Think Pair Share
Using Think-Pair-Share in the College Classroom
Susan Ledlow, Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence
Asking a question during a lecture is a great way to get students actively engaged, to
check for understanding, or to get students to apply new knowledge, isn’t it? Isn’t it?
Anybody have a thought on that? Hmmm… guess I’ll have to answer that question
myself. The answer to the question is “potentially.” There are a number of problems with
the way that we typically pose questions within a lecture; two particularly concern me.
The first is that when a question is posed to the class as a whole, usually a limited
number of students, and sometimes no students, volunteer to answer. Research on
participation in college classrooms has shown that, in classes of fewer than 40 students,
four to five students do about 75 percent of the talking that isn’t done by the instructor.
In large classes, participation levels drop even further. The students who typically
volunteer to answer questions in my classes are those I think of as members of “my fan
club” or at least, members of the psychology fan club. These are the students who sit up
front, who like to drop by my office and talk about course content, and whose
performance is in the top ten percent of the class. They’re also fairly extroverted. While
my fan club and I are having brilliant Socratic dialogues, the shy, the unprepared, and
the uninterested are doing anything they possibly can to avoid eye contact with me.
The second problem is that, after asking a question, the average instructor waits less
than one second before calling on a student. As soon as the first student is called
upon, many of the others stop processing their answers. Getting more students to
process the answer isn’t that difficult. A wait of as little as three seconds has been
shown to improve both the quantity and quality of student responses.
A simple solution to help overcome these two problems is to use Think-Pair-Share,
developed by Frank Lyman. Think-Pair-Share is a low-risk strategy to get many
students actively involved in classes of any size. The procedure is simple: after asking a
question, tell students to think silently about their answers. As a variation, you might
have them write their individual answers. (Depending on the complexity of the question
and the amount of time I think is appropriate for the activity, I give them anywhere from
10 seconds to five minutes to work individually.) Then ask them to pair up with a partner
to compare or discuss their responses. Finally, call randomly on a few students to
summarize their discussion or give their answer. The random calls are important to
ensure that students are individually accountable for participating.
When you are satisfied that students understood the concept, or that most could solve a
similar problem on their own, continue with your lecture until the next question. That’s it!
When I first introduce Think-Pair-Share or one of its variations, I put up an overhead
outlining the procedure (see below). After using it a few times, students get used to the
process and I don’t need the overheads anymore.
________________________________________________________________________________
©2001, Susan Ledlow, Arizona State University
1
These materials may be duplicated for educational purposes if properly credited.
Think-Pair-Share
Write-Pair-Share
1. Think about your answer individually.
1. Write your answer individually.
2. Pair with a partner and discuss your
2. Pair with a partner and discuss your
answers.
answers.
3. Share your answer (or your partner’s
3. Share your answer (or your partner’s
answer) when called upon.
answer) when called upon.
A further variation on Think-Pair-Share was developed by Johnson, Johnson, and Smith
(1991). It’s called Formulate-Share-Listen-Create, and it’s a good strategy for use with
problems or questions that could be addressed in a variety of ways. The “create” step
gets students to synthesize their ideas and come up with the best solution to a problem.
I often use this strategy to have students write short essays in class.
Formulate-Share-Listen-Create
1. Formulate your answer to the question individually.
2. Share your answer with your partner.
3. Listen carefully to your partner’s answer. Note similarities
and differences in your answers.
4. Create a new answer that incorporates the best of the ideas.
Be prepared to present your answer if called upon.
If you are already using teams in your classroom, you can have students work with
partners within their teams. If you don’t have ongoing teams, you might ask students at
the beginning of class to form pairs and to introduce themselves before the lecture
begins.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it? Anybody?
References
Berliner, D. C. (2000). Tips for teaching by means of the lecture method. Tempe, AZ:
College of Education, Arizona State University [Manuscript/Seminar Materials].
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1991a). Active learning: Cooperation in
the college classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1991b). Cooperative learning:
increasing college faculty instructional productivity. Washington, DC: ASHE/ERIC
Higher Education.
Lyman, F. T. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion: The inclusion of all
students. In A. Anderson (Ed.), Mainstreaming Digest (pp. 109-113). College Park:
University of Maryland Press.
________________________________________________________________________________
©2001, Susan Ledlow, Arizona State University
2
These materials may be duplicated for educational purposes if properly credited.
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