My journey into Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) began when I transitioned from teaching science to teaching 5th grade. During my first year teaching multiple subjects, I felt a lot of internal tension around how I taught math. I wanted math to be more engaging, student-centered, and collaborative; however, I wasn’t quite sure how to get there.

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A colleague at my school had been using BTC for several years and encouraged me to look into it. Her stories were inspiring, but  I was simply trying to survive my first year of teaching 5th grade.

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After completing that first year, I knew I wanted to improve my math instruction and create a classroom where students were actively thinking, talking, and problem-solving. That’s when I finally decided to dive into BTC. I read Peter Liljedahl’s book over the summer, researched strategies, and began experimenting with the practices in my classroom. Every day has involved some trial and error, but through that process I’ve found powerful ways to make math more student-centered, collaborative, and engaging.

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BTC not only deepens my students’ learning, but it deepens mine as well. Students explain their thinking in such unique and creative ways, often developing strategies I never would’ve thought of myself. When students help each other and teach each other, the learning becomes richer for all of us. Honestly, there are moments where students explain a process even better than we can as teachers, and that’s the magic of a true thinking classroom

If you have not yet read the books by Peter Liljedahl, I totally recommend them.

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