I’m Karen Tzanetopoulos, M.S., CCC-SLP, co-author of How Children Learn Math: The Science of Math Learning in Research and Practice (Routledge, 2023). I’m a speech and language therapist with expertise in the language of math and the cognitive processes behind math learning and the science of reading. I run my business, Learning to Full Potential, LLC, where I train educators and families in effective math teaching strategies and provide in-person and online instruction to students who struggle with math and reading.

When I teach math, I rely on the latest cognitive and neurocognitive research, focusing on modifying math language to make concepts easier to understand. My reading instruction is grounded in the science of reading and my experience as a speech and language pathologist. Because reading and math share multiple neurological pathways, I integrate these insights into my teaching and train teachers and parents to do the same.

Recently, I participated in my third National Science Foundation grant, Conversations Across Boundaries, out of NC State University. This two-year project brings together 24 math-learning experts, including myself, to explore common ground between math cognition researchers and university education departments on effective math instruction. We examined approaches from the science of math, cognitive and neurocognitive research, explicit instruction, and inquiry-based methods..

Previously, I received two NSF Innovation Corps grants through the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. These grants allowed me to study the challenges teachers face and the struggles children experience in learning math. With only 32% of 4th graders and 25% of 12th graders meeting basic math standards in the U.S., improving math learning is a critical issue. Through this work, I combined the latest research with interviews of teachers, administrators, parents, and researchers across the country.

I earned my B.A. and M.S. from the University of Michigan and began my career at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab), then the Chicago Institute for Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch. These experiences laid the foundation for the brain-science approach I use today to help children and young adults succeed.

My interest in math learning started while working in public schools, where I noticed that many children with reading and language difficulties also struggled with math. That observation led me to the extensive research and practice that continue to shape my work today.