deliver to large classes, not because they're pedagogically superior for skill learning.
- Jason Roberts notes active practice and one-on-one coaching are harder but far more effective for skill acquisition.