In this episode, Kyle and Maegan welcome Tammy McMorrow ( @TammyMcMorrow / @tammymcmorrow.bsky.social ) to discuss her experiences with Building Thinking Classrooms. Tammy shares her journey from discovering the transformative BTC approach in 2021 to implementing it with her first-grade students in Idaho. She talks about the impact of creating a Thinking Classroom including the surprising gains her students have made as mathematicians. The conversation addresses the challenges of managing young ...
Jan 16, 2025•45 min
In this episode, Kyle, Maegan, and Dean welcome back Dr. Peter Liljedahl to discuss his ongoing work and insights in Building Thinking Classrooms. Together, they delve into a range of topics like the recent BTC conference, various strategies for using banners and partitioning student workspaces, and the evolving nature of the Thinking Classrooms practices. Tune in to also hear about the importance of student self-efficacy, identity in math, and the effects of math trauma. Peter highlights ongoin...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 9 min
After a bit of a break from the podcast, we're back with a new episode (and more to come)! In this episode, Dean, Maegan, and Kyle reintroduce themselves and share updates on their current roles and endeavors. They delve into their experiences with the Thinking Classroom model across various grade levels, discussing both the successes and challenges they've encountered. Maegan highlights her work with younger students and her focus on enriching mathematical experience, while Dean shares his high...
Nov 11, 2024•38 min
In this episode, Kyle and Dean have a conversation with three of Dean's students about their experiences in his Thinking Classroom. Recorded just before the end of the last school year, the students share how this approach to learning math has transformed their perspectives and engagement. They discuss the social and collaborative benefits of Thinking Classrooms, how it has helped them overcome challenges, and the inclusive environment it fosters. Listen in to hear firsthand accounts of how the ...
Jul 12, 2024•32 min
In this episode, Maegan and Kyle are delighted to welcome Alicia Burdess ( @BurdessAlicia ), a coach and numeracy lead from Grand Prairie Catholic School District. Alicia shares her inspiring journey from aspiring sports doctor to a passionate math educator and leader. She discusses her deep love of Building Thinking Classrooms and how it transformed her teaching approach. Alicia passionately talks about the power of 'big, beautiful problems' in mathematics education and how they can engage stud...
May 31, 2024•37 min
Enter to win a free set of Wipebook Flipcharts for your Thinking Classroom: www.wipebook.com/TTT Join Kyle and Dean as they engage in a lively conversation with Peter Liljedahl and Maegan Giroux about the newest addition to the world of Building Thinking Classrooms: Mathematics Tasks for the Thinking Classroom, Grades K-5 . This book is specially crafted for K-5 educators and goes beyond being just a collection of tasks. It encapsulates years of research and classroom experience from the Think...
May 22, 2024•48 min
Enter to win a free set of Wipebook Flipcharts for your Thinking Classroom: www.wipebook.com/TTT In this episode, Kyle and Dean chat with Jerrold Wiebe ( @Jerroldwiebe ), a Numeracy & Mathematics Consultant and a part of the Building Thinking Classrooms Canadian team. A "legacy" teacher with over 35 years of experience in education, ranging from classroom teaching to district math lead, Jerrold shares his journey from being introduced to Building Thinking Classrooms and how it has revolut...
May 08, 2024•36 min
Enter to win a free set of Wipebook Flipcharts for your Thinking Classroom: www.wipebook.com/TTT In this episode, Kyle has a conversation with Judy Larson ( @JudytaLarsen ), Associate Professor at University of Fraser Valley and longtime Building Thinking Classrooms teacher. Deeply entrenched in math education and an unwavering advocate for innovative teaching, Judy shares her captivating journey alongside Peter Liljedahl. From the initial shock of abandoning traditional teaching to adopting T...
Mar 26, 2024•38 min
Trauma-Informed Practices and the Power of Thinking Classrooms Enter to win a free set of Wipebook Flipcharts for your Thinking Classroom: www.wipebook.com/TTT In this episode, we take you back to a pivotal conversation from 2022 between Kyle, Dean, and the Sophie Bresciani ( @soph_bresciani ), a champion of trauma-informed teaching and Thinking Classrooms. Sophie offers deep insights into creating classroom environments that are not only safe and supportive but also nurturing, paving the way fo...
Mar 13, 2024•49 min
This episode has a portion where Tim & Melisa screenshared the tool mentioned, you can watch the video recording here . Join hosts Dean and Kyle as they chat with Tim Brzezinski ( @TimBrzezinski ) and Melisa McCain ( @mccainm ), advocates for Building Thinking Classrooms and improving assessment practices. Their conversation is focused on a grading tool, crafted by Tim, Melisa, and their colleagues. This tool, deeply rooted in the principles of Building Thinking Classrooms, provides teachers...
Feb 01, 2024•47 min
In this episode, hosts Kyle and Dean have a conversation with Brian Jackson. With over three decades of teaching experience, Brian offers unique insights into the transformative power of the Thinking Classrooms methodology. Listeners are given a front-row seat to Brian's journey into Thinking Classrooms, starting with his initial reluctance to explore something new, to his deliberate exploration, and finally his resounding endorsement based on his students’ experiences. During the conversation, ...
Jan 11, 2024•34 min
In this episode Jared Sliger ( @jared_sliger ) is back to chat with Kyle and Dean. Their discussion revolves around practical tips for engaging parents and involving them in the process of the Thinking Classroom. Jared shares his experience with a successful 'family night' held at his school intended to give parents a first-hand experience with Thinking Classrooms. He stresses the importance of open communication with parents, dispelling fears of 'new math', and encouraging fellow teachers not t...
Dec 19, 2023•42 min
In this episode, join Kyle, Dean, and Maegan as they share the latest insights gleaned from Peter Liljedahl on the new ideas taking hold in Thinking Classrooms. They take a deep dive into the art of crafting a Thinking Classroom lesson, dissecting the distinct phases of launch, body, and close. Explore how the nature of your task, be it divergent or convergent, shapes the optimal approach to concluding your lesson. Discover three new methods for wrapping up sessions: delve into the power of noti...
Nov 16, 2023•35 min
In this episode of the podcast, Kyle and Dean are joined by Lana Steiner ( @LanaSteiner4 ), a math teacher, coach, and administrator from Saskatchewan. Lana shares her insights on how she employs rich tasks and mixes in other teaching methods with Thinking Classrooms to make math more meaningful for students. She also talks about the importance of growth mindset and math mindset in learning math, and how to address learning gaps. Lana shares expertise on documenting observations and conversation...
Sep 18, 2023•31 min
Join Kyle, Dean, and Maegan as they candidly discuss the early days of the school year in Building Thinking Classrooms. They share their experiences and provide insights for educators at any stage of their journey into this innovative teaching approach. In this episode, our hosts also reveal their aspirations for the upcoming year, largely focused on meaningful notes and improving assessment practices. Their enthusiasm for transformative math education is sure to ignite your own passion for brin...
Sep 08, 2023•27 min
Join Kyle as he sits down with Maegan for an enlightening discussion on mathematics education through the lens of decolonization. In this episode, Maegan unveils her 4R's of Decolonizing Mathematics Education: Respect, Responsibility, Relevance, and Reciprocity. Dive into an exploration of a powerful framework designed for personal reflection, aimed at dismantling colonial constructs within math classrooms. While drawing direct inspiration from the principles of Thinking Classrooms, Maegan takes...
Aug 25, 2023•49 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 15 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They address the big question surrounding how teacher can realistically implement all of the Thinking Classroom practices without overwhelming themselves and their students. They get into the four toolkits laid out in the book and share some tips and ideas on how to best implement each toolkit. Additionally, they briefly address the challenges presented when we see students being really succes...
Aug 11, 2023•26 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 14 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss the big question most teachers have about Thinking Classrooms: how do we grade our students? By utilizing the navigation instruments as grading tools, they share how teachers can shift from a points-gathering paradigm towards a data-gathering paradigm and better reflect the achievement of learners in a Thinking Classroom. A large portion of this episode discusses questions address...
Aug 03, 2023•40 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 13 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss how all assessment should be formative assessment, and some of it will end up being summative. We dive into how to use the navigation instruments suggested in the book and explore how they can better support students in better understanding where they are in their learning journey. In the second half of the episode, you'll hear them dive into the FAQ's and share some of their expe...
Jul 27, 2023•29 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 12 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss the idea of evaluating what we value in our Thinking Classroom. If we value perserverence, risk-taking, and collaboration we need to evaluate these in order to develop these competencies in our students. Listen in for a simple, but effective, way of remixing traditional rubrics into something that connects better with how our students learn. This chapter is essential for fostering...
Jul 21, 2023•26 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 11 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss the idea of shifting note taking to note making for students by having students write notes to their future-forgetful-selves. Listen in for some simple shifts to make in how you approach notes that will result in making notes a thinking activity, rather than a mindless activity. 5 Steps into Notes: https://bit.ly/BTCnotes Facebook Webinar Recording: https://youtu.be/fWFzLrRWsys?t=...
Jul 14, 2023•21 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 10 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss the importance of consolidation in a Thinking Classroom and share some of the different ways teachers can consolidate. Listen in for some tips and tricks that they've learned through trial-and-error to help you refine your consolidation practices. This episode is the eleventh in the series where we go through each chapter of Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl....
Jul 07, 2023•20 min
It's summer break for us and in this episode, we take a different direction by revisiting and resharing a recording from our previous podcast. Listen in as we talk directly to students in Thinking Classrooms from a few of our schools. You'll hear from students in a wide range of grades as they share how math has been different this year, what they've liked and disliked, and what they hope for the future of math class. Enjoy! Make sure to subscribe in your favorite podcast app and share with a te...
Jul 04, 2023•38 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 9 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss the concept of flow and why we need to be so aware of the states our students are in during Thinking Classroom tasks. They also discuss thin-slicing, the banner method and Maegan shares a fun way she incorporates a joker card into her deck for random groups. This episode is all about how we can get through the content we need to teach while remaining true to the Thinking Classroom ...
Jun 28, 2023•27 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 8 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss ways we can build student autonomy by allowing students to think for themselves and manage their own learning. They also share some teacher moves to help build student autonomy and get into some of the benefits of leaning into this practice. This episode is the ninth in the series where we go through each chapter of Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl....
Jun 21, 2023•20 min
In this episode, Dean, Maegan and Kyle interview Peter Liljedahl ( @pgliljedahl ), author of Building Thinking Classrooms and lead researcher behind the transformational teaching practices. We discuss the popularity of the book and how it has become a game-changer for educators worldwide. Explore new and innovative methods for consolidation and notemaking that empower students to become active thinkers and problem solvers in the classroom. Uncover the power of making subtle yet impactful tweaks ...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 7 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss the challenges of homework, the disconnect between teachers and students regarding its purpose, and how Thinking Classrooms can implement Check-Your-Understanding questions as a reframing of homework that promotes thinking in learners. This episode is the eighth in the series where we go through each chapter of Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl....
Jun 14, 2023•20 min
In this episode, Kyle and Dean are joined by Lisa Eberharter ( @lisaebe ), a Curriculum Consultant with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education. They discuss the intersection of Building Thinking Classrooms and multiple representations in math class. The conversation highlights the importance of the concrete-pictorial-symbolic continuum (sometimes called concrete-representational-abstract) and ways to integrate more manipulatives and concrete representations into math class to enhance student und...
Jun 12, 2023•42 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 6 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss how important our delivery or rich tasks is. Listen in for ideas on how to shift towards delivering tasks early, on our feet, and in ways that will engage our learners. This episode is the seventh in the series where we go through each chapter of Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl....
Jun 07, 2023•23 min
Join Kyle and Maegan as they dive into Chapter 5 from Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl. They discuss the types of questions we face as teachers and some of problems they present. Listen in for ideas on how to shift our focus from answering every question towards using questions as a way to promote thinking. Here is a link to Laura Wheeler's ( @wheeler_laura ) #ThinkingClassroom Question Prompts Graphic . This episode is the sixth in the series where we go through each ch...
May 31, 2023•19 min
