The Thinking Classroom Part 2 An Interview with Peter Liljedahl

In this episode we speak with the godfather of the Thinking Classroom Peter Liljedahl. We spoke with Peter way back on episode 21 of the podcast about how he built the components of the thinking classroom and we needed to bring him back on because we only got through a fraction of what we needed to!  

Stick around because as always Peter drops some classroom move knowledge bombs! In particular he shares why groups of 3 are better than groups of 2 in your math class; how to choose a task to fit the environment instead of modifying your environment to fit the task; 4 practices that help move group synergy work to an individual knowing; and, why “descriptions” of effective teaching strategies shouldn’t necessarily lead to “prescriptions”

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Building Thinking Classrooms: An Interview with Peter Liljedahl

In this Math Moment Interview, we talk with Dr. Peter Liljedahl, Professor of mathematics education at Simon Fraser University who has been researching ways to get students to become resilient problem solvers through ideas such as using vertical non-permanent surfaces, visible random groupings, selecting tasks with evolving complexity, and much more…He calls his work The Thinking Classroom.

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Building Thinking Classrooms: A Conversation between Judy Larsen and Peter Liljedahl
In this session, Judy and Peter have a wide-ranging conversation about Building thinking Classrooms. Whether Building Thinking Classrooms is new to you or you have been doing it for a long time there is something here for you. We discuss everything from what it is, to where to start if you are new to it, to what you should be thinking about if you have been doing it for a while as well as nuances about the framework that can’t be found elsewhere. The talk is set up like a podcast so pop in your earbuds and enjoy.


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Thinking about Building Thinking Classrooms Across Contexts: A Session by Judy Larsen and Peter Liljedahl

Although Building Thinking Classrooms is a collection of pedagogical tools that emerged out of research concerned with promoting thinking in the K-12 face-to-face environment, it lives in and extends to spaces that go well beyond this setting. In this conversation, Peter and Judy explore the Building Thinking Classrooms framework across four learning contexts (K-12, post-secondary, professional development, and online). They discuss similarities and differences among these contexts, and highlight implications for practice both in online and f2f settings.

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Thinking Classrooms with Peter Liljedahl

Last week, Dr. Nicki mentioned Peter Liljedahl’s research on vertical, non-permanent spaces. That took me on a journey into Peter’s work, and after reading all of Peter’s work around Thinking Classrooms, I had to invite him to the Modern Learners podcast. Luckily, he made time in his busy schedule before we concluded our math theme. 

This podcast episode is the perfect bridge between our MLC themes. We’ve spent time exploring math through our Modern Learners Lens, and now we’re moving into Places and Spaces. Peter does an excellent job in this interview explaining the research behind vertical, non-permanent spaces. He even mentions that he’s never seen a classroom not be able to find space or budget to create more vertical, non-permanent spaces once they experience the thinking those spaces naturally produce. The research is clear, and now we just need to make it happen.

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Building Thinking Classrooms
We know that problem solving is an effective way for students to learn to think mathematically and to acquire deep knowledge and understanding of the mathematics they are learning. Simply problematizing the mathematics curriculum, however, does not help constitute the practice that teachers want or students need. Equally, infusion of problem-based learning into the mathematics curriculum does not help with the transformations we want to see in our classrooms. What we need are a set of tools that, along with good problems, can build thinking classrooms. In this presentation, Dr. Peter Liljedahl looks at a series of such tools, emerging from research, that can help to build an environment conducive to problem-based learning. He will unpack his research that has demonstrated that a problem-based learning environment and culture can quickly be established, even in classrooms where students resist change.

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