Think-alouds is teaching model that stimulates student thought processes and promotes critical thinking skills. The think-alouds activity is implemented into reading exercises where questions are asked while students are still processing the information they are reading.
- Processing focus: this is mainly directed for K-12 educators
- Instructional phase: follow the instructor
- Response mode emphasized: invitation to inquiry
- Strategy emphasized: guided-inquiry testing
- Skill emphasized: open inquiry
- Source of information: inquiry resolution
- Instructor will introduce topic or lesson of the day.
- Instructor explains to students that as he/she reads they will stop and ask a question aloud. This will motivate students to do the same while they read.
- Explain to the students the usefulness of asking questions while they read.
- While reading the instructor asks students questions, and asks them to think critically about the question so they can generate responses.
- Students then attempt to generate their own questions and answers as a class.
- If students are left unsure, they are asked to look back for evidence and clues.
Think-alouds are useful for producing critical thought and critical reading abilities. This type of strategy may prove useful when introducing scientific or technology-based literature and information in the classroom. By doing this, one may prompt students to test or investigate, make observations and use resources.
Strategies which include writing questions via think-alouds may prove useful for:
- Learners who need to be engaged throughout an activity.
- Scholars who cannot justify their thought process and need to comprehend why they think the way they do.
- Successive learners who ask questions but forget to look for the answers.
- Quiet students who do not feel comfortable speaking aloud in class.