Purpose: Activates student curiosity and prior knowledge before introducing new concepts.
How to use: Students first list what they notice about a problem, then what they wonder.
Use in a Classroom: Used at the beginning of a new concept or activity to provide access points for all students
Purpose: Encourages verbal processing and engagement.
How to use: Students discuss their thinking with a partner before sharing with the class.
Use in a Classroom: Used as a warm-up, check-in, or reflection during lessons
Purpose: Builds number sense and pattern recognition.
How to use: Teacher leads students in counting aloud in different increments or starting points.
Use in a Classroom: Supports fluency, pattern recognition, and conceptual understanding.
Purpose:
Encourages mental math strategies and discourse.
How to use: Teacher presents a problem; students solve mentally and explain their reasoning.
Use in a Classroom: Builds flexibility with numbers, reasoning skills, and confidence in math discussions.
Purpose: Develops reasoning and justification skills
How to use: Students analyze four options and argue which one is the "odd one out."
Use in a Classroom: Promotes multiple perspectives and justification of mathematical reasoning
Purpose: Supports intentional planning and facilitation of meaningful math discussions
How to use: Teachers anticipate, monitor, select, sequence, and connect student thinking to deepen understanding and achieve the mathematical goal
Use in a Classroom: Used to guide whole-class discussions that build on student ideas and promote equitable participation
Purpose: Supports identifying and defining mathematical quantities in context
How to use: Students name and describe quantities in a scenario, including how they change and relate to each other.
Use in a Classroom: Used as a launch to problem-solving or to build conceptual understanding a concept.
Purpose: Helps students refine mathematical communication.
How to use: Students revise and refine their explanations through multiple structured exchanges.
Use in a Classroom: Used in small groups or pairs to develop precise mathematical language.
Purpose: Captures and organizes student ideas to support discussion.
How to use: Teacher records student language on a display that is referred to during discussions.
Use in a Classroom: Encourages academic language use in math conversations.
Purpose: Develops reasoning by engaging with flawed or incomplete explanations.
How to use: Students analyze, critique, and improve an incorrect or ambiguous solution.
Use in a Classroom: Used for error analysis and strengthening reasoning skills
Purpose: Encourages mathematical discussion and questioning.
How to use: Students work in pairs where one has information about the other needs, requiring interaction.
Use in a Classroom: Encourages active listening and precision in mathematical communication
Purpose: Help students develop mathematical reasoning and language through collaborative questioning.
How to use: Students generate and refine questions about a mathematical context before solving.
Use in a Classroom: Used to promote student curiosity, engagement, and deeper problem understanding.
Purpose: Supports comprehension of word problems.
How to use: Students read a problem three times, focusing on different aspects each time.
Use in a Classroom: Help students unpack word problems before solving.
Purpose: Encourages students to compare multiple representations.
How to use: Students analyze and discuss different approaches to the same problem.
Use in a Classroom: Supports flexible thinking and connections between representations
Purpose: Strengthens participation and engagement in math conversations.
How to use: The teacher uses sentence frames, visuals, and structured talk moves.
Use in a Classroom: Ensures equitable participation and clarity in student discussions.
Accessing and navigating the PD On-Demand platform
Understanding and interpreting MKM assessment data
Using MKM to create differentiated student groups
Selecting appropriate MKM PD on Demand for grade-level instruction
Facilitating a lesson using MKM resources
Supporting teachers in using MKM for intervention or enrichment
Leading PLCs using MKM data and instructional tasks
Re-administering MKM assessments to support student growth
KEMAC—Key Elements to Methodology Approach to Content—is a professional learning model designed to develop both the content knowledge and coaching capacity of math instructional leaders. Created by the National Training Network (NTN), KEMAC empowers coaches to lead with confidence, grounded in the belief that conceptual understanding is the foundation for permanent change.
More than training, it’s a methodology. KEMAC provides a structured, strategic approach to help coaches deepen their own mathematical understanding while building the skills necessary to support teachers in delivering rigorous, meaningful instruction.
Through NTN’s methodology, KEMAC emphasizes a holistic approach to learning—connecting concrete, pictorial, and abstract representations of mathematics. Sessions are hands-on, collaborative, and centered around how students (and adults) make sense of math.
What Makes KEMAC Unique?
Coaching as Leadership
KEMAC positions coaches as instructional leaders, not just content supporters. Coaches are empowered to make instructional decisions, facilitate adult learning, and foster reflective practice while modeling risk-taking and growth.
Sessions are intentionally structured to create a safe learning environment, where vulnerability is valued, mistakes are embraced, and growth is continuous. The coaching culture modeled in KEMAC mirrors what coaches are expected to bring to schools: supportive, rigorous, and learner centered.
Aligned to NTN’s Mission
KEMAC is a direct extension of NTN’s mission: to ensure that every math student becomes a confident problem solver with access to any future they desire. It begins by equipping coaches with the tools, mindset, and methodology to lead that transformation—starting with themselves and extending to every classroom they touch.
This survey is designed to help assess your current readiness to support teachers or lead content training focused on key mathematical topics. Each topic reflects essential concepts that follow a conceptual → pictorial → abstract progression, which is central to the NTN philosophy and the KEMAC framework.
Your honest self-assessment is essential. It helps us:
We encourage you to review each topic and use the readiness categories below to guide your responses. This is not an evaluation—it’s a tool to support your growth and ensure you have what you need to lead with clarity, confidence, and minimal prep.
Need to Attend KEMAC Training
You have not yet attended the KEMAC training for this topic.
Attend a KEMAC Refresher directed by NTN
You’ve attended KEMAC previously and have a general understanding of the concepts. While you feel confident in your foundation, you would prefer a structure refresher to fully reconnect with the materials and sharpen your instructional lens. After this refresher, you would feel ready to lead training without any additional prep.
Need a Refresher – On My Own
You’ve previously participated in KEMAC training and are confident navigating the materials independently. You’d benefit from revisiting the content on your own to secure your understanding of the concepts and representation connections. After this self-guided refresher, you would feel ready to lead training without any additional prep.
Ready to Train – No Prep Needed
You feel fully prepared to lead or support training on this topic. You have a clear grasp of the conceptual, pictorial, and abstract connections and understand the instructional strategies well enough to walk into a session and teach without needing any additional prep time.
