Think-Pair-Share

1. Definition

“Think individually (THINK), then pair up (PAIR), and discuss and share ideas (SHARE).”

Think-Pair-Share is an active learning strategy conducted through the discussion procedure as described above.
It was first proposed by Frank Lyman at the University of Maryland in 1981.

2. Implementation

❶ Ask a question to your students.
❷ Give them one or two minutes to individually think about the question.
❸ Pair up the students.
❹ Let the students exchange and share their ideas in pairs.
(This step can be substituted by activities among multiple pairs at once or activities among groups of three or more.)
❺ Let each pair share their ideas with the whole class. (One person per pair/group shall be the speaker.)
❻ It takes 5–15 minutes in total. (It depends on the number of participants.)

(The image of students working in pairs)

3. Features and Tips

・It can also be used in large classes.
・It works as a practice in communicating with others.
・It can be used for various activities including warm-ups.
・It may end up chatting depending on the question or group size.
→It is necessary to set specific questions, give instructions with clarity, and be considerate of your students’ level. Avoid posing simple questions that depend on whether the students have certain knowledge or not, such as questions that ask about a specific year or name!

4. Examples

Click the following link.　→　An example of “Think-Pair-Share”

5. References and Other Materials

Click the following link.　→　　Video clips related to Think-Pair-Share