The impact of a think, write, pair, and share (TWPS) activity on pupils’ confidence, critical thinking, and understanding of mathematics lesson

Abstract

Dialogic learning is an approach that uses dialogue to help students think, learn, and solve problems. Research shows that Think Pair and Share (TPS) is one of the most commonly used techniques to implement a dialogic classroom learning process. However, this method has inherent limitations in engaging all students because of the pupil’s inability to evaluate and present coherent thought processes extemporaneously without any written script. So, to solve this problem, we introduce a modified model of TPS in a mathematics lesson and investigate its impact on students’ learning outcomes using an action research framework. The Paired Sample t-tests indicate that the new model significantly impacted students’ critical thinking and understanding of maths lessons. However, it had an insignificant impact on pupils’ confidence. Moreover, all three variables were positively and significantly correlated in their pre- and post-test findings. The study has implications for policy, planning, and practice of pedagogy.