Building Thinking Classroom is a practice most well known for having students work on thinking tasks, in random groups, and at vertical whiteboards—all of which take place during the body of the lesson. 

In this session, we will discuss why these practices are important as well as why it is important to think beyond the body of the lesson to the closing of the lesson. In particular, we will look at the research on the three practices that close a thinking classroom lesson—consolidation, meaningful notes, and check-your-understanding questions. These three practices are instrumental in helping students turn the unorganized, unstructured, and informal conceptual understanding they gained from their group work into organized, structured, and formalized learning for themselves. 

The practices discussed will intertwine with, and make extensive references to, the soon to 
Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12; Mathematics Tasks for the Thinking Classrooms K-5; and Mathematics Tasks for the Thinking Classrooms 6-12 (released October 2025).

Consider attending Introduction to Building Thinking Classrooms, presented by Geoff La Brant: Regional Math Coordinator out of ESD 105, for a "day 1" professional development session.

Upcoming Sessions:

December 4 - https://www.pdenroller.org/esd105/catalog/194806

January 27 - https://www.pdenroller.org/esd105/catalog/194807

February 26 - https://www.pdenroller.org/esd105/catalog/194808