Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share is an active learning strategy that has been used successfully in

classes of various sizes across a wide range of subjects.

The think, pair, share strategy is a cooperative learning technique. This is an excellent
method for promoting critical thinking and articulate communication in the classroom.

Think-pair-share (TPS) is a collaborative learning strategy where students work together to solve a problem
or answer a question about an assigned reading. This strategy requires students to (1) think individually
about a topic or answer to a question; and (2) share ideas with classmates. Discussing with a partner
maximizes participation, focuses attention and engages students in comprehending the reading material.

Think-Pair-Share Consists of Three Phases: Think, Pair, and Share

Think:

In the first phase of think pair share, the instructor asks question, poses a problem or
gives a task to the class. Learners are then given a set amount of time during which
they are expected to quietly and independently think about or write their answer.

• Questions should require engagement with higher order learning skills of evaluation,

analysis or synthesis.

• The amount of time learners should be given should be related to the difficulty of
the question being asked.

• Students will require varying amounts of time- students who finish early can be
asked to provide a justification for why they feel their answer is correct.

• If there are any concerns about students staying engaged during the think time, the

course instructor can ask students to write their answers.

• During this phase students can be instructed to pick the best answer, generate as
many possible responses as possible, or come to a consensus, depending on the
question asked.

• Groups are ideally heterogenous, with a mix of learning abilities, communication

styles, and ethnicities and genders.
• The composition of the groups should be changed periodically, approximately every
six weeks.

• As in the think phase attention should be paid to the amount of time given for
discussion: too much time and students will become bored and get off task, too little
time and they will become frustrated.

• Observing the groups during the discussion phase can help the instructor get a sense
of the appropriate amount of time required for most groups to produce an answer to
the question.

Share:

In the final phase of the think-pair-share activity students rejoin the large group and
are asked to share their responses with the class.

• This allows students the opportunity to discuss their answers with a small group of

peers, rehearse their answers, and get buy in from their group members prior to being

asked to share with the larger class.

• Sharing can be done by cold calling, asking for volunteers, requesting diverse

responses, going around the room, etc.

• The instructor can also ask the groups to write their responses and collect these at
the end of class.
Variations of Think-Pair-Share can include:

• Pair-Share

• Think-Pair

And in larger classes with voting mechanisms:

• Think-Vote-Pair-Share

• Think-Pair-Vote-Share

• Think-Vote-Pair-Vote-Share

Brainstorm ways in which you might incorporate think-pair-share into your next
class!

Purpose
-          Increase training interaction and involve all the trainers
-          Allow quite trainers be confident to present their idea to everyone since
they have already share their idea to peer which have been accepted
-          Strategy as spur-of-the-moment
-          Facilitator performance evaluation, tell the facilitator what
the trainers understand
-          Active learning
-          Provide opportunity and practice trainers's communication, listening
and analysis skills
-          Build network or friendship between peers

 
How to use

STRATEGY IN PRACTICE
 Before introducing the Think-Pair-Share strategy to the students, decide on
your target for this lesson.  You may choose to use a new text that the class
will be reading, or you might want to develop a set of questions or prompts
that target key content concepts that you have been studying.
 Describe the strategy and its purpose with your students, and provide
guidelines for discussions that will take place.  Explain to students that they
will (1) think individually about a topic or answer to a question;(2) pair with a
partner and discuss the topic or question; and (3) share ideas with the rest of
the class.
 Using a student or student(s) from your classroom, model the procedure to
ensure that students understand how to use the strategy. Allow time for
students to ask questions that clarify their use of the technique.
 Once students have a firm understanding of the expectations surrounding the
strategy, monitor and support students as they work through the steps below. 
Teachers may also ask students to write or diagram their responses while
doing the Think-Pair-Share activity.
 Think:  Teachers begin by asking a specific higher-level question about
the text or topic students will be discussing. Students "think" about
what they know or have learned about the topic for a given amount of
time (usually 1-3 minutes).
 Pair:  Each student should be paired with another student. Teachers
may choose whether to assign pairs or let students pick their own
partner.  Remember to be sensitive to learners' needs (reading skills,
attention skills, language skills) when creating pairs.  Students share
their thinking with their partner, discuss ideas, and ask questions of
their partner about their thoughts on the topic (2-5 minutes).
 Share:  Once partners have had ample time to share their thoughts and
have a discussion, teachers expand the "share" into a whole-class
discussion. Allow each group to choose who will present their
thoughts, ideas, and questions they had to the rest of the class.  After
the class “share,” you may choose to have pairs reconvene to talk
about how their thinking perhaps changed as a result of the “share”
element.

The Teacher’s Role in the Think-Pair-Share Method

The role of teachers in the Think-Pair-Share Method is very important because the
success of this Method depends on the role of the teacher. There are five roles, the
first is the teacher as the inquirer, the second is the teacher as the commit to user 24
creator, the third is the teacher as the observer, and the fourth is the teacher as the
facilitator and the teacher as the change agent.” In addition, Kessler, 1992: 164- 171
defines the key elements of the teacher’s role in Think-Pair-Share method. They are
as follows: a. The teacher as inquirer. Teachers are continually examining and
questioning student’s belief, values, and assumption. b. The teacher as creator Keys
for structuring in the classroom are found in creating the social climate, setting goals,
planning and structuring the task, establishing the physical arrangement of the
classroom, assigning materials and time. c. The Teacher as Observer The teacher of
cooperative classroom must constantly observe how groups work. Observation
replaces the traditional role of presenting information. Observation will indicate to the
teacher when the groups’ activities are more or less educative, when the groups are
learning or have become bogged down in unproductive labor. d. The teacher as
facilitator The role as a facilitator means that the teacher is prepared to step aside to
give the learner a more meaningful role. e. The teacher as a change agent The degree
of change at the teacher’s level is strongly related to the extent to which the teachers
interact with one other. commit to user 25

Think pair share has several benefits for the learner and teacher alike.

• It promotes increased involvement of students.

• Students develop increased comfort and skill with oral presentation.

• Because all students have the opportunity to share their answer and thinking there is
an increased opportunity for them to get feedback both from the course instructor and
from their peers.

• The quality of student’s responses are improved with the increased wait time and
opportunity for discussion.

• Instructors can focus their class time on asking higher order questions, rather than
simply covering the basics.
Theoretical base

Think-pair-share is based on the social constructivist learning theory, which

emphasizes collaborative learning. As students collaborate to reflect and discuss in a
think-pair-share, information is retained at a higher level. This strategy also fosters
student ownership of learning and promotes participation.

Emperical evidence

What does research say about Think-Pair-Share?

The surveys' results suggest that students believe using the think-pair-share

technique contributes to more student participation. Students also indicated that
they enjoyed participating more in class discussion when using the think-pair-share
technique.

RESEARCH BASIS

The Think-Pair-Share strategy is designed to differentiate instruction by providing

students time and structure for thinking on a given topic, enabling them to formulate
individual ideas and share these ideas with a peer. This learning strategy promotes
classroom participation by encouraging a high degree of pupil response, rather than
using a basic recitation method in which a teacher poses a question and one student
offers a response. Additionally, this strategy provides an opportunity for all students
to share their thinking with at least one other student which, in turn, increases their
sense of involvement in classroom learning.  Think-Pair-Share can also be used as in
information assessment tool; as students discuss their ideas, the teacher can circulate
and listen to the conversations taking place and respond accordingly.
In this strategy, a problem is posed, students have time to think about it individually,
and then they work in pairs to solve the problem and share their ideas with the class. 
Think-Pair-Share is easy to use within a planned lesson, but is also an easy strategy to
use for spur-of-the-moment discussions.  This strategy can be used for a wide variety
of daily classroom activities such as concept reviews, discussion questions, partner
reading, brainstorming, quiz reviews, topic development, etc.  Think-Pair-Share helps
students develop conceptual understanding of a topic, develop the ability to filter
information and draw conclusions, and develop the ability to consider other points of
view.

According to Cooper, there are five application of think pair share technique:

1) Explain technique to students Before beginning the lesson, the teacher explains the
Think Pair Share technique: Students will have partners with whom they will
exchange ideas during the lesson, whenever the teacher signals them to do.

2) From partnership The teacher forms partnerships, using a simple pairing scheme.
For example, having students count off induplicate – 1,1; 2,2; 3,3; 4,4; and so on. If
necessary the last group may be a three or the teacher may take partner.

3) Pose question; direct to “think” At appropriate points during the lesson, the teacher
poses a question and calls for a short “think-time,” perhaps ten seconds or more,
depending on the nature of the question. During this think-time, students must remain
silent, forming their own answers.

4) Signal “share” At a signal, usually just a word “share” or the sounding of a timer’s
bell, students turn to their partners and exchange answers, spending a minute to
explain their thinking a resolve differences.

5) Pairs report At the end of share-time, the teacher asks a pair to report.From this
explanation, it is make easy to students to get the point from the material that teacher
explains because they can discuss with other friends about the material and after that
students can share it.
Advantage
-          All trainers are engaged in the thinking process, including those quiet
students
-          Trainers feel more comfortable and find it easier to get in a discussion
with person next to them rather than a table group
-          Any topic could be a topic of discussion in this strategy
-          Active learning is a remarkable learning style for trainers
-          Shows the importance of having partnership or team work
-          Improves the communication skills
-          Help trainers fix the content of the lesson in their memories when the
class has an hour duration
-          Develop skills in small-group discussion
-          Everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in training activities
-          High degree of interaction and engagement between trainers and
facilitator

-          Trainers are motivated to learn as they enjoy the socializing

component.                          
Disadvantage
     -           Time consuming
     -          Hard to assist all trainers during the discussion since they have so many
groups
 
Step of process a Think-Pair-Share (how to use)
1.       The facilitator should announce the think-pair-share activity at the
beginning, then explain to trainers that everyone will get chance to be pick to
answer the question/problem to the class. This action could
motivate trainers to involve during the discussion since trainers knows that
they will have an equal possibility to be picked.
2.       Facilitators then need to address the issues, problems or questions
to trainers and possibly provide addition material. In order to
ensure trainers discuss on the right track, the facilitator should provide an
example of an answer and explain in detail.
3.       Hand out the think-pair-share worksheet to each trainer , suggest
participators use different colour pen to finish each part of the worksheet.
4.       Allow trainers to think independently for 5 minutes about the question
given by the facilitator
5.       Facilitator assist trainers pair up with one other trainer
6.       Provide 3-5 minutes for each trainer to share their ideas to their peer and
summarise their answer to present to class
 7.       Randomly pick 3-4 trainers to share their answer to entire class. The
facilitator could use variety of methods to pick a trainer such as drawing lots
8.       Facilitators should provide feedback, summarise and reward
those trainers who have been picked
Trainers can either participate in two consecutive pairings or can pair with one trainer
and then the first pair can be grouped with another pair to discuss their thoughts
before joining a whole-class discussion. This double-pair method is particularly
helpful if you have a very large training or are dealing with an especially complex
question.

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