Think Pair Share

After reviewing Andrea McKenzie's digital project on the instructional topic of 'Think Pair Share', I wanted to blog some of my favorite learning points I gained:

- Questions need to be open ended so students have to recall information and understand it, apply it, analyze it, and evaluate if it is the best answer to the questions

- Thinking time prevents stronger or more vocal students from dominating the discussion as it gives every student a chance to think of a response

- Students need time to review their answers and share with a partner so the best answer can be selected or new ones developed

- Smaller groups are better so that each student has time to share, and there is better accountability because everyone has to participate

- It engages the entire class in discussions

- It increases student motivation; there is personal interaction and they are learning from peers

- Collaborative learning = increased learning as they are evaluating ideas together

- Throwing out ideas in small groups helps students to become more comfortable in sharing their ideas

I would like to add some expertise from Elizabeth Barkley that states "students are more likely to speak up in a small group. They may also tend to stray off task or to start talking too personally. To manage the tutorial time effectively, have clear objectives and keep the discussion focused." (Barkley, 2010).

I really like this instructional strategy and already use it in my classroom. I will continue to use it now that I have gained this further insight on just how successful it truly how successful it is.

Resources:

Barkley, E. F. (2010). Student Engagement Techniques. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

McKenzie, A [Andrea McKenzie]. (2016, April 29). Think-Pair-Share Instructional Strategy [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJiQAclcH70