Building Thinking Classrooms Conference 2026

When transitioning to a Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) model, student buy-in can often feel like a battle to be won. But what if we reframed it as a community-building process rooted in trust?

Born from continuous coaching cycles between a BTC coach and two secondary math teachers, this session explores how to move middle and high school students past the initial friction of BTC and into full ownership of their learning. We will share the exact, classroom-tested micro-moves utilized to foster a culture of vulnerability, where both teachers and students feel safe taking mathematical risks.

Grounded in qualitative data and driven by authentic student voice, this session highlights how transparency, continuous student feedback, and targeted Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies can transform classroom dynamics. By putting these human-centered practices at the forefront, we discovered a powerful shift: a classroom where mutual empathy and compassion flourished, and true responsibility naturally replaced rigid accountability. Attendees will walk away with actionable, secondary-tested techniques from a coach-teacher perspective to build deep trust, de-escalate resistance, and co-create a thriving community of thinkers.