#THINK PAIR SHARE PHYSICS SCIENCE CLASS HOW TO#

A variation to this method, which encourages students to listen more carefully to each other, involves requiring each person to begin by paraphrasing the comments of the previous student or by showing how his or her remarks relate to those of the previous student. Lessen their fear by making the topic specific and relevant or by giving each person a relevant quote to speak about. Specify that students should only build on what someone else has said, not on their own ideas also, at this point, they should not introduce new ideas (Brookfield & Preskill, 1999).Ĭomments: Some shy students might feel uncomfortable having to speak. After everyone has spoken once, open the floor within the subgroup for general discussion. During this time, no one else is allowed to say anything. Then the discussion begins, with each student having up to three minutes (or choose a different length) of uninterrupted time to speak. Give students a topic, and allow them a few minutes to organize their thoughts about it.

Purpose: generate ideas, develop listening skills, have all students participate, equalize learning environmentĭescription: This method involves students taking turns to speak.

It also gives them a chance to validate their ideas in a small group before mentioning them to the large group, which may help shy students feel more confident participating. Finally, they are given the chance to share their ideas in a large class discussion.Ĭomments: Think-pair-sharing forces all students to attempt an initial response to the question, which they can then clarify and expand as they collaborate. Then they pair up to discuss and compare their ideas. First, students think individually about a particular question or scenario.

Purpose: generate ideas, increase students’ confidence in their answers, encourage broad participation in plenary sessionĭescription: This strategy has three steps.

Consider how to regain the attention of a large group: turning the lights off and on is one simple yet effective method. Sample questions include, “What’s the most contentious statement you’ve heard so far in the lecture today?” or “What’s the most unsupported assertion you’ve heard in the lecture today?” Reconvene as a class and have a general discussion in which students share ideas or questions that arose within their subgroups.Ĭomments: This method is very flexible: it is easy to implement in any size of class and in most classrooms, even the most formally arranged lecture hall. The best discussions are those in which students make judgments regarding the relative merits, relevance, or usefulness of an aspect of the lecture (Brookfield & Preskill, 1999).

At a transitional moment in the class, have students turn to 1-3 neighbours to discuss any difficulties in understanding, answer a prepared question, define or give examples of key concepts, or speculate on what will happen next in the class. Purpose: generate ideas/answers, re-stimulate student interest, gauge student understandingĭescription: These groups involve students engaging in short, informal discussions, often in response to a particular sentence starter or question.Consult the Centre for Teaching Excellence teaching tip “ Group Work in the Classroom: Small-Group Tasks” for task ideas.

But what type of small group should you use? It depends on the size of your class, the length of time you have available, the physical features of the classroom, and the nature of the group task. One way to change the pace in your classroom is to do a small group activity.

#THINK PAIR SHARE PHYSICS SCIENCE CLASS HOW TO#

Think pair share physics science class