Think Pair Share

Also known as: turn and talk, Think-Pair-Square

Think-Pair-Share involves students thinking independently about a prompt or problem, pairing up and discussing their ideas with a classmate, and then sharing their combined knowledge with the class. It:

  • allows educators to change a traditional whole class discussion into a more manageable and inclusive activity where all students are given an opportunity to respond
  • promotes the development of students' speaking, listening and social skills
  • can be modified to 'Think-Pair-Square' for groups of four, where after 'Pair', partners 'Square' with another pair to discuss their ideas.

Think Pair Share

ICT templates

Learning activity templates

Google templates 

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Microsoft templates

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File > Download a Copy.

How to use with ICT

  • Use elements of the Question formulation technique to support students to develop and refine thoughtful questions and encourage them to contribute without critiquing.

External resources

Find out more resources
Title Link Description
AIS NSW - Strategies for student engagement Engagement Strategies - Pair-Share On overview of the Pair/Share strategy to increase student engagement. Site includes a resources with specific examples and the benefits of Pair/Share in teaching and learning.
Victorian Education and Training - Literacy teaching toolkit Classroom talk techniques Brief overview of Think/Pair/Share with examples of questions starters to support the discussion.

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Links to third-party websites:

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The department accepts no responsibility for content on third-party websites.

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Recognising the diversity of high potential and gifted students represented in classrooms across 4 domains of potential can be explored further by accessing illustrations of practice.

 

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