Episode 221: Building Thinking Classrooms: The ONE Thing Math Coaches Need to Focus On

Building Thinking Classrooms books by Peter Liljedahl

Welcome fellow Recovering Traditionalists to Episode 221 – Building Thinking Classrooms: The ONE Thing Math Coaches Need to Focus On

Building Thinking Classrooms is powerful. The research Peter Liljedahl has done is solid. Teachers get excited about it. But then they try to implement all 14 practices at once, and it falls apart.

If you are a math coach, you’re stuck watching teachers struggle, feeling like you should have all the answers, but you’re trying to figure this out too.

So today, I’m going to give you a quick overview of what Building Thinking Classrooms actually is, talk about why the “all at once” approach doesn’t work, and share a better way to support your teachers. Plus, I’m going to tell you about three sessions at our free Virtual Math Summit that are by some of the BTC experts.

Alright, let’s start with the basics. What is Building Thinking Classrooms?

Building Thinking Classrooms, or BTC, is a framework developed by Peter Liljedahl based on over 15 years of research. He was trying to answer this question: What gets students actually THINKING in math class instead of just mimicking procedures?

And what he found was that there are 14 teaching practices that, when implemented together, create a classroom where students are genuinely engaged in mathematical thinking.

Now, I’m not going to go through all 14 today—that’s not the point of this video—but just to give you a sense, some of the more commonly talked about practices include things like:

• Using vertical non-permanent surfaces, like whiteboards on the walls, where students work standing up
• Creating visibly random groups so students work with different people and can’t predict who they’ll be with
• Giving tasks that are thinking tasks, not just practice problems
• De-fronting the classroom so the teacher isn’t the center of attention

There are 14 of these practices, and they’re all designed to shift students from being answer-getters to being thinkers. When teachers implement these practices, students are more engaged, they’re thinking more deeply, and they’re building that mathematical flexibility we talk about all the time.

But here’s where it gets tricky for instructional coaches.

The biggest challenge I see coaches facing with Building Thinking Classrooms is that we see the power in ALL 14 of these practices and we want teachers to implement them now. 

And I get it. When you read the book or go to a training, you see how all these practices work together. You see the vision of what a thinking classroom looks like. And it’s exciting! You want that for your teachers. You want that for your students.

But here’s the reality. Teachers are already overwhelmed. They’ve got curriculum to cover, standards to meet, assessments to give, behaviors to manage, and a hundred other things on their plate.

And then you come in and say, “Hey, let’s also completely transform how you teach math by implementing 14 new practices.”

It’s too much.

So here’s what I want you to do instead: Focus on ONE practice based on what your teachers’ goals are.

Not what YOU think they should work on. Not what the framework says to start with. What do THEY want to improve in their classroom?

Let me give you an example.

Let’s say you’re working with a teacher who says, “My students just won’t talk to each other during math. They sit silently, wait for me to show them what to do, and then they just copy the steps.”

That teacher’s goal is to get students talking and engaging with each other.

So instead of overwhelming them with all 14 practices, you might start with visibly random groups. That’s it. Just that one practice.

You help them understand WHY random groups matter—because when students can’t predict who they’ll work with, they can’t rely on the same person to do the thinking every time. They have to engage.

You help them figure out the logistics—how to create the groups, how to change them up, how to set the expectation that everyone contributes.

And you give them time to practice that ONE thing until it becomes part of their routine.

Once that’s solid, THEN you layer in another practice. Maybe thinking tasks. Maybe vertical surfaces. But you’re building incrementally based on their goals, not trying to do everything at once.

I don’t know everything and I don’t claim to be an expert in BTC, I just know that any time you try to implement something new, it has to be tied to a deeper purpose for the teachers you work with.  They won’t implement long-term just because you said they should.  So pick one practice that aligns with each teachers’ goals and then both of you dig into that one practice.

At our free Virtual Math Summit—which is happening live February 28th and March 1st, 2026—we have three sessions from the Building Thinking Classrooms experts if you’d like help digging into BTC.

First, Peter Liljedahl himself is presenting. His session is specifically for math coaches. And here’s what I love about his session: he’s not just talking about the framework. He’s talking about how to support teachers through the hard parts of implementation.  

Because that’s what you need, right? You don’t need someone to tell you what the 14 practices are—you can read the book for that. You need someone to help you navigate the messy middle when teachers are struggling, when they’re resistant, when they’re trying but it’s not working yet.

That’s what Peter’s session is about. And if you’re coaching teachers through BTC, this is the session you need to watch.

Second, we have Maegan Giroux. She co-authored the Building Thinking Classrooms K-5 Tasks book with Peter, and her session is about what she learned teaching kindergartners that made her a better teacher for ALL grades.

And I think this is so important for coaches because seeing how these practices impact the learning and teaching at ALL levels helps us tie it to a bigger purpose. She’s going to share what thinking looks like in a kindergarten classroom and how those same principles apply all the way up.

And third, we have Tammy McMorrow. Tammy lives this work daily in her 1st grade classroom.  Her session focuses on math identity and belonging in the classroom.

And this is the heart of what a thinking classroom should produce, right? It’s not just about getting kids to stand at whiteboards or work in groups. It’s about creating a space where every student sees themselves as a mathematical thinker. Where they belong. Where they feel safe to take risks and make mistakes.

If you’re coaching teachers through BTC, you need to understand how to help them create that culture. 

So those are three sessions out of 34 total sessions at the Virtual Math Summit. The summit is completely free for 10 days. It goes live February 28th and March 1st, and then you can watch the limited time replays after that.

You can register at VirtualMathSummit.com. I’ll put the link in the description.

Alright, let’s recap.

Building Thinking Classrooms is powerful, but trying to implement all 14 practices at once is overwhelming for teachers—and for you as a coach.

Instead, focus on ONE practice based on your teachers’ goals. Build incrementally. Learn alongside them.

And if you want expert guidance on how to actually support teachers through this work, come join us at the Virtual Math Summit. Peter Liljedahl, Maegan Giroux, and Tammy McMorrow are going to give you the tools you need.

Register at VirtualMathSummit.com. Link is in the description.

Alright, my fellow Recovering Traditionalists, I hope this helped build your math mind so you can build the math minds of students.

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