Mathematics · Jonily Zupancic and Cheri Dotterer

Tier 1 Interventions

by Jonily Zupancic and Cheri Dotterer

Math intervention, writing intervention, neurobiology, and cognitive-based learning - Jonily Zupancic and Cheri Dotterer are sharing how to incorporate them into your classroom. Jonily is a secondary math teacher and instructional coach for math K-12. Cheri is an occupational therapist specializing in neurology-based treatment across the lifespan and a Strategy-based Interventionist. Jonily secretly calls Cheri her Lesson Plan Whisperer because Cheri is always in her head, reminding her of the foundations of development before academics begin. They met in 2018 and have been talking ever since. Together, they have discovered the Miracle Math Classroom. This classroom embeds all math standards from Kindergarten to twelfth grade, plus neuro-based interventions that improve proficiency and boost student engagement. Both gifted and learning support students thrive using the interventions they share, plus all students in between. Using cognitive enhancing techniques strategically placed in the lesson plan, students learn more and enjoy school more, and fewer students get removed from critical instruction for Tier Three Interventions. Jonily has discovered how to teach all Kindergarten through algebra math standards using twelve, that’s right, twelve Reference Tasks. They include the Pizza Problem, 120-Chart, Paper Folding, Making Rectangles, Quick Dots, Locker Problem, Jesse and Kay, Geoboard, Candy Problem, Paint Problem, Staircase, and the Function Machine. Cheri uses Body-Brain Anchors to ignite the flame inside everyone’s brain for learning. Whether a person is five or 90, her strategy-based interventions will ignite that flame. These Brain-Body Anchors include the Handstand Flip, Interlaced Bilateral Integration, and the Body Sentence Alphabet. Together, they connect the puzzle behind math instruction and instructional delivery alongside these cognitive-enhancing activities to maximize math education for all students. Join us live on the third Saturday of the month, sans July, for the math behind the Reference Task. Every live event is approximately 2.5 contact hours. The first 30-ish minutes become this podcast. To hear the entire training, join our membership program. Please note: we will not record on holiday weekends. Join our mailing list for updates on dates. To join us live, register at Tier1interventions.com. The 2.5-hour sessions include the PowerPoint slides, additional audio files of Jonily teaching the Reference Task, resources from Cheri, and much more. A subscription to these 2.5-hour Workshops is $97/month or $947/year. Membership includes: *Approximately 27.5 hours of direct training per year *Audio files of Jonily's Hear Me Teach segments - complete *PowerPoint Slides to grab and use in your Magic Math Classroom *Resources from Jonily and Cheri for you and your students *A copy of Math DYSconnected when released. Or, you can listen to the first segment on your favorite podcast app for free; no membership is required. No matter how you listen, you will come away with golden nuggets that will transform your classroom. Reach out to Jonily: jonily@mindsonmath.com Reach out to Cheri: info@cheridotterer.com Tier1Interventions.com

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Why Counting Is the Hidden Foundation of Math

What if the most advanced math ideas actually start with the simplest skill students learn first? In this final episode of the Tier One Interventions workshop series, we

May 12
25 min

Math Facts Are Really Rectangle Relationships

Why do so many students struggle to remember multiplication facts? In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions, we explore a powerful idea: math facts make more sense when s

May 5
14 min

Why Good Math Teaching Doesn’t Always Look Like Teaching

What does real math instruction actually look like in a classroom? Sometimes it looks messy. Students are moving, talking, comparing strategies, and solving problems to

Apr 28
20 min

How to Teach Students to Ask Better Questions in Math

Many students say the same thing when they are stuck in math: "I need help." But they often cannot explain what they need help with. In this episode of Tier 1 Interven

Apr 21
17 min

The Math Education Shift Teachers Need

Why do students struggle with math — even when they get the answer right? In this full math professional development training, Jonily — founder of Minds on Math and host

Apr 16
1 h 30 min

Why Productive Struggle Matters in Math

Why do so many students stop trying after just one mistake? In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions, we explore why mistakes are an essential part of learning mathematic

Apr 14
19 min

The Moment Students Stop Thinking in Math Class

Have you ever watched students suddenly stop thinking during a math lesson? In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions, we explore the moment when students shift from activ

Apr 7
20 min

Why Math Instruction Isn’t Working for Many Students

Many teachers work incredibly hard to help students succeed in math, yet students continue to struggle with independence, perseverance, and deep understanding. In this ep

Mar 31
15 min

The Teaching Mistake That Kills Student Independence

In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions, we explore a common classroom mistake that quietly destroys student independence: stepping in too quickly to fix the problem. Du

Mar 24
15 min

Why Students Need to Struggle Before Learning Math

In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions, we explore one of the most misunderstood ideas in teaching: students often need to experience the struggle before the lesson in o

Mar 17
17 min

Why Students Forget Math — And 3 Problems That Fix It

Why do so many students forget math concepts just weeks after learning them? In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions, we explore three powerful math problems that help bu

Mar 10
16 min

Why Tier 1 Done Right Changes Everything

If you implement Tier 1 with clarity and consistency, something changes. There’s no panic before testing. No frantic last-minute review. No emotional overload in March

Mar 3
12 min

The Tier 1 Strategy That Builds Number Sense

In this episode of Tier One Interventions, we unpack the instructional model behind Math in a Month, a 30-day structure designed to build real number sense through inten

Feb 24
16 min

How Math Should Be Taught in Seasons

Math isn’t failing because teachers aren’t working hard enough. It’s failing because it’s being taught in the wrong structure. In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions,

Feb 10
18 min

What Story Is Math Telling

Every school district is telling a math story, whether they realize it or not. In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions, we unpack a critical but often overlooked questio

Feb 3
21 min

Why Tier 1 Math Fails Before Instruction Even Begins

Most Tier 1 math conversations focus on instruction — better lessons, better strategies, better interventions. But what if the problem starts before teaching even begins

Jan 13
19 min

Transform Your Tier 1 Math Classroom

Math achievement is not a Tier 2 or Tier 3 problem — it’s a Tier 1 structure problem. In this episode of Tier 1 Interventions, Cheri Dotterer and Jonily unpack what it t

Jan 6
26 min

The System IS Broken

The problem with math is NOT your child. If your student feels confused, overwhelmed, or frustrated with math—even when they’re trying—the issue is not effort, motivatio

Dec 30 2025
23 min

Why Number Lines Break Kids (And How to Fix Them)

What’s wrong with number lines in math instruction? They’re among the most widely used tools in classrooms and among the most damaging when introduced too early. In thi

Dec 23 2025
19 min

We're Teaching MATH Backwards

We’re teaching math backwards — and it’s one of the biggest reasons students struggle with understanding, retention, and confidence. In this Tier 1 Interventions episode

Dec 16 2025
15 min