Pinwheel discussions
What is it? Pinwheel discussions are often used to consider and discuss a topic from different perspectives and points of view. They can be used when there is an particular topic or controversial question to […]
Discussion
Confidence to contribute
What is it? Some students tend to contribute disproportionately to discussions while others hardly ever speak. This guide offers some alternative ways to even out student participation in a group discussion. Why do it? Hearing […]
Jigsaw activity
What is it? Each student within a ‘home group’ focuses on a separate segment of a given concept or unit of learning. They convene into temporary ‘expert groups’ to develop their ideas before returning to […]
Concentric circles
What is it? A discussion prompt is given. Equal numbers of students in two concentric circles rotate every two minutes so they have the chance to meet and talk with everyone in the circle. Why […]
Fishbowl discussions
What is it? Fishbowl is a discussion among students in an inner circle surrounded by an outer circle of silent active listeners. The inner group is asked to contrasting perspectives or particular roles. For example, […]
Peer Instruction – Eric Mazur’s approach
What is it? Peer Instruction is an approach to teaching difficult concepts which students often misunderstand – bottlenecks in learning which students must pass through if they are to progress further. Students are assigned preparatory […]
Think-Pair-Share
What is it? Think-Pair-Share is a cooperative learning approach where the whole group is given a single question or prompt to discuss. Students consider the question individually for a few minutes before forming pairs to […]