This article reports on the use of a unique number system to facilitate teachers' understanding of the concepts of place value. Teachers' mastery of base-ten may hinder their recognition of the difficulties students have with place value, so the authors created a number system that used five symbols to represent values. Using this system, teachers participated in activities recognized as facilitating understanding of place value in hopes that their struggles would mirror those of their students. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)