Think, Pair, Share

Think (or Write)

Give students a specific amount of time (dependent upon the complexity of the question or topic) to think or write about a specific topic. Depending upon the specific topic, it might be fun to have students draw a graphic organizer or picture to relate the topic to something else. If the instructor takes the same amount of time to write some ideas, students are more likely to follow the example of the instructor. You can give students a set amount of time, or watch for when the majority of the students have finished writing to move on to the next phase.

Pair

Have students pair up with a partner or two and have each person take turns sharing what they thought or wrote. You might have them compare and contrast their ideas with each other.

Share

Depending on the size of your class and the amount of time that you would like to devote to the activity, have several pairs share with the whole class what they discussed in their pairs and how their original perceptions might have changed after talking with their partners.

For example, in a psychology class you might be discussing different theorists. Have students pick 2 theorists and draw an animal that reminds the student of each. Then, explain why the animal reminds them of the theorist. When students get together to share with each other, they will likely have different ways of viewing the theorists and having these vivid visual representations, explaining them and then hearing them explained by someone else will activate new parts of the brain and help students to have multiple ways to remember.

In a math class if there are several ways to go about solving a of problem, you could have the students work the problem on their own and then share with their neighbor how they solved it and how they were thinking about the problem that they chose to solve it in that way. During the share time, if two students share the same way of doing the problem, you might choose to show students yet another way and see, by raise of hand, how many people solved the problem in the way that the students solved it, how many did it your way and how many did it in some other fashion. Choose some people who did it differently to share what they did.

Teaching Format Modifications

The Think, Pair, Share teaching strategy is a popular method used by educators to encourage student participation and collaboration. However, this strategy may need to be adjusted to fit USU's different teaching formats. Below are recommendations on how you can accommodate this strategy based on the course delivery method.

Connect

During the pairing time, have students pair up with someone at their site or set-up Zoom breakout rooms with 2–3 students each. You could also set-up a Google Doc or Microsoft Word Online file to share their writing.