Dr. Liljedahl is the author of Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, a Professor of Mathematics Education in the Faculty of Education, and an associate member in the Department of Mathematics Education at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.

Dr. Liljedahl is the past president of both the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG) and International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME). He serves on the editorial boards of ESM, JMTE, MTL, FMEJ, MERJ, and CJSMTE and is a senior editor of IJSME. He has authored or co-authored 13 books, 45 book chapters, and 45 research articles on a wide range of topics.  Peter is the recipient of the Cmolik Prize for the Enhancement of Public Education (2017), The Margaret Sinclair Memorial Award Recognizing Innovation and Excellence in Mathematics Education (2018), and the Læringsprisen for Changing the way we think about Education in Denmark (2022).

Dr. Liljedahl is a former high school mathematics teacher who has kept his research interest and activities close to the classroom. With a passion for fostering deep mathematical thinking and problem-solving skills, Peter has dedicated his career to reshaping classroom environments. His work emphasizes thinking, collaborative learning, and problem solving, leading to more effective and meaningful mathematics education experiences for students of all ages. Through his research-based innovative teaching methods, Peter continues to inspire educators worldwide to create dynamic and thought-provoking learning spaces.

Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling “non-thinking” student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide

• Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions

• Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples

• Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started

• Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year

When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.