#58 Use the 4-2 approach for independent work

Get the most of out independent work and collaboration

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💡 A tip to try in class this week 💡

Picture the scene: You have assigned your students some independent work, maybe a worksheet, textbook exercise, Venn Diagram, SSDD Problem, or sequence of Intelligent Practice questions. You want your students to reap the benefits of working independently and profit from collaborating with a partner. What do you do?

Well, I have been experimenting with the 4-2 approach for the last few years. It goes like this:

• 4 minutes of silent, independent work

• 2 minutes of paired discussion

• And repeat

I find 4 minutes is enough time for students to make some progress on their own, so they have work to compare and questions to ask, but not so long that they get stuck and frustrated. Likewise, 2 minutes is enough for a focussed, productive discussion, but not long enough for those discussions to drift off-task.

A visible timer is an excellent way to increase their focus.

If students are not used to working silently, those first 4 minutes will feel more like 4 hours, so feel free to adjust accordingly.

If you have given your students an unfamiliar problem to work on, a nice tweak is the 30-4-2 approach. This includes 30 seconds at the start of the task when students are not allowed to speak or write. No speaking allows for a silent, focussed start, and no writing forces students to think hard about the problem instead of diving in with their first instinct. I share more practical tips for making problem-solving effective here.

What do you think of this idea?

What would you need to change to make this tip work for you?

When could you try it for the first time?

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1. … tried last week’s tip about withholding the correct answer?

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