Hi! My name is Brian Bushart. As an educator, my passion is fostering teachers’ and students’ identities as sense makers. Since I began my career in 2001, I’ve served as a classroom teacher across the elementary grades, a digital curriculum designer at McGraw-Hill Education, a curriculum consultant at Amplify Education, and a curriculum coordinator for Round Rock Independent School District.
I’ve presented at numerous conferences around the country including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Annual Meeting, Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) National Conference, the Build Math Minds Virtual Summit, and the Council for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching (CAMT). I’ve also served on the planning committees for several conferences: two NCTM regional conferences and a CAMT conference.
In 2014, I helped co-found #ElemMathChat, a weekly Twitter chat that brings together educators from around the country and beyond. From 2016-2018, I served on the board of Global Math Department, and from 2018-2020 I served as the Vice President of the Texas Association of Supervisors of Mathematics.
These days you’ll find me teaching in my own 4th grade classroom in the West Irondequoit Central School District just outside of Rochester, New York.
DISCLAIMER: This is a personal Web site, produced on my own time and solely reflecting my personal opinions. Statements on this site do not represent the views or policies of my employer, past or present, or any other organization with which I may be affiliated.
Teaching to the Beat of a Different Drummer 
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Thank you Kristin, Jamie and Brian for inspiring me to take the plunge on a numberless word problem. Your blogs gave me such insight into the how and why that I felt comfortable giving it a try this morning when I had a last second opportunity to teach a Grade 2 subtraction word problem lesson. Students shared that they most enjoyed being able to choose “just right” numbers for themselves (I love the literacy connection). They said that the most challenging part was selecting numbers that “made sense” in the context of the problem. I loved that for some students, this was very important to them. This gives insight into their depth of understanding of the problem (background knowledge) as well as their number sense and estimation skills. My biggest regret is not having enough time for students to share and hear each other’s reasons for the numbers they selected, the models they used, and their computational strategies. However, I was able to connect with many students individually and their worksheets shed light on their strategies. I feel a huge sense of success in witnessing so many Standards for Mathematical Practice at play in this one short 30 minute lesson and in seeing so much engagement and interest on the part of the students. So much potential here. Thank you again. Lauren
Hi Brian, Just wanted to say how much I enjoy following your work through your blog. I am the numeracy consultant with Elk Island Public Schools and I will be taking some of your ideas from your elementary teacher cohort into the work I do here. Thanks again!
What are some strategies to help first graders understand Join – Start Unknown problems? Thanks.
I am trying to use your Numberless Word Problem files with my first graders. In particular, I would like to scaffold representing story problem information as it is introduced, page by page. I am using SmartBoard Notebook in my classroom. Is there a way to import this file into SmartBoard Notebook? I would like students to add details to a bar model as they are introduced on succeeding pages of your numberless word problem.
Thank you for your help.
Tim
Hi. I haven’t used SmartBoard Notebook, but I checked and you should be able to import the files. First, download the Numberless Word Problem Google Slides document as a PDF. Then you can drag the PDF file into your Smart Notebook page. Each slide will appear as a Smart Notebook page. I hope that helps!
I loved using your STAAR review activities based on the Lead4ward Playlist, but I’ve moved schools and I can’t find the link anymore. Can you repost?
Hi! If you’re in Texas, I’d recommend bookmarking this link. It’s where I originally shared them on my department blog. Have a great school year! https://emathrrisd.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/playing-the-long-game/
Brian-Since we are in a different state of education these days, I was wondering if we could get written permission to use some of your resources on our Television broadcast lessons? Please contact me at christine.percy@palmbeachschools.org. Thank you.
Hi Brian- I’m a 5th grade teacher in Austin and I read your thoughts on using spiral review as a daily part of your math instruction. I like your thoughts on the “why” but do you mind expanding on the details of what spiral review looks like during that 15 – 20 minutes? Thanks!
I am not a teacher, I am a grandfather with a granddaughter starting to learning multiplication in a Georgia school where they are using a “common core” (area) method to do the job. The only thing I can think to say about teaching multiplication with the “common core” method is “What a crock of b**ls**t.” In doing some searches to find out how multiplication is taught elsewhere I find a lot more b**ls**t methods being used, like the “turtle” method you mention. What ever happened to teaching basic math with out all the gimmicks? The old standard algorithm method is the simplest, best, and I believe is also the easiest way to teach multiplication. And I, most likely quite foolishly and arrogantly, believe it can be taught to a class in an hour, maybe an hour and a half. The heck with all this idiotic make work of a “common core”, and other, methods of teaching it. Absolute confusing junk!!
“…believe it can be taught to a class in an hour…”
What you’d be teaching then, James, is a procedure. Not a deep understanding of multiplication and how it works. You’re right that the standard algorithm works consistently, but it is often not the most efficient strategy for someone who has a deep understanding of things like the associative and distributive property…extremely powerful properties that allow you to manipulate numbers flexibly and efficiently.
Try to be open to new ways of learning. Don’t assume that because something is confusing to you, it’s junk. Schools taught the algorithm exclusively when fathers like me and grandfathers like you were in school to effectively create human “computers” or “calculators”. Mathematical literacy is far beyond that in the 21st century, we want kids to understand relationships between numbers and use the computations they make to do much deeper thinking.