Dan Meyer
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ddmeyer.bsky.social
Dan Meyer
@ddmeyer.bsky.social
2.3K followers 310 following 95 posts
Currently: @Amplify. Previously: @Desmos, high school math teacher. Always: recreational math user.
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ddmeyer.bsky.social
Happy summer to all who celebrate! <3
me, next to a power box with a "Math 4ever" sticker on it.
June 9, 2025 at 8:07 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
I taught a seventh grade lesson on equivalent expressions last week and did something Not Very Nice on the warm-up.
A scan of a printed warmup with the instructions to “pick three different numbers for x and then evaluate them for both expressions in the table. One expression is 2x - 3 and the other is 2x - 4 + 1. The student gets the same value for both because they are equivalent.
March 25, 2025 at 6:56 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
Big fan of the Beast Academy books. Can you spot the exact moment here where my kid had an epiphany?
A prompt to “Count by 2’s” and shade in the squares on a 10 by 10 grid from 1 to 100. My kid has shaded in squares individually from 2,4, … 16, and then at 18 he starts shading the entire columns of numbers with 8 in the units digit.
March 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
I wrote about the difficulty of trying to make a better teacher out of AI like Khanmigo. (Also, 24 hours after I posted this, Khan Academy changed Khanmigo, but didn't fix it.) danmeyer.substack.com/p/in-edtech-...
An animated GIF showing how to activate the “Need help?” icon.
January 30, 2025 at 7:12 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
Something that makes me really sad is seeing the teachers who write the testimonials on AI edtech products having to get second jobs as stock photography models. Teachers like "Michelle (8th Grade Teacher)" deserve a living wage!
A testimonial from a teacher named "Michelle" - "EnkeyAl is really valuable in helping me cater my lessons to expand across various learning styles and keeps lessons interesting and fun." A stock photography website featuring Michelle in ... exactly the same pose as the testimonial.
January 28, 2025 at 9:39 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
2️⃣ Their board in AZ are also their vendors. Important because the board approves vendor purchases. Software exec MacKenzie Price wants to charge Unbound $6500 / student for software. Who approves that fee? MacKenzie Price, Unbound board prez! Big conflict. Check out PA too! 👇
Excerpts from their charter applications in AZ & PA. In AZ, 2 Hour Learning, Inc, is charging, $2,000 per student per year. In PA, $6,500 per student per year.
January 8, 2025 at 10:04 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
But they’re also applying for charter licenses all over the US. Seeking access to public funds. So it’s important to note 1️⃣ their “2x learning in 2 hours” claim comes exclusively from private, not public schools ($40k / year in Austin!) …
A tuition flyer for Alpha School in Austin showing that the tuition if $40,000 / year.
January 8, 2025 at 10:04 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
I read Unbound Academy’s charter application in AZ. They haven’t replaced teachers with AI. They’re hiring certificated teachers & more of them per student than typical schools.
Hiring description for the school's "guides," emphasizing the need for a "valid Arizona teaching certificate or equivalent."
January 8, 2025 at 10:04 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
Okay you might have heard about Unbound Academy & 2 Hour Learning. Ads all over social. Lots of press coverage because they got a virtual charter approved in AZ behind claims they've replaced teachers with AI. Things are more AND less than they seem here. 🧵
Headlines about the charter school, most highlighting the claim that they've replaced teachers with AI.
January 8, 2025 at 10:04 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
Unbound Academy, an AZ charter school claims to have replaced teachers with AI with students learning 2x more than usual. I read their application in AZ, but ALSO in UT, AR, NC, SC, and PA. It's wild. Sending out my report tomorrow. Subscribe here. 👇 danmeyer.substack.com
A headline: This Grade School Offers AI-Only Classes, No Teachers Involved A newsletter headline. The Truth About 2 Hour Learning & Unbound Academy a/k/a The School “Replacing Teachers with AI”. Subheadline: They haven’t replaced teachers with AI. They have replaced poor kids with rich kids.
January 7, 2025 at 8:33 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
🫡 Audrey Watters on the Khan Academy segment on 60 Minutes. 2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/12-years-and...
Sarah Robertson, a former seventh-grade English teacher who's now a product manager for Khan Academy, walks Cooper through the process remarking that, when she was teaching, she had 100 students; if she spent 10 minutes on each of her students' first drafts, that was 17 hours of labor. "The burden that we place on teachers to give that specific, timely, actionable feedback is just so great that it's just not possible," she says. But perhaps the solution here isn't to have students write their paper for robots; perhaps teachers should not have 100 students.
December 13, 2024 at 6:59 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
Omg 47 amazing. He shall know your ways as if born to them.
javier bardem in dune staring at the camera.
December 13, 2024 at 4:59 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
I just asked Khanmigo for help solving a math problem and said "idk" every time. Very interesting results.

If you're tutoring a kid and they ONLY respond to you with "i don't know" every time, what's your move?
An exchange with Khanmigo where I say: I'm trying to find the integral of x^3*sqrt(4+x^4)dx. Can you help me? And Khamigo says a bunch of nice suggestions Socratically and I respond with "idk".
December 12, 2024 at 7:13 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
"What does the fifth zero mean?" I told the kids it was "ten thousand" and you'd think I invented fire. "Whaaaaa!"
Kids playing a small pinball machine with a score board at the top that extends to five digits.
December 9, 2024 at 11:30 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
As of today I have received:

🚀 a ballistic missile alert while teaching teachers
🌊 a tsunami alert while teaching math.

Very curious what's next!
An iPhone warning of "ballistic missile threat inbound." An iPhone warning about a tsunami.
December 5, 2024 at 9:27 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
People are right now slobbering pretty hard over this AI tutor demo over on LinkedIn. I think it's a mess—pedagogically, socially, and mathematically. What do you notice?
December 4, 2024 at 12:03 AM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
Something like 80% of "good teaching" is having a small set of durable routines that help kids do their best thinking. I supported a Grade 8 teacher yesterday and marveled at how she set the noise level & duration in one quick motion that everyone understood.
A timer with five minutes set and the noise level set at 0.
December 3, 2024 at 8:36 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
I asked AI for an exit ticket for my % increase / decrease lesson and 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️. I could be wrong but I don't think teachers have time to participate in this charity program for robots.
Hey there! Let's wrap up today's lesson on percent increase and decrease. Imagine you found a $20 bill, and you decide to buy a video game that's on sale for a 20% discount. How would you calculate the final price you'd pay? Let's chat about it!
November 20, 2024 at 9:34 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
I don't hate ChatGPT's answer here honestly. It suggests checking in on initial understanding. "What's the first thing that comes to mind?" Nice. It moves to the operational pretty quick, though.
When I see a student staring at this problem with no work started, my first move would be to approach them gently and ask an open-ended question like: "Hey, what do you think about this problem? What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you read it?" This approach helps me gauge where they are in their understanding and gives them a chance to articulate their thoughts. If they seem stuck, I’d break it down further: "Can we start by figuring out what 10% of 15 is? Do you know how to find that?" This gives them a smaller, more approachable step to work on, while also keeping the conversation supportive and nonjudgmental.
November 19, 2024 at 11:52 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
You're teaching a 7th grade class and see a kid staring at this problem. No work, just staring. What's your first move?
A textbook question: In order to make more money, DesWorst Granola bars are now 10% shorter. If the original bar was 15 centimeters long, how long is the new granola bar? Use paper if it helps you with your thinking.
November 19, 2024 at 10:06 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
I mean you know I've gotta hit em with the classics.
Two coupons - $20 off and 20% off.
November 13, 2024 at 7:36 PM
ddmeyer.bsky.social
👋 Wherever math teachers are talking about teaching math, that's where I wanna be. Tomorrow I'm teaching % increase & decrease here in Oakland, CA. Tell me what students find hard here. What am I walking into? #iteachmath
A bar drops down and says 100%. 20% is added on.
November 13, 2024 at 7:02 PM