![\"Five](\"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-content\/uploads\/annie-spratt-QckxruozjRg-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/figure>When students share\u00a0their thinking, they can:\u00a0\u00a0
1. Spot flawed connections or incomplete information.\u00a0\u00a0
2. Make connections in long-term memory or link\u00a0new information\u00a0to what they already know.\u00a0\u00a0
3. Take the time to think\u00a0about their thinking (metacognition), which reinforces critical analysis.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Think-alouds\u00a0have been around for a long time,\u00a0and in our current AI Era,\u00a0they are especially valuable because they are inherently AI-resilient. While a GPT can quickly generate an answer or\u00a0write\u00a0an essay, it cannot replicate the messy, real-time process of a human brain working through a complex problem in a particular context. The\u00a0think-aloud method\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0a student\u2019s unique beliefs, background knowledge, reasoning abilities, as well as their misconceptions. It reveals their individual cognitive work and often shows others that there is more than one way to solve a problem, take on a challenge, or interpret a text.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below are a few, low-stakes ways to bring think alouds to your classes: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- The 5 Minute Brain Dump<\/strong>: Give students 5 minutes to pair up and take turns thinking aloud about\u00a0keep\u00a0concepts from the last class meeting. Stretch Assignment: Have a few share\u00a0what they discussed and build on it\u00a0as a way to\u00a0open for you and for them to connect, clarify, and continue into the day\u2019s learning.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Think Aloud Partners:<\/strong> Encourage students\u00a0form\u00a0small study groups (in or out of class) where they practice thinking aloud together. One person can solve a problem, talking through their process, while the other listens, and asks clarifying questions or explains how\/why they did something different.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Model it Yourself:<\/strong> When\u00a0you’re\u00a0working through a tough problem or concept, narrate how\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0approaching it. Show students that even experts go through this process! You can use frames like, \u201cFirst, I\u2019m going to…\u201d,\u00a0\u201cThis part is tricky, but I I\u2019m going to try…\u201d,\u00a0\u201cthis reminds of ____, which helped me understand that…\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n
Thinking aloud has other benefits beyond\u00a0being\u00a0an\u00a0effective tool for\u00a0AI-resilient\u00a0learning.\u00a0When students are prompted to think aloud, it can affirm and activate their prior knowledge (you can ask: remember when you took _____ class in\u00a0high school?<\/p>\n<\/div>
![\"Several](\"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-content\/uploads\/vitaly-gariev-TB5HpfJf7mA-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe’re\u00a0going to build on those same concepts to\u00a0do______ in this\u00a0class\u201d);\u00a0show\u00a0that they have something to contribute to college-level discussions\u00a0and learning; and encourage them to see their peers as collaborators. Integrating think-alouds\u00a0into your course\u00a0has\u00a0benefits\u00a0for faculty members, too. Many faculty operate at a doctoral level+ of expertise, which can make it difficult for students to understand how the instructor got from Point A to Point B. Think-alouds\u00a0require\u00a0experts to think back to their own learning as novices, to reveal steps\u00a0they otherwise would follow automatically, and to frame their approach within the confines of coursework students\u00a0have completed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0using\u00a0think-alouds\u00a0in your teaching,\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0love to hear from you. If you\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0tried\u00a0think-alouds\u00a0in your teaching, but are looking for ways to encourage AI-resilient\u00a0practice that frames\u00a0learning as a process of discovery rather than a frantic race to the finish line, think-alouds may be the perfect strategy for you.\u00a0Check out Harvard\u2019s Professor Robert Kegan\u00a0discussing and modeling a\u00a0think\u00a0aloud (4 mins)<\/a>\u00a0to get started.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thinking aloud is a simple yet powerful cognitive tool that anyone can use. When students verbalize their thinking process, they slow down, clarify their understanding or misunderstanding, and make their implicit knowledge explicit.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0not just giving an answer; they are explaining\u00a0the how\u00a0and\u00a0the why\u00a0of the answer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,42,50,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-learning","category-engaged-pedagogy","category-facultydev","category-genai","category-student-success"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-content\/uploads\/vitaly-gariev-TB5HpfJf7mA-unsplash.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2346"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2352,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346\/revisions\/2352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uscupstate.edu\/tip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Model it Yourself:<\/strong> When\u00a0you’re\u00a0working through a tough problem or concept, narrate how\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0approaching it. Show students that even experts go through this process! You can use frames like, \u201cFirst, I\u2019m going to…\u201d,\u00a0\u201cThis part is tricky, but I I\u2019m going to try…\u201d,\u00a0\u201cthis reminds of ____, which helped me understand that…\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Think Aloud Partners:<\/strong> Encourage students\u00a0form\u00a0small study groups (in or out of class) where they practice thinking aloud together. One person can solve a problem, talking through their process, while the other listens, and asks clarifying questions or explains how\/why they did something different.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n