Building a Thinking Classroom Together: May

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I would like to use this article to recap the Spring Conference in Duluth. It had a very strong theme of the Building Thinking Classroom. Peter kicked it off with the Thursday Symposium and the Friday morning keynote. The rest of the conference followed with over 20 BTC themed sessions!

The opportunity to hear from Peter in person was phenomenal! I was extra excited to have him join my Q&A session on Friday morning. What an amazing opportunity for us to be able to ask him our questions directly. Here are a few of the things that I learned in this session:

  • Numbering tasks: I have been numbering my tasks as I give out each thin-slicing problem so that students know which one to do next. Peter says to not number them. No worries about groups doing problems out of order because they usually “steal” problems from the same group. If they do get out of order, you are there to help them figure it out. Also, when ordering problems, it can leave a slower group defeated when they see how far behind they are from other groups.
  • Meaningful notes: Peter is currently working on more research here. It has changed since the book has been published. I am looking forward to reassessing my notes and implementing his new research. There isn’t much information out there, but I plan to do some digging this summer.
  • Giving instruction before a task: Peter’s research shows that you should not give instruction before the students work at the boards, but sometimes you need to in order to get them started. If you need to do a Notice/Wonder first, make sure it doesn’t give away the thinking and that you get it done within the first five minutes of class. It should give just enough for them to jump start their thinking.

I hope everyone enjoyed the conference. I have heard from many people how the Thinking Classroom has inspired them and has brought life into their classroom. I am excited to see how far this can take us. 

Moving forward in Minnesota

  • MN Math Leaders workshop – June 14th and 15th https://www.mctm.org/event-5241534
    • Two days exploring all four parts of the Thinking Classroom [REGISTRATION is FULL!]
  • Book study this summer – I am hoping to do a book study this summer. Keep an eye out on the MCTM Facebook page
  • What would you like? The options are endless. Reach out with ideas, my email is below.

***I am looking for more topics and questions to discuss next time. If you have a question about the Thinking Classroom, or if you have a story or success that you would like to share, please send me your question in this google form

Until next time, keep on building! Together we will build a generation of thinkers.

Jessica Strom
jstrom@win-e-mac.k12.mn.us 
Win-E-Mac School