Students learn best when they have frequent opportunities to process what they are learning — preferably in-class, where they can ask questions as they occur. Think-Pair-Share (TPS) provides a way for students to do exactly that. It’s a simple, flexible structure that can easily be adapted for a broad variety of disciplines. First, students work individually, then in pairs, and finally, the whole class has a discussion. When you use a TPS, every student in the room is engaged in actively discussing the topic at hand. Often during the whole class discussion quieter students will speak up, having first had the chance to discuss their ideas in a smaller setting. Here’s how three NYIT faculty members used TPS, based on what they reported to Operation Engage.

Kevin LaGrandeur used TPS with his Medical Miracles class (ICLT 300). He asked students to work in groups and gave them some time to research various new modes of enhancing the human species using emerging technologies (Think). Then the students worked in groups to design a short class discussion about their chosen innovation (Pair). Finally, the groups led the discussion (Share). Each group described how their chosen innovation works, and led their classmates in a discussion of possible benefits and drawbacks of the technology, with special attention paid to ethical issues.

Kevin reports, “The students got excited about these innovations and raised some very good questions about their use. I learned that if given the chance and a bit of initial guidance, students often see important avenues of analytical inquiry on their own. In fact, they brought up most of the critical concerns I was planning to bring up with them.”

Azhar Ilyas used TPS with his Introduction to Electronic Circuits class (EENG 270). First, students were asked to design a circuit that turns on a light whenever the value of a voltage signal was in a specific range (Think). Students then discussed their designs with their neighbors (Pair), which was followed by a whole-class discussion (Share).

Azhar reports that, after discussing their designs with their neighbors, “[they] were more eager and more confident to share their answer. When I asked them [specific questions], most of them participated, which was missing without think, pair and share activity.”

One benefit of using TPS in class is that it gives you, the instructor, immediate feedback about what your students understand, and what might need more review. Here’s an example of how that might work:

Eleni Nikitopoulos used TPS with her Genetics class (BIOL 335). In this case, the focus was on analysis of experimental data. Specifically, the class discussed how to derive the order of steps in a metabolic pathway by examining growth patterns of mutated yeast. After showing the students an example, they were asked to work through the process on their own (Think) and then confer with a partner (Share). Students then diagrammed the pathway, linking the mutations to the correct enzymes.

Eleni reports, “the students learned the logical procedure to derive the pathway steps, but had not integrated an understanding of the physiological and genetic mechanisms associated with each step. I needed to explain it again. There were a lot of 'ohs' after the second explanation.”

Once you’ve used TPS a couple of times, you’ll find that it’s easy to improvise activities, and very helpful as a checkpoint of what your students are learning. Try it, and let us know what happens! Report your experiences with TPS, or with other activities, at http://bit.ly/Engage_Form.