This session offers practical tips on developing and implementing student navigation tools which are visual unit roadmaps that map specific learning objectives to concrete examples of basic, intermediate, and advanced problems. By clearly defining the progression of mastery, the tool empowers students to track their own proficiency and take active ownership of their learning journey. They bring clarity to learning objectives and assessment pathways within a middle or high school mathematics environment. We will demonstrate their versatile applications in the thinking classroom: as a roadmap for daily objectives, as a powerful self-assessment and reflection tool for student ownership, and as a review and formative assessment aid for targeted feedback. Participants will walk through a collaborative, iterative process for designing these tools, which feature explicit, leveled example problems. Attendees will leave with the specific process necessary to start creating their own navigation tools and a clear understanding of how this approach promotes engagement, builds confidence, fosters student autonomy, and offers a scalable strategy for district-wide coordination.
