This session will inform and empower early elementary teachers in using the structures and routines developed in Peter Liljedahl's book, Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics. Teachers might think that the problem solving, routines, and structures described in Building Thinking Classrooms work best in upper grades; however, participants will see how K-2 students can benefit tremendously from tackling rigorous problems on whiteboards in collaborative groups. Participants will see how students grow in their ability to problem solve, persevere, and apply math concepts and skills. Students also learn to share, to work well together, and to have productive mathematical discussions. Participants will experience the problem-solving process using the routines and structures described in the book, gain access to Building Thinking Classroom lessons created by teachers and math coaches, and learn how to begin using these lessons in their own classrooms.
Limited Capacityfull Adding this to your schedule will put you on the waitlist.
This session equips teachers with research‑backed strategies to help students store, retrieve, and apply essential concepts across multiple subjects while fostering student ownership of learning. Learn how to transform traditionally "boring" subjects into lessons with clear, life‑long applications. Walk away with ready‑to‑use classroom routines, quick formative checks, and a short sample lesson using our Market Day unit—an integrated example that pulls together math, reading, writing, and social studies and puts students in the driver’s seat of their learning.
Students don’t engage deeply when they don’t feel seen, and they can’t develop meaningful interests without purposeful design. In this dynamic, interactive breakout session, we’ll explore two powerful frameworks: Jan Tønnesvang’s Four Quadrant Model, which helps us understand the whole learner, and the Four-Phase Model of Interest Development, which maps how curiosity evolves into sustained, self-driven interest. We’ll translate these frameworks into practical classroom strategies — from designing tasks that activate situational interest to creating conditions where long-term engagement and personal purpose can thrive.
