I have to admit that I was a bit reticent about trying a Think, Pair, Share exercise on a Friday morning Speech Anatomy class, but I think that it turned out to be quite a success. Index cards were handed out to 35 students and three questions were posed: (90 seconds to answer!)

• Was there something in particular from last week’s lesson that stood out as particularly interesting to you?
• What do you think was your most successful strategy for studying this past week?
• What strategy have you been employing that might not be working very well for you or might require some tweaking?

Students jotted a couple of notes as answers to the three questions and were then encouraged to pair with another student, preferably one they did not know well. Then they had 90 seconds to learn each other’s names and to exchange thoughts about their three answers.

You cannot believe how loud and animated this class of anatomy students got! It was really fascinating and fun to watch.

We then went around the room and each student said their own name and the name of their partner or partners ( a couple of groups had 3) and shared their individual answers. The entire process took about 45 minutes, but it was totally worthwhile and an important stepping stone in the process of reinventing the way in which science might be taught.

There were a variety of different things that individual students took away from the week’s lesson, but what was most amazing were the ideas about successful v. unsuccessful study strategies. The exchange got everyone interested in and excited about what their fellow students were doing, like the use of handmade color-coded flash cards. Suddenly, we had the makings of a team…..a class of co-learners and collaborators who were going to learn from one another.

Following the exercise was a lecture with dialogue and discussion on the physiology of respiration. The energy in the room was vibrant and energized all the way to the end, when I introduced the Futures Initiative website and invited all to join in and start blogging.

Looking forward to next Friday!