Building Thinking Classrooms 2025 Annual Conference

When implementing site-based/division-wide initiatives have you ever questioned how your current practice fits with new information and asked, “but what about...?” We will reflect on the “moves” we researched, observed, and tried through the lens of Building Thinking Classrooms that helped answer the “what about . . .” questions through a modeled lesson. We will collaboratively discuss prioritizing pedagogy while planning by using a task to reach and engage all learners to transform your practice.

How can we focus on the verbing of mathematics during the Launch, Body and Closing of a math lesson? Lets look at how we can craft hands-on experiences with the use of linear, set and area models within the building thinking classroom framework. We will chat about how we can center on change and motion while we play with structure and then name it in a Thinking Classroom.

The 14 practices promote accessibility and equity in the classroom, but our own implicit biases, often influenced by institutional labels, can still get in the way of effectively enacting these practices.  In this session, we will explore how these biases can impact our perceptions of student capabilities.  Let’s think together about how we can shape the classroom environment to highlight students’ brilliance and spark our own genuine curiosity about students’ mathematical thinking.

Great Thinking Classroom teachers aren’t born—they’re built through curiosity, reflection, and a willingness to embrace imperfection. Inspired by Peter Liljedahl’s research and Chase Orton’s The Imperfect and Unfinished Math Teacher, this session is for educators ready to take ownership over their professional growth and reclaim their teaching legacy. We’ll dive into practical strategies for fostering reflection, tackling challenges, and embracing the messy process of becoming the teacher you want to be. Walk away with renewed energy, practical tools, and the confidence to drive your own journey toward teaching mastery!

In this session, we will reflect on our transformative journey of incorporating “street data” into coaching cycles with teachers implementing Building Thinking Classrooms.  We will share a coach’s story about leveraging student and teacher qualitative data, along with formative quantitative data to foster curiosity and disrupt preconceived notions about students. This process strengthened our commitment to elevate student voice as a critical first step for deeper learning and greater traction when exploring and implementing the BTC practices, regardless of where our teachers were in their journey.

We are two experienced and successful teachers who are constantly striving to improve. Nothing has improved our practice like BTC. BTC allows us to engage more students, better assess their understanding, and push them to higher-order thinking. Within days, we could see (and hear) how much of a difference BTC was making with our students. Within weeks, we saw the potential for BTC to be an equity driver while upholding high expectations for curricular mastery. Within months, we saw gains on our standards and room for further professional growth. This presentation shares some of our successes and failures, as well as our strengths and areas for improvement. Attendees will leave with strategies and ideas to try in their own practices.