Introducing Turn and Talk Discussions to Students

Utilising turn-and-talk discussions allows classroom teachers and tutors of small groups to boost critical thinking, collaboration, and deeper engagement with the texts. This approach helps students navigate complex themes and language but also encourages them to sharpen their analytical skills in a supportive and collaborative setting.

Understanding the Turn and Talk Method

"Turn and Talk" is a simple yet powerful strategy that encourages students to process and articulate their ideas through peer discussions. To make it effective, especially for deeper or more focused discussion, you’ll want to model expectations, use structured prompts, and guide the flow before and after students talk.

When students talk to each other about Shakespeare, they verbalise their thoughts and respond to one another. This creates an inclusive classroom atmosphere where every voice matters.

But how can you employ turn and talk to foster those discussions, especially for the first time?

First, you'll need to explicitly introduce the turn and talk to the students. Explicitly introducing the Turn and Talk method is essential for several reasons, especially if you want it to lead to meaningful discussion, rather than off-task chatter or shallow responses.

Builds a Shared Understanding of Expectations

Explicit teaching gives them a clear structure to follow and removes uncertainty from the task. From experience, it is essential that you ensure all of the students are listening to avoid having to repeat yourself or the same instructions multiple times.

One way I do this is by asking them to 'show me your hands', and then model with my own arms and hands, putting things down and showing them my empty hands in front of me. This works with both primary and secondary, the older the students, the more comical they find that instruction, so it is very engaging!

Ensuring they are listening as well as explicit teaching builds a shared understanding of the task and behavioural expectations. Sometimes it is easy to forget that students don’t automatically know what a 'good', helpful and productive partner conversation sounds like. They won't know how long to talk for, who should go first, or what kind of talk is expected (e.g. reflecting, agreeing, challenging).

It is also important to remember that for low-confidence learners, the concept of sharing their ideas can be very daunting; they can be unsure of how to start, might worry about saying something “wrong", and struggle with phrasing their ideas. These issues are especially relevant when taking SEND learners into consideration, as the social interaction element of the task can increase fatigue and anxiety. However, the benefits for them definitely outweigh the negatives - more on that in another post!

On the board, it might be best practice while students are still getting the hang of turn and talk, to model the conversation (this can just be on the board and you talking through it) and have sentence starters on the board to reduce the social and cognitive load, which allows all students to participate more confidently.

This explicit guidance and scaffolding hugely reduces off-topic conversations, and when it works effectively, surface-level or 'I don't know' responses. It also has the added benefit of teaching that active listening, paraphrasing, and responding are part of the task, not just waiting for your turn to speak.

This level of guidance and 'rules' may feel like overkill, but creates classroom norms and safety. Clear instructions show the students that everyone’s ideas are valued, talking and learning are connected and talking can benefit their learning and thinking. All of these things support a culture of respectful, exploratory conversation and safety.

So, how do I introduce this task?

Planning to use this technique does require some work, so using a script for yourself and the students is the best way to ensure you, as the teacher, feel confident! Before you introduce the strategy, either label the students yourself or ask them to label themselves as Student A or Student B.

Step 1: Set the Purpose and Expectations

"We’re going to use a strategy called ‘Turn and Talk.’ This helps everyone get a chance to speak, listen, and learn from each other. You’ll be turning to a partner and sharing your thinking for [insert time period]. When your partner speaks, your job is to listen closely and be ready to respond."

For older or higher ability students, you might want to add: “This isn’t about just agreeing—it’s about building ideas, offering examples, or asking thoughtful questions.”

Step 2: Give the Prompt and Sentence Starters

• "Here’s what I want you to discuss today: [Insert discussion question or prompt]"

• "I'd like to share your ideas about: [insert question or prompt]."

On the board, you might want to point the students to sentence starters such as:

• “I noticed that...”

• “I think that because…”

• “One thing I’m unsure about is…”

• “What do you think about...?”

Step 3: Start the Discussion

"Now it’s your turn. Partner A will go first. You have one minute each to speak and then one minute to respond. I’ll let you know when to switch."

I would also advise, in order to keep them on track, you will need to use a timer as a visual cue.

Finally:

If you're using Turn and Talk regularly, it's helpful to explicitly teach it early in the year, revisit expectations often, and gradually increase complexity of prompts and roles as students grow more confident. Let me know if you'd like a mini teaching plan for introducing it over a couple of lessons!

Does this apply to my subject or key stage?

In English and literacy lessons, Turn and Talk supports students in voicing their understanding of texts, explaining literary devices, or sharing ideas for writing. It builds their ability to analyse, reflect, and justify their thinking using precise language.

In maths, it can be used to help students explain the steps of a problem, compare different methods, or justify their reasoning — all of which deepen conceptual understanding and support mathematical fluency.

Science lessons benefit from Turn and Talk by allowing students to hypothesise, explain outcomes, and discuss cause-and-effect relationships. It encourages the use of scientific vocabulary and promotes collaborative enquiry and understanding.

The strategy is equally valuable in humanities subjects, where students are often asked to interpret historical events, explore geographical issues, or debate ethical questions. In these cases, Turn and Talk provides a safer, less public space to develop critical thinking, engage with multiple perspectives, and practise forming arguments.

In more practical subjects like art, music, or PE, it allows students to reflect on performance, give peer feedback, and discuss technique or process — all of which contribute to metacognitive growth.

Turn and Talk is also effective across all key stages. In Early Years and Key Stage 1, it supports spoken language development, social interaction, and confidence in expressing ideas. With the right scaffolding — such as sentence starters or structured pairings — even the youngest learners can engage in meaningful talk.

In Key Stage 2, students begin to use more subject-specific vocabulary and are encouraged to expand on their thoughts and challenge ideas appropriately. As they move into Key Stage 3 and 4, Turn and Talk can be used to practise high-level reasoning, explore opposing viewpoints, and prepare for written responses or assessments.

At post-16, it mirrors seminar-style discussion, helping students rehearse arguments, analyse complex material, and build academic confidence.

Ultimately, Turn and Talk benefits all learners because it creates space for purposeful, student-led discussion. It encourages metacognition, reinforces listening skills, and fosters a collaborative classroom culture. By embedding it into lessons across the curriculum, teachers can ensure that students not only engage more deeply with content but also develop the communication and reasoning skills that are vital for success in every stage of education.

In essence, Turn and Talk is more than just a discussion tool — it’s a habit of thinking aloud, learning from others, and building confidence through conversation. When used intentionally and consistently, it transforms classrooms into spaces where students are active participants in their learning, not passive recipients.

So, if every student learns better by talking through their ideas — what might happen in your classroom when every voice gets the chance to be heard?