This three-day workshop is designed to equip Grades K-12 math educators with the foundational practices necessary to create engaging, student-centered learning environments known as "thinking classrooms." Based on Dr. Peter Liljedahl's research, this workshop series will focus on eleven of the fourteen optimal practices from the Building Thinking Classrooms framework organized into three toolkits for implementation.
Participants will explore how these strategies promote deep mathematical thinking, increase student participation, and foster collaboration. Through hands-on activities, reflective discussions, and practical applications, teachers will leave with actionable strategies they can immediately implement in their classrooms. Plus, participants get to leave with their own copy of the Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12 book!
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
Toolkit 1: Getting Students to Think
1. Select and implement thinking tasks that foster student curiosity, encourage critical thinking, and engage all learners in problem-solving
2. Form visibly random groups frequently to maximize student interaction, reduce status hierarchies, and create opportunities for collaborative learning
3. Integrate vertical non-permanent surfaces into classroom instruction to encourage students to work on problems visibly, allowing for flexibility, creativity, and real-time feedback
Toolkit 2: Creating Community
4. Defront the classroom by rearranging classroom spaces and structures to foster student-centered learning environments that encourage active participation and peer collaboration
5. Answer only "keep thinking" questions to maintain student cognitive engagement, encourage persistence and deeper thinking rather than providing direct answers
6. Give thinking tasks early, standing, and verbally to stimulate immediate and sustained engagement
7. Use check-your-understanding questions to frequently and strategically assess and solidify students' understanding while promoting ongoing reflection and improvement
8. Mobilize knowledge to allow students to share their knowledge with peers and utilize classroom-wide understanding to support collective problem-solving and learning
Toolkit 3: Teaching with Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC)
9. Use asynchronous hints and extensions to maintain the flow of thinking in the classroom, ensuring that students remain engaged and challenged without interrupting the momentum of the lesson
10. Consolidate learning from the bottom up by using student work to guide discussions, helping all students contribute to the collective understanding and encouraging deeper thinking across the classroom
11. Facilitate the creation of meaningful notes by students, enabling them to reflect on and organize their learning in ways that support long-term retention and application of mathematical concepts