Our Purpose

We are committed to fortifying teachers’ instructional capabilities and resources, while fostering students’ curiosity, self-confidence, and conceptual understanding to learn mathematics in relevant and meaningful ways. 

Our Purpose

We are committed to fortifying teachers’ instructional capabilities and resources, while fostering students’ curiosity, self-confidence, and conceptual understanding to learn mathematics in relevant and meaningful ways. 

Our Purpose

We are committed to fortifying teachers’ instructional capabilities and resources, while fostering students’ curiosity, self-confidence, and conceptual understanding to learn mathematics in relevant and meaningful ways. 

Our Story

Big Ideas Learning, a family-owned business, is committed to longevity and is rooted in a passion for mathematics instruction. We have been blazing the path for a successful student learning journey since 1978, when our founder Dr. Ron Larson, published his first edition of Calculus. His priority in making student-focused materials aimed at helping all students deeply learn mathematics is the keystone of our approach.

Our programs focus on the big ideas of math and build students’ deep conceptual understanding, mathematical fluency, and meaningful problem-solving skills that can be applied to their daily lives. Through personalized professional development, educator workshops, and practical teaching guides tailored to support all learners, our goal is to empower teachers to build learning environments that foster confident mathematical thinkers. 

Our Founder

Ron Larson, Ph.D.

"I recognized a need for student friendly math materials that are written in a clear and accessible manner with strong visuals, balanced pages, relevant real-world connections and data, and the opportunity for students to problem solve and extend their learning through purposeful investigations. Calculus was my first textbook to be published and from that one book, my dream to carry out this pursuit for all grade levels, kindergarten through Calculus was ignited. I decided to form my own company to ensure that our instructional materials are of the highest quality in every way -- the design is clean and clear, the visuals are mathematically accurate, and the page layout is coherent and elegant, so that we are at the forefront of bringing mathematics to life through clear lessons, engaging explorations, and meaningful problem-solving opportunities for students."

Our Founder

Ron Larson, Ph.D.

"I recognized a need for student friendly math materials that are written in a clear and accessible manner with strong visuals, balanced pages, relevant real-world connections and data, and the opportunity for students to problem solve and extend their learning through purposeful investigations. Calculus was my first textbook to be published and from that one book, my dream to carry out this pursuit for all grade levels, kindergarten through Calculus was ignited. I decided to form my own company to ensure that our instructional materials are of the highest quality in every way -- the design is clean and clear, the visuals are mathematically accurate, and the page layout is coherent and elegant, so that we are at the forefront of bringing mathematics to life through clear lessons, engaging explorations, and meaningful problem-solving opportunities for students."

Executive Leadership

Matt Totzke

CEO/President

Tim Larson

Chief Product Architect

Jill Larson

Chief Brand Officer

Susan DeLuca

Chief Financial &
Human Resources Officer

Senior Management

Dennis Tarwood

Senior Vice President,
Technology

Carly Larson

Senior Vice President,
Creative

Courtney Nagle, Ph.D

Vice President,
Teaching and Research

Chris Toothman

Vice President,
Product Management

Damon Finazzo

Vice President,
Content Development

Jamie Olson

Vice President,
Human Resources

Jen McNulty

Vice President,
Customer Experience