Timed Pair Share

What is Timed Pair Share?

Timed Pair Share is a Kagan Cooperative Learning strategy that promotes active listening, structured talking time, and equal participation between partners. It’s especially useful for helping students build oral communication skills and confidence in sharing their thoughts.

In Timed Pair Share, students are paired up. Each student is given a set amount of time to respond to a question or prompt while their partner listens silently. After time is up, they switch roles. This ensures that both students have equal, uninterrupted time to speak and be heard.

Key Features:

• Structured speaking and listening
  
  

• Time-bound sharing for fairness and focus
  
  

• Active listening is emphasized—no interrupting or side comments

How it Works: 

1. The teacher poses a thoughtful question (academic or personal—e.g., “What did you learn from today’s science experiment?”).
   
   

2. One partner is designated to speak first for a set time (usually 30 seconds to 1 minute).
   
   

3. The other partner listens silently, giving full attention.
   
   

4. When time is up, roles switch, and the second partner responds while the first listens.

Variations:

• Partner A/B: Label students A and B to make transitions smoother.
  
  

• Share-Out: After both partners share, a few pairs can report out to the class.
  
  

• Follow-Up Question: Listeners can ask one follow-up question after their partner shares.

Great For: 

• Reflecting on learning
  
  

• Sharing opinions or experiences
  
  

• Practicing academic language
  
  

• Building empathy and listening skills