Think-pair-share

Students take time on their own to consider a question then with a partner and, optionally, after with the entire class.

Promotes: Analysis and critical thinking, Knowledge integration and synthesis

• Think-pair-share Teaching Technique - Video & materials (K. Patricia Cross Academy).
• Adapting Think-Pair-Share for Online Teaching - Video (K. Patricia Cross Academy).

Think pair-share is an active learning technique that encourages peer-to-peer collaboration and opportunities for creating a greater sense of classroom community. Students are given a single question to briefly think about individually. They are then asked to share and discuss this question with a partner seated next to them. This paired discussion can then be followed by a full class discussion so that the class can benefit from a wider range of answers and a more comprehensive exploration of the questions. This technique provides opportunities for clarifying misinformation and prompts critical reflection. For more information about Think-Pair-Share, watch the K. Patricia Cross Academy video on Think-pair-share .

This diagrams shows the Think-Pair-Share technique that can be used when the classroom has fixed seating. A series of paired figure drawings representing students seated next to each other and turning to each other when seated side-by-side thereby allowing for easy pairing and sharing.

This diagrams shows the Think-Pair-Share technique being used when the classroom has flexible seating where chairs and tables can be moved around. Figure drawings representing students can turn to the other figure drawings representing students seated next to them or to groups or four to eight students seated nearby and shown in the diagram illustration because the classroom seating shows a flexible setup.