Author: Matt Coaty

Every school year feels like a new draft of a similar successful experiment. Four years into using Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) strategies and I’m realizing that the best lessons aren’t just about math tasks, but about the habits, trust, and structure that make math thinking visible.

I started my BTC journey small: cutting shower panels purchased at Home Depot into makeshift whiteboards. Today, three of my four classroom walls are covered in the real thing and Expo markers are used daily. You could say I’ve gone all-in on getting students out of their seats and into mathematical conversations. It’s been one of the most worthwhile shifts in my teaching career. As with any change, I’ve hit plenty of bumps along the way. Here are a few lessons from trial and error:

• Vague directions lead to vague outcomes. Students need clarity to stay focused.
• Skipping norm reinforcement means classroom culture can unravel fast.
• Rigid time limits create stress instead of structure. Not every group works at the same pace.

When I forget these lessons, the classroom energy dips. But when the structure is clear and flexible, students take ownership. Through practice and reflection, I’ve found a few constants that make BTC thrive:

• Randomize groups every time. Students grow by learning with everyone, not just their usual partners.
• Set clear expectations up front. Outline what happens during BTC time — how to collaborate, communicate, and close.
• Stay visible and present. Circulating, asking questions, and listening makes thinking public and valued.

This year, I wanted to go a step further: to help students self-monitor their behavior and advocate for themselves while working at the boards. That goal took shape after attending the BTC Conference in Seattle this summer. One standout session, led by Idaho math teacher Nicholas Stevener explored how students can grade and norm themselves at the whiteboards.

His simple coding system for reflection sparked an idea I wanted to bring home. After some non-curricular tasks to ease students into BTC routines, my sixth graders and I co-created classroom norms. Then, I introduced a self-monitoring tool called the MRC system:

1. At the start of whiteboard time, students draw a line across the top of their board.
   
2. As they work, they add letters that describe their behavior:
   • M for Marker — Are we sharing the marker?
   • R for Respect — Are we speaking and listening respectfully?
   • C for Collaboration — Are we working closely together?

Originally, I used “K” for kindness, but “Respect” offered a broader more reflective lens. As students work, I circulate and add letters too. If a group is showing strong teamwork, I’ll add a “C” If I notice they’ve drifted off track, I draw a small line and place a letter to the left — a quiet cue to refocus. It’s not designed to be punitive. It’s communication without interruption.

So far students see how their behavior evolves in real time. When whiteboard time ends, they snap a photo and submit it through Apple Classroom or Canvas. Their board becomes both a math artifact and a reflection tool.

The MRC system is still new, but it’s already doing what I hoped with helping students build awareness and action. BTC has always been about engagement, but this layer adds reflection and accountability too. I plan to refine the rubric over time, but I’m already seeing the difference: students are more thoughtful about how they learn, not just what they learn.

Teaching with BTC continues to remind me that structure and autonomy don’t have to compete. They can complement each other. When students understand what it means to contribute, respect, and collaborate, the math takes care of itself.

Written by Matt Coaty, a 6th grade math teacher in Illinois exploring ways to make student thinking visible through Building Thinking Classrooms.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in two years of implementing Building Thinking Classrooms with middle schoolers, it’s this—middle schoolers are quirky. They will find loopholes in everything. Give them whiteboards? They’ll doodle memes before and after solving problems. Randomized groups? Cue the dramatic groans and a few eye rolls. My stragies of dealing with these perceived loopholes have changed over time. Through trial and error, I’ve been able to refine BTC strategies into something that works. Along the way, I’ve seen lightbulb moments, genuine engagement, and even students voluntarily doing math without cues. Students now look forward to working at the boards and I even get asked about it if we haven’t been at the boards for a while. Here are five key takeaways that have made my classroom a more productive and thinking-filled space.

1.) Enhanced Student Engagement through Whiteboard Tasks

Vertical whiteboards have been a game-changer—seriously, they should be a required supply list item in the math classroom. The simple act of standing while working transforms the classroom collaboration. Students work in groups, bouncing ideas off each other, arguing over strategies (mathematically -most of the time), and actually discussing math rather than just passively completing problems. The best part? The whiteboards are a built-in accountability tool. When their thinking is out in the open, students stay on task more and there’s visible accountability And if not? Well, nothing humbles a student like having their TikTok-inspired doodle publicly erased by their teacher. I attempt to hide my joy while admiring and then erasing the doodles.

2.) Effective Use of Randomized Groupings

If you ever want to see middle schoolers experience an existential crisis, tell them they can’t pick their partners. Randomizing groups—whether through playing cards (my favorite), number draws, or via digital means is one of the best ways to break up cliques and get students working with different classmates. It forces them to develop social and communication skills, while also leveling the playing field. Over time students adjust, and the initial “But I don’t know them!” protests turn into actual collaboration. Plus, I like to remind them: in the real world, you don’t always get to pick your coworkers—so welcome to adulthood, kids!

3.) Establishment of Clear Norms and Expectations

Ah, expectations—the thing that keeps a thinking classroom from descending into pure chaos. The biggest lesson I’ve learned? If you don’t set norms with students, they’ll set their own (and trust me, you don’t want those). I saw this in my early days of using vertical whiteboards. Taking time at the start to co-create norms has paid off tremendously. Students take ownership of their roles by referencing a rubric, hold each other accountable, and begin reminding each other of the expectations. It’s a beautiful moment when you hear a student say, “Hey, we’re supposed to be discussing strategies, not ranking our favorite chips.” (Although, in fairness, that’s also an important discussion.)

4.) Reflective Practices to Assess Group Effectiveness

We’ve all had those group work moments where one student does everything while the others mysteriously “supervise.” To combat this, I’ve made reflection a consistent part of our process. Students evaluate their group’s effectiveness using rubrics and self-assessments, which forces them to admit that “staring at the ceiling or watching birds out the window” was not, in fact, a meaningful contribution. More importantly, it makes them think about how they work together—what went well, what didn’t and what adjustments they need to make. This reflection has been key to improving not just their math skills, but their ability to collaborate in a way that’s meaningful to their math learning.

5.) Transition from Mimicry to Genuine Understanding

Middle schoolers are absolute pros at mimicking steps without actually understanding them. Many of them have learned how to play school. I’ve seen students confidently apply a formula they copied from the whiteboard—completely unaware of why it works. Math teachers feel the vibes here. So, I’ve shifted the focus from “Just follow these steps” to “Figure out why this makes sense” and communicate it to the class. Through open-ended problems, discussions, and strategies that push thinking, students start asking why (especially if the task asks students to summarize their reasoning) instead of just asking for the answer. It starts with finding or creating high-quality tasks. It’s not always easy—sometimes they resist, wanting the quick fix or try to rely on one person in the group that may know the answer. But when a student finally connects the dots and excitedly explains a concept in their own words? That’s the good stuff.

Final Thoughts

These five takeaways have made me a more reflective teacher. Let’s be honest, the best teaching strategies require constant tweaking. Some days things run smoothly and I feel like a Building Thinking Classroom wizard. Other days, I wonder if I should just become a professional whiteboard cleaner. But that’s the beauty of Building Thinking Classrooms—it’s an ongoing process, not a one-size-fits-all solution. I’m still learning and will continue to do so by digging deeper into Peter’s book and visiting conferences. One thing’s for sure—my students are thinking more, collaborating more, and even their math journey. And that is making a difference.

In the current school year, my team and I embarked on the journey of implementing Building Thinking Classroom (BTC) tasks. Our initial experiences were documented in a previous blog post. Since August, we have continued to employ strategies from the BTC framework, discovering valuable classroom practices while refining others through trial-and-error. This post provides a brief overview of our key practices.

Whiteboard Tasks:

Whiteboard BTC tasks, aligned with district-adopted resources, are assigned 2-3 times weekly. These tasks, sourced or created by team members (often put in a Google planning document), employ a playing cards method. Students are assigneda number corresponding to a specific whiteboard number. Students collaborate on the task for 10-15 minutes, utilizing a shared marker for each board.

Consolidation:

Upon completion (or work) of the whiteboard tasks, the class engages in two consolidation methods. Firstly, I guide the class to different boards, emphasizing diverse strategies. The class follows to the different boards during this time. Alternatively, students return to their desks for a seated discussion of the strategies on the boards. While both methods have shown promise, the latter has proven more effective due to increased student focus.

Pictures:

Following consolidation, students photograph their whiteboards, uploading the images to a Notability document. Adding captions to their pictures, students later submit them as assignments, fostering accountability and aiding in organizing their whiteboard tasks.

Checking Your Understanding:

Every 3-5 lessons, I administer assignments associated with a lesson group. This lessons are periodically worked on throughout the unit. On the due date, students review their work, compare it to a provided key, and make corrections using symbols like C, PC, or NY.

Notes to My Future Forgetful Self:

Aligned with the Checking Your Understanding assignments, Notes to My Future Forgetful Self tasks are completed independently by students. Submitted on Canvas, these notes and empahsis on vocabulary serve to review specific lesson sequences. Students sometimes include a picture of a BTC whiteboard task, providing insights in the form of captions.

Throughout the past months, our team has gained valuable insights into implementing BTC strategies. We have established a working routine and anticipate further integration of Peter’s ideas as the academic year progresses.