Building Thinking Classrooms Conference 2026: Full Schedule

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8:00am EDT

Roots Before Results: Cultivating the Conditions for Authentic Thinking Classrooms

Tuesday June 30, 2026 8:00am - 8:55am EDT

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 304

In this session, participants will explore how to plant and nurture the “growing conditions” needed for Thinking Classrooms. Through hands-on, cognitively engaging tasks, we’ll examine how choice, access, and experience—not mandates or formulas—help teachers build deep conceptual roots. Our districtwide journey of cultivating systems that support the 14 practices will be shared and we will invite reflection on barriers, opportunities, and leadership intersections. Participants will analyze their own contexts and identify actionable “tweaks” to strengthen their implementation journey.By participating in this session, attendees will be able to:Identify district and school “growing conditions”—systems, structures, and cultural factors—that support or hinder the implementation of Thinking Classroom practices.Analyze how choice, access, and experiential learning deepen conceptual understanding and foster authentic engagement for teachers.Reflect on their own district’s context to notice strengths, barriers, and opportunities in their implementation journey.Apply actionable “tweaks” that strengthen their leadership approach and support teachers in building sustainable Thinking Classrooms.Design next steps for cultivating their district’s “growing conditions,” aligning instructional research with system-level coherence.

Speakers

Kristin Smith

Education Consultant K-12, InspirED Consulting LLC

Dee Freitas

Instructional Coach K-5, New London Public Schools

Melinda Gray

Tuesday June 30, 2026 8:00am - 8:55am EDT
Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 304 177 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA

Leadership; Coaching, Medium

Grade Level or Subject Area Building Leaders; Instructional Coaches; Central Office Leaders

9:15am EDT

How We Lead for Thinking Classrooms

Tuesday June 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:10am EDT

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 304

Consider how change management affects classroom implementationArticulate the traits of an effective thinking classroomDevelop tools and actions to support teachers in shifting their practices and beliefs about thinking classrooms

Speakers

Jocelyn Dunnack

Regional Professional Learning Coordinator, CPM Educational Program

Math in the Northeast, Equity, Discourse, Middle School, Running, Star Wars.

Nicole Goerges

Implementation Support Specialist, CPM Educational Program

Nicole Goerges is an Implementation Support Specialist from Victoria, Minnesota. During her teaching career, she taught for 12 years at the middle school level. Nicole has a passion for math education, equity, and inclusion, and she has been supporting CPM teachers since 2012.

Tuesday June 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:10am EDT
Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 304 177 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA

Leadership; Coaching, Medium

Grade Level or Subject Area Instructional Coaches; Building Leaders; Central Office Leaders

9:15am EDT

Igniting the Spark: A Differentiated Approach for Building BTC Momentum -- Returning from a summer institute with excitement is easy; sustaining that momentum in a busy district is hard. How do you move beyond the "one-and-done" workshop to create a cultu

Tuesday June 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:10am EDT

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 302

Participants will explore how to operationalize four distinct entry points to spark interest and build capacity:• Broad Exposure: Leveraging Superintendent Conference Days to introduce the framework to diverse groups, including Teaching Aides.• Embedded Practice: Utilizing mandatory grade-band cycle meetings to "micro-dose" BTC strategies using district curriculum.• Cross-Pollination: A structured 15-hour "Deep Dive" series that brings Elementary and Middle School teachers together to share strategies and break down grade-level silos.• Strategic Task Sequencing: A roadmap for moving teachers from non-curricular tasks to thin-slicing district materials to ensure confidence grows alongside the math.You will leave with a viable plan to audit your district's existing structures and a strategy for planting the seeds of a Thinking Classroom that grows at a sustainable pace.

Speakers

Michelle Grier

Elementary Math Coach, Bedford Central School District

Tuesday June 30, 2026 9:15am - 10:10am EDT
Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 302 177 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA

Leadership; Coaching, Medium

Grade Level or Subject Area K-2; 3-5; 6-8

10:30am EDT

Building Thinking Systems: Scaling BTC from One Classroom to District-Wide Momentum

Tuesday June 30, 2026 10:30am - 11:25am EDT

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Black Box 118

Educators often see isolated Thinking Classrooms thrive while district-wide adoption stalls. This 55-minute session equips school and district leaders to create self-sustaining, system-level momentum for Peter Liljedahl’s Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) practices without launching yet another initiative.

Speakers

Dr. Daniel Jack

Secondary Mathematics Teacher, New Haven Public Schools / Wilbur Cross High School

Educational leader and STEM educator with over sixteen years of experience. Currently serving as a Secondary Math Teacher at Wilbur Cross High School and an Adjunct Professor of Mathematics at the University of New Haven. Dedicated to sustaining flow, trust, and transfer in educational... Read More →

Patrick Hubeny

High School Math Instructional Leader, Wallingford Public Schools

Tuesday June 30, 2026 10:30am - 11:25am EDT
Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Black Box 118 177 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA

Leadership; Coaching

Grade Level or Subject Area Instructional Coaches; Building Leaders; Central Office Leaders

1:00pm EDT

Bridging the Gap: A Practical Continuum for Supporting Teacher Readiness for Building Thinking Classrooms

Tuesday June 30, 2026 1:00pm - 1:55pm EDT

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 329

Participants will leave with: A visual continuum of instructional routines from teacher-centered to fully student-centered, showing how BTC sits at the far end of the continuum.An understanding of the incremental routines and moves (e.g., Turn & Talk, MPIRs, cooperative strategies) that build readiness for BTC.The ability to diagnose teacher readiness and motivation, recognizing why some teachers struggle with or resist BTC.Concrete strategies for supporting teachers and leaders in taking incremental, manageable steps toward building thinking classrooms. A deeper understanding of how classroom practices influence student engagement, collaboration, and access to learning.

Speakers

Daniel Kent

Regional Mathematics Coordinator, Capital Region ESD 113

Daniel is a former middle-level and high school-level mathematics teacher and current mathematics coordinator and coach for an Educational Service District in Western Washington State. Daniel supports up to 44 school districts across Western Washington, with a primary focus on schools... Read More →

Tuesday June 30, 2026 1:00pm - 1:55pm EDT
Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 329 177 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA

Leadership; Coaching, Medium

Grade Level or Subject Area Instructional Coaches; Building Leaders

1:00pm EDT

Building a Culture of Learning

Tuesday June 30, 2026 1:00pm - 1:55pm EDT

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 303

Who are your favorite influencers? Now, who are your favorite influencers at your school? In this session, you will learn the conditions that need to be in place to influence professional inquiry and Building Thinking Classrooms! Meet the key players of coaches and teachers who took a book club inquiry question and influenced the culture of a school, district, local university, and state! Come be immersed in our experiences and examples in an interactive session that will help you build your professional path! Let’s move from influence to impact on learning!

Speakers

Margaret Nickerson

Instructional Coach, Lexington Richland School District 5

Margaret Nickerson is an instructional coach serving two elementary schools near Columbia, South Carolina. With more than 18 years of classroom experience spanning Preschool through third grade, she brings a deep understanding of early childhood education, literacy development, and... Read More →

Beth White

Instructor, University of South Carolina

Beth most recently worked as Senior Lecturer in the College of Education in the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education at the University of South Carolina for 12 years. She has over 32 years of experience in education. Her specialty area is teaching and coaching teachers... Read More →

Hollie Heming

Teacher, Lexington Richland School District Five

Hollie teaches 4th grade gifted learners at Piney Woods Elementary School. She has been one of the biggest advocates for BTC and has co-led a book club at her school. She has also hosted instructional rounds for her district. Hollie is her school's 2026-2027 Teacher of the Year and... Read More →

Angie Morvay

5th Grade Math/Science Teacher, Lexington Richland School District 5

Angie is a National Board Certified teacher with 22 years experience teaching gifted and talented 5th graders. She was in the original PLC book club 3 years ago that started BTC at her school. She has hosted numerous instructional rounds for other teachers across our district to observe... Read More →

BTCC26 Building a Culture of Learning Shareable pdf

Cambourne’s Conditions of Learning for Learning Handout pdf

Tuesday June 30, 2026 1:00pm - 1:55pm EDT
Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 303 177 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA

Leadership; Coaching, Medium

Grade Level or Subject Area Instructional Coaches; Building Leaders

2:15pm EDT

Cultivating a District-Wide BTC Ecosystem through Collaboration and Culture

Tuesday June 30, 2026 2:15pm - 3:10pm EDT

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 329

Participants will leave with a framework for scaling Building Thinking Classrooms from isolated pockets of success to a district-wide standard of excellence.Essential Understanding 1: The sustainable success of BTC relies not just on the pedagogy, but on the support structures—specifically Learning Walks and PLCs—that empower teachers to take risks.Essential Understanding 2: True impact occurs when strong curriculum intersects with powerful BTC pedagogy and teacher autonomy.Essential Understanding 3: Data-driven evidence proves that "Excellence for All" is achievable through heterogeneous grouping and systemic belief in student capacity.

Speakers

Dan Hedberg

Director of Secondary Education, Bethel School District

Tuesday June 30, 2026 2:15pm - 3:10pm EDT
Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School - Room 329 177 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, USA

Leadership; Coaching, Medium

Grade Level or Subject Area Instructional Coaches; Building Leaders; Central Office Leaders

8:00am EDT

9:15am EDT

9:15am EDT

10:30am EDT

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

2:15pm EDT

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