The Building Thinking Classrooms Conference will take place in Renton, WA, from June 30 to July 1, 2025.
The proposal submission window will close on December 13, 2024. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by January 31, 2025, and speaker confirmations will be due by February 7, 2025.Please note that only one form should be submitted per presentation proposal. Each presentation will be allocated a significant amount to reduce the cost of a registration. Thank you for your patience as we finalize this amount.
**Registration opens January 2025.
Note that we are requiring a video (30 seconds maximum) to be submitted with your proposal.
We invite proposals for workshops that focus on the current BTC research and practices as well as the conference Vision and Strands. The program committee will be using the accompanying Rubric to evaluate proposals. All sessions will be 60 minutes in length. If you have any questions about your proposal, please contact Nova Katz at MathieMomma@gmail.com.
BTC - Connections to Equity and Access: Sessions in this strand can focus on approaches for building thinking classrooms while considering a wide range of student demographics, including but not limited to, students from diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds, emergent multilingual students, IEP-eligible students, neuro divergent students, LGBTQ+ students, or those facing economic disadvantages.
BTC - Launch Practices (BTC chapters 1, 2, 4, and 6): Sessions in this strand can include a focus on: What types of tasks we use; How we form groups; How we arrange the furniture; and When, where, and how tasks are given in a thinking classroom. Typically, these sessions will focus on topics found in BTC chapters 1, 2, 4, and 6.
BTC - Collective Knowledge (VNPS) Practices (BTC chapters 3, 5, 8, and 9): Sessions in this strand can include a focus on: Where students work; How we answer questions; How we foster student autonomy; and How we use hints and extensions in a thinking classroom. Typically, these sessions will focus on topics found in BTC chapters 3, 5, 8, and 9.
BTC - Closing & Individual Knowledge Practices (BTC chapters 7, 10, and 11): Sessions in this strand can include a focus on: How we consolidate a lesson; How students take notes; and What homework looks like in a thinking classroom. Typically, these sessions will focus on topics found in BTC chapters 10, 11, and 7.
BTC - Assessment Practices (BTC chapters 12, 13, and 14): Sessions in this strand can include a focus on: What we choose to evaluate; How we use formative assessment; and How we grade in a thinking classroom. Typically, these sessions will focus on topics found in BTC chapters 12, 13, or 14.
BTC in Other Content Areas: Sessions in this strand can focus on approaches for building thinking classrooms in content areas other than mathematics and should include a focus on one or more of the 14 practices or BTC toolkits.
Connections to Indigenous Education: Session in this strand can focus on approaches for building thinking classrooms in our indigenous communities and should include a focus on one or more of the 14 practices or BTC toolkits.
Fostering Leadership and Community of Building Thinking Classrooms: Sessions in this strand can include raising awareness of the importance of building thinking classrooms, how to build parent support and understanding, how to form partnerships that will advocate for thinking classrooms to be accessible to ALL students, and building the leadership capacity and empowerment of teachers who are building thinking classrooms.
BTC - Classroom Reflection: Sessions in this strand can focus on your implementation and reflections of your journey. Please focus on how you have used the 14 practices or BTC toolkits.
BTC Using Specific Textbooks, Programs, and Resources: Sessions in this strand can focus on using a specific resource to build a thinking classroom. Please focus on how to use this resource to support one or more of the 14 practices or BTC toolkits.
Cultivating Leadership in Thinking Classrooms: This strand emphasizes the vital role of leadership in fostering and sustaining thinking classrooms. Sessions will focus on strategies for school and district leaders to support educators in implementing the 14 practices of Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC). Participants will explore methods to inspire collaborative cultures, facilitate professional development, and create systems that prioritize thinking classrooms.