think-pair-share

noun

A collaborative teaching strategy in which the teacher poses a question or a problem to the students, who think about it and then pair up to discuss their thoughts.

Meanings

nounthink-pair-share (countable and uncountable, plural think-pair-shares)

plural think-pair-shares · alternative TPS

  1. countableuncountableeducationA collaborative teaching strategy in which the teacher poses a question or a problem to the students, who think about it and then pair up to discuss their thoughts.

Origin

First proposed by Frank Lyman of the University of Maryland in 1981.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

think-pair-share. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/think-pair-share

MLA

“think-pair-share.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/think-pair-share. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “think-pair-share,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/think-pair-share.

Source: think-pair-share on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.