Think-pair-share is an easy method to get students to critically evaluate a question individually, communicate it with one fellow classmate and share key points with the whole class to stimulate further discussion.
For more details, you may view this video.
Before
- Prepare an appropriate question based on a particular topic you want to expound on.
- Ensure questions are
- open-ended;
- allow critical thinking and reasoning;
- draw students’ attention to key concept you want to highlight.
During
- Introduce to students what will generally happen during this think-pair-share activity.
- Ask the question.
- Think:
- Allow students time to consider the question individually (recommended not more than 5 min depending on difficulty of question). Encourage students to take notes.
- Pair:
- Ask students to discuss in pairs. Provide sufficient time for discussion. Again, encourage students to take notes. Walk around the class to support discussion when necessary. A variation to this part is to ask a two-choice question and ask students to pair up with a partner who has a contrasting opinion.
- Share:
- Ask students to share key points from discussion with the whole class – sharing similarities and differences in answers with their fellow partner in the group pair.
Note: If this activity is to be done during online small tutorials, students should be separated into smaller groups of 2-3 students using Zoom Breakout Rooms for the ‘Pair’ part of the activity.
After
- Comment on students’ answer. Clarify misconceptions.
- Emphasise take-home message.
Follow HKUMed