Building Thinking Classrooms

14 Practices to Get Students to Think like a Mathematician

⚙️ Highly Effective Teaching & Leading 🪑 Seated 💲 Paid

Two Day Series

  • Day 1: June 10, 2025

  • Day 2: To Be Determined with input from Participants

  • Time: 8:30-3:30 PM

  • Location: Shook Elementary Safe Room, Marshfield R-1 Schools, 250 St. Hwy DD, Marshfield MO 65706

  • Lunch: One hour, on your own

Registration:

  • GOCSD Members: $160

  • Nonmembers: $200

  • Payment Options: When paying by credit card a 3.5% processing fee will be added. Members can request that an invoice be sent, now or in July. Substitutions are encouraged, as refunds will not be provided.

  • Registration closes on May 30th, or when 75 attendees register

  • Intended Audience: K-12 Math Teachers, Instructional & Tech Coaches, Administrators, University Professors, Preservice Teachers , Partners

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Why Attend?

Building Thinking Classrooms is an educational approach developed by Dr. Peter Liljedahl, professor of mathematics education at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Sparked by observing dozens and dozens of teachers struggle to engage students in deep thinking and problem solving, and observing hundreds of students engaged in a lot of behavior that didn’t include thinking—or learning—Peter set out to find the answer to a simple question: How can we get more students to think and to think longer?

Over the next 15 years, he set a research course to break every institutional norm possible to see what shifts could get students thinking. Out of this research grew 14 specific norm-busting teaching practices that have proven to enhance thinking—and thus learning in hundreds of thousands of classrooms around the world. And it doesn’t stop there. Not only do the 14 practices enhance thinking, they enhance other competencies in students such as collaboration, perseverance, and risk-taking. Further, they enhance access and equity to learning and student autonomy and ownership of learning.

First published in 2020 as the book "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics," the BTC model has become a global phenomenon. Educators around the world—from the United States and Canada to Norway to Japan—are finding that when implementing these 14 practices—even if incrementally over time—their students have become more engaged and more excited to learn mathematics.

This highly-interactive 2 day series introduces participants to all 14 practices using a workshop model. Participants engage in Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) tasks, both as learners and as teachers. An emphasis is placed on learning, understanding, and implementing the BTC practices. This series is typically spaced several months apart so participants can implement what they've learned.

Day 1: Introduction to Building Thinking Classrooms: Focus on Practices 1-6 while introducing participants to the entire BTC lesson framework; Implementation of Practices 1-6 is highly encouraged prior to Day 2

Day 2: Location/date to be determined by Day 1 participants.

Guest Expert

Jared Sliger

Jared Sliger
Trainer/Consultant
Building Thinking Classrooms

Jared Sliger is a 32-year veteran educator with an emphasis in middle school mathematics. Jared has been an official Building Thinking Classrooms team member and facilitator since 2022, leading training for teachers and leaders across the K-12 spectrum, both in districts and at the state level. As a classroom teacher, he has spent the last several years teaching his own students using the Building Thinking Classrooms approach, witnessing the power of the 14 practices in his own classroom and working to deepen and perfect his implementation. He has seen first-hand the impact of getting students out of their seats, working collaboratively at whiteboards, increasing knowledge mobility and student responsibility, and watching student engagement and thinking skyrocket. His current role as an eighth-grade math teacher in Middleton, Idaho gives him a unique perspective on how students work in a thinking classroom and what they need to succeed. He deeply understands the life of a BTC teacher, and brings stories and real-life examples of his daily experiences into his training.

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GOLearn Professional Learning Framework

GOLearn

Our GOLearn PL Framework provides an overview of the learning experiences we offer. This systems approach supports continuous improvement and allows members to identify the offerings that meet their needs, providing a personalized experience. It includes three strands: Systems Thinking, Safe and Collaborative Culture, and Highly Effective Teaching and Leading.

We use the Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning when designing our experiences to ensure that we provide professional learning that leads to high-quality leading, teaching, and learning for students and educators.

Review our GOLearn Framework to identify sessions that meet your needs, see what sessions are currently open for registration on our PL Events webpage, and access the content in our on-demand catalog to start learning now.

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