Building Thinking Classrooms 2025 Annual Conference

The way a task is launched can significantly influence its effectiveness. Even the most thoughtfully crafted tasks can struggle to engage student thinking if not introduced mindfully. In this session, we’ll explore how to strike the delicate balance of giving students just enough information to understand and engage with the task while withholding just enough to encourage curiosity, problem-solving, and–most importantly–thinking. Through hands-on practice, participants will leave with actionable strategies to launch a task and a fresh perspective on what it feels like to be given tasks from their students’ point of view.

This session will walk through the progression of a mathematics unit: building relationships with teachers; co-planning, honouring students’ cultures; redesigning a mathematics task to include cultural relevance and meeting the needs of students' IEPs; celebrating student voice; and long-range planning using mathematical modeling. I will share data that shows how student engagement and achievement are affected by redesigned practices that include BTC, UDL, and DI principles. Participants will have the opportunity to bring their own examples and adapt curricular mathematics tasks to embed with students' cultures and lived experiences.

"BTC & Neurodiversity: Goes Together Like PB&J" will empower you to transform your classroom into an inclusive, dynamic learning space. By using strategies like random groupings, vertical non-permanent surfaces (VNPS), and navigation tools, this session demonstrates how to engage and support neurodiverse learners in meaningful ways. You will participate in hands-on activities, discover best practices, and leave with practical resources to promote equity, collaboration, and critical thinking.

You’ve been implementing the practices of the thinking classroom, but student engagement still feels off. You wonder whether it is an overemphasis on getting good grades or students’ conditioning in a transactional system. You’re not alone! Come learn how an overhaul of my own instruction and grading practices refocused students on engagement in learning and thinking. In this session, you will engage in some thinking practice tasks and see how they fit within the Pillars & Practices framework. Whether you’re ready for dramatic change or small steps, this session has tons to offer!

This session emphasizes the vital role of leadership in fostering and sustaining thinking classrooms in mathematics. The session will focus on strategies for school leaders to support educators in implementing Building Thinking Classrooms practices.

Discover how one Title 1 elementary school is transforming their third-grade math instruction by combining Building Thinking Classroom practices with Mathematical Practice Standards preparation. Through strategic use of vertical non-permanent surfaces and structured coaching support, we are creating a systematic approach to developing mathematical thinking while preparing students for Smarter Balanced Assessment success.

Have you wondered how building thinking classrooms can be implemented in Calculus, specifically in post-secondary classrooms? This session will focus on ways to increase student engagement and deep thinking about mathematics through the teaching of calculus. Participants will experience part of a thinking task via guided discovery to build a conceptual understanding followed by a discussion of how students can build procedural fluency through practice. If you teach calculus in college or high school, this session is for you!

Explore how to close 3 Act Tasks in your thinking classroom! These rich tasks offer multiple opportunities to formatively assess learning outcomes before you begin thin-slicing your curriculum concepts. Discover why leveraging the divergent thinking that emerges is essential for transferring knowledge from the group to each individual’s understanding. Come join us as we engage in a 3 Act Task followed by hands-on practice Selecting, Sequencing, and Seeding. Work in teams to craft an intentional closing that ensures all students have equitable access to grade-level outcomes.

This session explores how integrating Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) can transform classrooms into inclusive, collaborative communities. By redesigning rubrics to foster accountability in group learning and utilizing strategies like community circles to build trust and openness, educators can create spaces where self-awareness and empathy drive both academic achievement and personal growth. Together, we’ll explore practical approaches to building trust and connection while addressing challenges such as disengagement, behavioral issues, and resistance to collaboration. Participants will leave with effective strategies for designing rubrics that support accountability and SEL, creating thriving, inclusive learning environments.

How do we incorporate manipulatives into the Thinking Classroom? How can we build thinking tasks based on manipulatives? We know that manipulatives help build conceptual understanding for all students, but how do we build manipulative based thinking tasks that provide entry points and high ceilings? Come experience manipulative based thinking tasks and collaborate to create one!