Frank Webb Home Grant: Building Thinking Classrooms with Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces
- School Year: 2022-2023
- Applicants: Heather Russell, Lead Teacher
- School: Conard High School
- Subjects: Math
Peter Liljedahl's "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics" provides 14 teaching practices to enhance learning. One of the big ideas is the use of "Vertical Non-permanent Surfaces" which has students working on large whiteboards in small groups. There are many benefits to this strategy including mobility of knowledge, increased student engagement, and increased risk-taking. By using mid-sized, wheeled whiteboards for thinking tasks in the math classroom, students will feel more comfortable problem solving in a way that promotes student thinking rather than relying heavily on the teacher. After a couple years of pandemic learning we have an increased need to engage students in a learning environment that necessitates thinking and collaboration. We are excited to put into action the teaching practices discussed in "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics" and use vertical non-permanent surfaces to truly make this work for our students.