Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12: 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning (Corwin Mathematics Series)

by Peter Liljedahl

The second epiphany was the sudden realization that Jane was planning her teaching on the assumption that students either couldn’t or wouldn’t think. Jane was in a tough position—she had a room full of students who weren’t thinking, yet she had curriculum to get through and standards to meet. This is not uncommon. Every day, teachers all over the world find themselves in this exact same dilemma. Even teachers who, by traditional measures, are considered good teachers—who know their content, care about their students, and want to do the best for them—face this dilemma. Jane was considered, in her school and throughout her district, to be a very good teacher—her students performed well on tests, and no students appeared to be falling through the cracks. Jane wanted to do her best for her students, and she was willing to work hard to get there. And yet Jane found herself in this exact dilemma. So, what did she do? She did what many of us do—she structured activities that allowed her to move through the content as quickly and efficiently as possible without requiring her students to think. I’ll give you an example.

Dynamic “legacy”