Think-Pair-Share
Individual Activity
Think-Pair-Share
Think-Pair-Share (TPS) is a scaffolding technique devised by Frank Lyman in the early 1980s. It encourages students to think individually about a topic, discuss their thoughts with a partner, and then share their ideas with the larger group.
Alternative/linked methods: Buzz Group Activity, Pluses, Minuses, and Interesting Points (PMI)
Why?
- Engages students actively in their learning process.
- Provides a safe space for students to share ideas.
- Enhances the quality of responses through peer validation.
- Encourages higher-order thinking and deeper understanding of the material.
How?
- Pose a challenging question requiring higher-order thinking skills.
- Allow students one minute to think individually.
- Then two minutes to discuss with a partner.
- Randomly select pairs to share their thoughts with the whole group.
- Use structured prompts to guide the discussion.
When?
- Large lecture theatres and small seminar rooms.
- Any teaching space where active learning and discussion are desired.
- Situations where students need to reflect on preparatory work.
- Collaborative problem-solving sessions.
Get Started
- Pose a challenging question.
- Allow students time to think individually.
- Facilitate pairing and discussion.
- Encourage sharing with the larger group.
Digital Enhancement
- Use online platforms like discussion boards or breakout rooms.
- Utilise tools like Padlet for sharing insights.
- Adapt the method to fit synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments.
- Leverage digital collaboration tools for pair and share phases.
Resources
function sp_random_news_shortcode() {
$args = array(
‘post_type’ => ‘post’,
‘category_name’ => ‘news’,
‘posts_per_page’ => 1,
‘orderby’ => ‘rand’
);
$random_post = get_posts($args);
if ($random_post) {
$post = $random_post[0];
return ‘ID) . ‘”>Suggested Read: ‘ . esc_html($post->post_title) . ‘‘;
}
}
add_shortcode(‘random_news’, ‘sp_random_news_shortcode’);