Resource 81:   Collaborative Learning Technique  (CoLT) Think-Pair-Share

Useful for stimulating engagement in discussions, checking students’ understanding of concepts, and encouraging students to rehearse, express, and compare their understandings with those of others

Estimated Time and Effort Required for

Faculty to prepare this CoLT   VERY LOW
Students to use this CoLT        VERY LOW
Faculty to assess/follow up        VERY LOW

Complexity           VERY LOW
Risk of Failure      VERY LOW

Duration & Location     5-15 minutes/In class

Group Size & Structure Pairs or triads/Informal/No pre-organizing needed

Description and Purpose:

The name of this CoLT, “Think-Pair-Share,” captures the essential steps. In response to a question posed by the instructor, students think and perhaps write on their own for a few minutes, quickly pair up with classmates, and then share, discuss, and compare their responses in pairs before responding to the instructor or sharing with the entire class.  This technique provides students with the opportunity to formulate responses and practice communicating them with their peers.  Since Think-Pair-Share can dramatically improve students’ willingness and readiness to participate, it’s often used as a “warm up” or “step up” to a whole class discussion.

Procedure

1.   Pose an engaging question to the class, giving students ample time to think about the question individually and to devise individual responses.

2.   Ask students to pair with another student nearby to share responses and, if useful, to create a joint response by building on each other's ideas.

3.   Ask the pairs to share their responses with the whole class. If time is limited and/or the class is large, randomly call on student pairs.

4. If appropriate, provide class with the correct or expert response, allowing them to check and, if needed, correct their individual and pair responses.