Working with the Web

Back to:

Learning and Teaching Strategies

These strategies can be used for both classrooms and teacher professional learning activities.

PMI – Plus Minus and Interesting

This strategy can be used within a range of activities such as analysing texts or examining issues.

Individually, in pairs or small groups, they apply three questions to a statement

  • What are the positive ideas about this?
  • What are the negative ideas about this?
  • What is interesting about this?

These are recorded on a PMI Chart (Word - 29Kb).

Think Pair Share

Think Pair Share is a co-operative learning strategy, which allows people to think about a question/idea/issue and share their thoughts with a partner before discussion in a small group.

The strategy allows participants to share their thoughts in a non-threatening situation and involves all members of a group rather than the more confident, articulate few. The opinions of all members of the group are valued. The focus is on short-term, purposeful talk.

The process may include the following steps:

  • identify the point of discussion
  • allow think time to think individually
  • have participants face a partner and share their ideas
  • the pair contributes to a larger group or the whole group and ideas are recorded
  • use the shared list of ideas for future work or to create a new idea.

Six Thinking Hats

Six Thinking Hats is a strategy devised by Edward de Bono which requires extended and different modes of thinking about a topic by wearing a range of different thinking hats:

Real hats can be used but the person/ group with each colour hat has to use a specific kind of thinking:

  • white hat thinking: focuses on the information available and needed.
  • black hat thinking: examines the difficulties and problems associated with a topic.
  • yellow hat thinking: focuses on benefits and values.
  • red hat thinking looks at a topic from the point of view of emotions, feelings and hunches.
  • green hat thinking: requires imaginative, creative and lateral thinking about a topic.
  • blue hat thinking: focuses on reflection, metacognition (thinking about the thinking that is required), and the need to manage the thinking process.

Y Charts

A graphic organiser that requires the brainstorming of ideas around three dimensions: what a particular topic/situation ‘looks like’, ‘sounds like’ and ‘feels like’.

It encourages critical thinking about climate and to identify appropriate behaviours for achieving this, for example, what does a co-operative English classroom ‘looks like’, ‘feels like’ and ‘sounds like’? See Y chart (Word - 28Kb).

These teaching strategies were sourced from the Department of Education, Tasmania, School Education Division (http://www.education.tas.gov.au)