Building Thinking Classrooms In Mathematics, Grades K-12 (14 Teaching Practices For Enhancing Learning)

By (author) Liljedahl Peter
Description:

A thinking student is an engaged student

Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide

• Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions
• Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples
• Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started
• Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year

When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.

Table of contents:
Foreword by Tracy Johnston Zager Introduction Chapter 1: What Are the Types of Tasks We Use in a Thinking Classroom? Chapter 2: How We Form Collaborative Groups in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 3: Where Students Work in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 4: How We Arrange the Furniture in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 5: How We Answer Questions in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 6: When, Where, and How Tasks are Given in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 7: What Homework Looks Like in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 8: How We Foster Student Autonomy in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 9: How We Use Hints and Extensions in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 10: How we Consolidate a Lesson in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 11: How Students Take Notes in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 12: What We Choose to Evaluate in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 13: How We Use Formative Assessment in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 14: How We Grade in a Thinking Classroom Chapter 15: Pulling the 14 Practices Together to Build a Thinking Classroom References
Review quote:

"Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics exudes enthusiasm for students, how they think, and how those thoughts coalesce into powerful thinking classrooms. It′s also deeply practical, describing how everything from the teacher′s questions to the arrangement of the furniture can add to your students′ learning."

Review quote:

"If your students are not the ones doing the thinking in your classroom, then this book is for you!  Peter Liljedahl provides concrete advice on each of 14 research-based practices, along with answers to frequently asked questions and suggestions for getting started, which will help you build a classroom where student thinking is the norm."

Review quote:

"Peter Liljedahl’s Thinking Classroom framework transformed my mathematics classroom overnight. I was frustrated that despite my best teaching efforts, some of my students still couldn’t solve simple problems by their final exam. This framework gave me a starting point that I started implementing the very next day and next steps to continue incorporating as my practice evolved. Students began to talk to each other, think through complex problems, rely less on me and more on each other and best of all had better success in the courses I taught. The Thinking Classroom fra