by Alessandra Di Lorenzo

As a college science instructor, I tend to think that my task as a teacher is limited to the transmission of scientific knowledge via lecture. The Lilly Conference on Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning has opened my eyes to the realization that today’s students need different instructional strategies.

If I want my teaching to be successful and my students to learn, I need to introduce new instructional strategies through active learning techniques. Thanks to what I learned at the Lilly sessions, I am currently working to integrate a variety of active learning strategies into my classes. These include the use of science games, storytelling and think-pair-share activities. I would like to expand specifically on the think-pair-share activity, which I am often implementing in my classroom. This technique not only works great for the students, but it gives me a strong feedback about how concepts are being assimilated.

The Think-Pair-Share strategy aims to diversify instruction by encouraging students to think about concepts that have been presented, allowing them to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with classmates.  This learning strategy promotes classroom participation by avoiding the impasse that some students encounter when asked to speak to the classroom. By talking to a classmate, students are confident enough to express their idea and understanding without feeling judged.  Moreover, this strategy provides an opportunity for all students to share their thinking with at least one classmate which, in turn, increases their sense of involvement. Think-Pair-Share is also an indirect and “soft” assessment tool; as students discuss their ideas, the instructor can circulate and listen to the ongoing conversations and get an idea of their understanding

In this strategy, students are first given time to think about a problem individually, and then they work in pairs to solve the problem and share their ideas with the class. I typically ask the classroom if there is any volunteer that wants to share his/her understanding with the classroom and I have never had an instance in which someone has not volunteered.  I strongly encourage my fellow faculty to introduce this active learning strategy in their classrooms.