Updates

BTC Update #10

Friends, thank you for your interest in, and support of, the work being done to build thinking classrooms all over the state. If you know of others who would benefit from receiving these updates, please give them this link to sign up. If you are new to these updates you can catch up by reading the previous updates using this link which is part of our PEL/BTC website. Here is the latest news:

You’re probably not surprised to hear that the available spaces for Peter Liljedahl’s return to Connecticut sold out immediately. Also, the BTC for Leaders workshops that we are hosting this spring are also full. We are trying to figure out whether we can fit in another such workshop before the end of the year.

In the meantime, all of our materials for the workshops are available on our PEL/BTC web page.

In addition to BTC-specific workshops, we are offering the following:

Systems for Instructional Improvement Virtual Book Study, first session April 30
Coaching In-Depth, May 8, 2024
Equitable School Improvement Book Launch Party, May 30
Coaching for Leaders, July 23-25, 2024

The Coaching Institute in September is also full, join our waitlist for that here.

BTC Update #9

Peter Liljedahl is returning to Connecticut at the end of May! He will be facilitating 4 days of workshops all of which will be at the Lyceum in Hartford. Here are the workshops he will be leading:

Day 1 Workshop May 20: This is a workshop for those just embarking on their journey with Building Thinking Classrooms. Participants will be introduced to the BTC framework and the research behind it. Additionally, attendees will learn everything they need to begin implementing both curricular and non curricular lessons and will actually experience a full curricular lesson taught by Peter.

Day 2 Workshop May 21 AND May 22: This is a workshop for those who

already have a foundation with Building Thinking Classrooms and are

looking to dive deeper into specific practices. Attendees will learn about

what homework looks like in a thinking classroom, how to foster student

autonomy, how to use hints and extensions, consolidating the lesson, and

note making. Additionally, participants will get the opportunity to begin

designing their own curricular lessons.

Day 3 Workshop May 23: This is a workshop for those who already have a foundation with Building Thinking Classrooms and are looking to dive about how these assessment practices can be used in their own classrooms.

Registration is now open for general admission. You can sign up through the fliers linked above. If you have any questions about registration please reach out to Bridget at bnahabedian@partnersforel.org.

Please encourage leaders at all levels in your district to sign up for one of our BTC for Leaders workshops. These will be held on April 5th and May 3rd in Derby (the second is a repeat of the first). You can register through the fliers linked to the dates.
We are organizing a book study on Systems for Instructional Improvement, which we think has broad repercussions for teacher professional development, and the work of instructional coaches, principals, and central office leaders. But it is fundamentally a book about leadership and strategy for ambitious and equitable instruction in mathematics, and we think it has strong connections to both Building Thinking Classrooms and the work we have been doing on standard work and recipes. Please sign up to join the Zoom book group meetings. The first one is April 30, 2024 at 3:15 pm Eastern.
Peter has a new book coming out this May. It's called Mathematics Tasks for the Thinking Classroom, K-5 and it is available for pre-order now. No doubt we will organize a book study and possibly other support when the book is published. Stay tuned.
We are actively adding new instructional recipes to the recipes page of the BTC website. Thank you for the feedback we have received from those who have been busy testing them. We encourage you to try them out–and when you do please give us feedback. We would love to know about your experience, particularly any stumbling blocks you encountered or modifications you made.
If you are interested in partnering with PEL to support your district with BTC implementation/ support, please email Jerry at jbelair@partnersforel.org
In addition to BTC-specific workshops, we are offering the following:
1. Coaching In-Depth, May 8, 2024
2. Coaching for Leaders, July 23-25, 2024
3. Annual Coaching Institute, September 2024

BTC Update #8

Here is the latest news:

We are excited to be building on the success we had with our BTC for Coaches workshop series by offering 2 sessions that focus on BTC for Leaders. These will be held on April 5th and May 3rd in Derby (the second is a repeat of the first). Registration is now open.
We have been busy adding to the recipes page of the BTC website. The page now includes several recipes for specific BTC practices like launching the task and consolidating the lesson. We encourage you to try them out–and when you do please give us feedback. We would love to know about your experience, particularly any stumbling blocks you encountered or modifications you made.
Peter Liljedahl is returning to Connecticut at the end of May! He will be facilitating 4 days of workshops all of which will be at the Lyceum in Hartford. Here are the workshops he will be leading:

Day 2 Workshop May 21 AND May 22: This is a workshop for those who

already have a foundation with Building Thinking Classrooms and are

looking to dive deeper into specific practices. Attendees will learn about

what homework looks like in a thinking classroom, how to foster student

autonomy, how to use hints and extensions, consolidating the lesson, and

note making. Additionally, participants will get the opportunity to begin

designing their own curricular lessons.

Day 3 Workshop May 23: This is a workshop for those who already have a foundation with Building Thinking Classrooms and are looking to dive deeper into those practices specifically focused on assessment. Attendees will learn about what to evaluate in a thinking classroom, the role of formative assessment in BTC, and what grades look like in a thinking classroom. This will include opportunities for participants to begin to think about how these assessment practices can be used in their own classrooms.

We have a rolling registration process through which different districts can register at different times based on several criteria. We will let you know when general registration begins, so be on the lookout for that information, as we anticipate demand to be extremely high.

BTC Update #7

Here is the latest news:

On December 14 we had the last in our series of our BTC for coaches workshops. This brings the grand total of participants to 350, which we are amazed at and grateful for.
We have decided not to offer any more BTC for coaches workshops in the spring; we think there is probably the demand for them, but we do not have the capacity to do as many workshops as we would like, and we also want to offer workshops that are focused on what leaders need to know to support BTC. To that end, we are offering two BTC for Leaders workshops in early spring:
1. April 5, 2024
2. May 3, 2024
The example “Model 1” and “Model 2” lessons have proven to be very popular! There are now 4 examples on the Model 1 and Model 2 page on the PEL/BTC website. If you have others, we would love to add them! Please let us know if you do! And if you have any feedback that would make them better, we would love to have that also.
Also on the Model 1/Model 2 page is a prototype for “flipping” a lesson from more teacher-directed to more focused on student thinking. We would love you to try it out and give us feedback on that also! We are particularly interested in finding out what are the stumbling blocks you’ve encountered, or what detail you wish you’d had.
Peter Liljedahl will be back in Connecticut at the end of May. Here are the workshops that he will be leading. All of them will be at the Lyceum in Hartford. Obviously, we anticipate that demand for these workshops will be very high, but we will let you know when we are ready to start registration.

May 20: Day 1 Workshop: Introduction to BTC which covers everything that teachers need to do full lessons with both non-curricular and curricular tasks, and they experience a full curricular lesson.

May 21: Day 2 Workshop: Practices 7-11 and starting to design curricular lessons.

May 22: Day 2 Workshop: Practices 7-11 and starting to design curricular lessons.

May 23: Day 3 Workshop: Assessment.

In addition to BTC-specific workshops, we are offering the following:
1. Facilitation Workshop, January 23, 2024
2. Coaching In-Depth, May 8, 2024
3. Coaching for Leaders, July 23-25, 2024 (registration just opened)
4. Annual Coaching Institute, September 2024

BTC Update #6

We are hosting five workshops for coaches this semester: three for math coaches and two for humanities/language arts. They are all full at this point, so we are trying to figure out how best to support coaches moving forward.
- If you have not been able to sign up yet, please join the waitlist--this helps us determine demand.
- If you have been to one of these workshops we have asked you to fill out an evaluation form that asks, in part, what support you would like next. If you have NOT already given us that information, please email Tom.
If you are interested in connecting with educators across districts who are implementing or thinking about implementing BTC PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK, which will take you to a Google form where you can enter your contact information. We will use this information to populate a spreadsheet that we will share ONLY with the people on this list and on the PEL/BTC website, which is not a publicly listed site.
We want to give coaches interested in BTC first swing at signing up for our annual Coaching Institute, which is always over-subscribed. Here is the flier that contains the registration link. If you are not in a position to sign up right away but would like to hold a spot, email Bridget
In addition to the 3-day Coaching Institute, we are also holding a Facilitation Workshop on January 23, 2024, and a Coaching In-Depth on May 8, 2024.
Many of you have seen us facilitate activities to demonstrate the difference between a teacher-centered and a thinking-centered classroom. The resources to run those activities are a new page on our PEL/BTC website.
Professor Liljedahl is coming back to Connecticut in May of 2024. More information on this will be shared in the coming months.

BTC Update #5

Friends, we hope you have had a great start to the new school year. We are excited to give you an update on our continued efforts to support the work of Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC). If you know of others who would benefit from receiving these updates, please give them this link to sign up. If you are new to these updates you can catch up by reading the previous updates using this link which is part of our PEL/BTC website.

We will be holding workshops on October 18th and November 2nd at Mercy-by-the-Sea to support math coaches, both are full. However, we have scheduled a third session of this workshop in order to accommodate the demand. This will be held on December 14th at Mercy-by-the-Sea. Click here for details on registration.
We are running workshops on November 1st and November 29th at Mercy-by-the-Sea to support NON-MATH teachers and coaches in thinking about how BTC could be employed in other subject areas. Both are full, but you can fill out this form to put on the waitlist.
If you are interested in connecting with educators across districts who are implementing or thinking about implementing BTC PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK, which will take you to a Google form where you can enter your contact information . We will use this information to populate a spreadsheet that we will share ONLY with the people on this list and on the PEL/BTC website, which is not a publicly listed site.
If you are interested in partnering with PEL to support your district with BTC implementation or you have any feedback or suggestions regarding our continued efforts to support Building Thinking Classrooms, email Tom at tnobili@partnersforel.org.

Finally, we have some other workshops in the coming months that are not BTC specific, but are definitely related in terms of their focus on adult learning, coaching, continuous improvement, and high quality instruction. Details are below.

BTC Update #4

Friends, we hope you have had a rejuvenating and enjoyable summer. We have been busy with our continued efforts to support the work of Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) and are excited to give you an update. If you know of others who would benefit from receiving these updates, please give them this link to sign up. If you are new to these updates you can catch up by reading the previous updates using this link which is part of our PEL/BTC website.

The Noyce Fellows who are a part of The CT Noyce Math Teacher Leaders Program are offering a free online workshop on August 22 on thin slicing. Here’s the flyer. And here’s the registration link if you want to go directly there.

We will be holding a workshop on October 18 at Mercy-by-the-Sea to support math coaches in particular, which is already full. However, we have scheduled a second session of this workshop in order to accommodate the demand. This will be held on November 2 at Mercy-by-the-Sea. Click here for details on registration.

We are running a workshop on November 1 (which is already full) at Mercy-by-the-Sea to support NON-MATH teachers and coaches in thinking about how BTC could be employed in other subject areas. Due to the demand we will be offering a second session of this workshop at Mercy-by-the-Sea on November 29. Click here for registration details.

If you are interested in connecting with educators across districts who are implementing or thinking about implementing BTC PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK, which will take you to a Google form where you can enter your contact information . We will use this information to populate a spreadsheet that we will share ONLY with the people on this list and on the PEL/BTC website, which is not a publicly listed site.

If you are interested in partnering with PEL to support your district with BTC implementation or you have any feedback or suggestions regarding our continued efforts to support Building Thinking Classrooms, email Tom at tnobili@partnersforel.org

BTC Update #3

Friends, we hope you are enjoying your summer so far. We are excited to update you on PEL’s continued effort to support the work of Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC). If you know of others who would benefit from receiving these updates, please give them this link to sign up. If you are new to these updates you can catch up by reading the previous updates using this link which is part of our PEL/BTC website.

On June 30th we held a successful convening of teachers and coaches who are supporting BTC at the classroom level. We engaged in a thinking task to illustrate how the BTC change package is constantly evolving and now includes practices and techniques that are not in the book. We also spent some time unpacking the basics of improvement science in order to understand how it can be a useful methodology to continue to learn more about BTC implementation. Finally, participants had the opportunity to network with others engaged in similar work. Thanks again to Derby for hosting!
We will be holding a workshop on October 18 at Mercy-by-the-Sea to support math coaches in particular, which is already full. However, we have scheduled a second session of this workshop in order to accommodate the demand. This will be held on November 2 at Mercy-by-the-Sea. Click here for details on registration.
We are running a workshop on November 1 (which is already full) at Mercy-by-the-Sea to support NON-MATH teachers and coaches in thinking about how BTC could be employed in other subject areas. To join the waitlist for that workshop please fill out this form.
In the last update, we filled you in on what we came up with to connect educators across districts who are implementing or thinking about implementing BTC, So if you are a teacher or coach who would be willing to share what you’re doing with BTC with others, PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO FILL OUT A GOOGLE FORM. We will use this information to populate a spreadsheet that we will share ONLY with the people on this list and on the PEL/BTC website, which is not a publicly listed site.
If you are interested in partnering with PEL to support your district with BTC implementation or you have any feedback or suggestions regarding our continued efforts to support Building Thinking Classrooms email Tom at tnobili@partnersforel.org.

BTC Update #2

Friends, this email is to keep you informed about PEL’s support for implementing Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC). If you know of others who would benefit from receiving these updates, please give them this link to sign up.

We continue to be amazed by the enthusiasm for BTC. Here’s the latest news. For the previous update, click here. We will also archive the updates on the PEL/BTC website.

As mentioned in Update #1, Derby hosts a regular community of practice for leaders in a variety of roles. The June 5 meeting was devoted to BTC implementation, and we had around 80 leaders attend that, which was fantastic! Most of the morning was spent on what implementation of BTC might look like in a classroom setting that is NOT math, and how that connects to a district’s definition of high quality instruction. And then there was time for leaders to connect across districts and hear what others are doing. Thank you, yet again, to Derby for hosting.
We are going to host a meeting for teachers who are interested in talking about how to "fill in the gaps" in BTC, i.e. provide further detail on implementation that teachers can use, so that they benefit from the wisdom of each other and don't have to learn everything about implementation from their own trial and error. We hope this turns into a robust and supportive community of practice. The first meeting will be on June 30th, 9am-noonish. THERE WAS SO MUCH DEMAND THAT WE HAD TO MOVE FROM THE MILFORD BOE TO THE DERBY FIELDHOUSE. There was so much demand that we closed registration, so if you want to join the waitlist please email Bridget.
We have scheduled a workshop on October 18 at Mercy-by-the-Sea to support math coaches in particular, which is also already full. If you would like to join the waitlist, again, please email Bridget.
This is new: We have scheduled a workshop on November 1 at Mercy-by-the-Sea to support NON-MATH teachers in thinking about how BTC could be employed in other subject areas. Registration just went live: click here.
We know that there are many schools and districts where there is interest in implementing BTC but they don't have anyone in-district who has any experience with the 14 practices. In the last update we shared that we were going to figure out a way to put schools and districts in this position with teachers and coaches who are already implementing BTC—and here’s what we came up with. If you are a teacher or coach who would be willing to share what you’re doing with BTC with others, PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK TO FILL OUT A GOOGLE FORM. We will use this information to populate a spreadsheet that we will share ONLY with the people on this list and on the PEL/BTC website, which is not a publicly listed site. And the form asks for your email address but not your phone number, as we figured that the former is already easily accessible, but a phone number is a bit different.

We are working on supporting a couple of other avenues, so stay tuned! If you have any other feedback, or suggestions for how we can further support efforts to implement BTC, please email Isobel at istevenson@partnersforel.org.

BTC Update #1

The response of the folks who got to see Peter in person was overwhelmingly positive. And we know that there are many other math teachers who were not at one of the workshops but who’ve read the book and are starting to implement the 14 practices in their classrooms. We want to support these efforts! As a result, here is what we are thinking so far—we would love your suggestions:

We have already booked Peter to come back to Connecticut next May.
Everyone who registered for one of Peter’s workshops has been added to a separate mailing list, and if you are interested in being part of the BTC community of learners, please use this link to sign up. Anyone can add their name. And if you know anyone who is implementing or interested in BTC, please send them the link to the mailing list. You won’t be snowed with emails—you’ll hear from us occasionally when we have something new to share—and of course you can unsubscribe at any time.
We will keep this website updated, and eventually expand it, so that it becomes a hub for relevant information.
We have created a small advisory group including folks from the state department of education, universities, district central office, and we hope to add a couple of teachers and building leaders.
Derby hosts a regular community of practice for leaders in a variety of roles—there’s a meeting coming up on June 5th, and we are going to devote that meeting to following up on the BTC workshops. The details (start and end time, for example) have yet to be ironed out, but it will be most of the day, and we can accommodate a large group in the space, the Derby Fieldhouse, which is a wonderful facility. (Shout out to the superintendent, Matt Conway, who has allowed us to use the space on a number of occasions—much appreciated!) If you’d like to join us, register here, no cost.
We are hosting a workshop for math coaches who are supporting the implementation of BTC on October 18 at Mercy-by-the-Sea. We'll talk about the relationship between BTC and a district's strategy and vision for high quality instruction, and how to create the conditions for implementation of BTC. And coaches will be able to network and learn from each other. Register here, $90 per person, including breakfast, lunch, and a copy of Making Coaching Matter.
We know that there are many schools and districts where there is interest in implementing BTC but they don't have anyone in-district who has any experience with the 14 practices. We would like to create a database of interested folks so that expertise can be shared across districts—we have some design work to do on that, but stay tuned!
We are going to host a meeting for teachers who are interested in talking about how to "fill in the gaps" in BTC, i.e. provide further detail on implementation that teachers can use, so that they benefit from the wisdom of each other and don't have to learn everything about implementation from their own trial and error. We hope this turns into a robust and supportive community of practice. The first meeting will be on June 30th, 9am-noonish, at the Milford BoE. Register here, no cost.

If you have any other feedback, or suggestions for how we can further support efforts to implement BTC, please email Isobel at istevenson@partnersforel.org.