This session is intended to assist those, who are using some of the key elements of Peter Liljedahl's "Thinking Classroom" model, to make the shift to a full-fledged Thinking Classroom. Many forward-thinking math teachers have dabbled with the idea of tackling rich thinking tasks on vertical non-permanent surfaces in visibly randon groups. This session will hopefully assist you with key implementation strategies (i.e. 'How do we present tasks without pre-teaching in order to promote thinking and learning?"). It will also provide some ideas for creating resources for student self-assessment, assessment and data collection tools, and meaningful notes packages.

Attendance at one of the SD 73 workshops on 'Building Thinking Classrooms' hosted by Amanda Russett and Cynthia Morrow on April 12 from 3:30 - 4:30 ( at the HGEC) or April 13 from 3:00 4:00 (via Zoom) would be helpful prior to attending this session, but is certainly not necessary. I will do my best to ensure that everyone is up to speed with the basics before diving into these specific areas.

My name is Darren Clark, and I am the Numeracy Coordinator at Brock Middle School. In 2016, I attended my first of many Pro-D sessions with Dr. Peter Liljedahl- developer of the Thinking Classroom model. After attending this session, I was instantly convinced that this model far exceeded all others I had seen. Since this life-changing moment, I have dedicated my practice to implementing what I feel are far and away the best methods for teaching math to young people. As I continue to work to enhance my own Thinking Classroom, I am also working to assist colleagues to build and implement their own. I will die on the hill that math must be discovered through logic, reason and collaboration- not taught by a teacher (often using arbitrary algorithms that are simply mimicked and memorized).