Use 3-2-1 learning strategies for critical thinking – Teaching voice

By Terry Haick

What is the 3-2-1 strategy? 3-2-1 Strategy is simply a frameable format.

3-2-1 Examples of strategies

It is not necessary for teaching or learning either. You might ask someone to name you…

I noticed that my favorite music genre, two of my favorite songs, and one pattern creates a list of genres and songs

The three cities you visited, two of your favorite memories of those three cities, and the one place you want to go next

Three causes of contamination, two solutions that help you deal with those causes, and what people can do every day can be immediately useful/immediately effective

You get an idea. This is an easy way to assemble topics and tasks, and looks accessible and “quickly”. For teachers, this means increased student engagement and potential for more use in the classroom, from journals and discussion prompts to assessment forms or exit slips.

The most common uses of 3-2-1 I’ve seen are for reading and lessons. Usually, it is the most important thing that you learnt three things, two things that you are curious or confused, what you learn, or what you learn.

Use 3-2-1 learning strategies for critical thinking

With 15 reflection strategies to help students retain what they have taught, I write: “3-2-1 is a proven way to frame something from pair-sharing and journal entries (for example, asking students to write three things they think they know, two things they don’t know, and one thing they’re sure about about the topic), three ways that require post-essays, and two ways, and two ways that will help you make your discussion stronger in the next five minutes) reflecting post-assessment.”

When I recently went back and reread the post, I found that the 3-2-1 (or 1-2-3 – (2-1 and 1-2) format could be a simple strategy for critical thinking. The “3-2-1” sequence itself does not hold any significant potential except for its ability to frame the possibilities of other strategies.

Note that these are rough examples of using 3-2-1 for learning. Feel free to take one of these and improve them or create your own based on the ideas you are reading. 🙂

They may also use ambiguous or inaccurate words such as “Thing,” “Name,” “have,” or “have have.” I did this and made it general and made it clear useful for content areas at different grade levels. “Things” can be anything from fractions and water cycles to discussions about Shakespeare Sonnets. (As such, it resembles the six domains of cognition.

What I want is that the 3-2-1 strategy is an easy way to frame anything. This means it is a useful tool for teaching critical thinking.

Analysis/Concept

The differences between three metaphors and symbolism, two things they have in common, and one general effect on the text that each has

3. The fundamental assumptions of democracy, 2. The common misconceptions of democracy, 1. Why democracy endured as a form of modern government

You can also ask students to specify one way they need to evolve to maintain their relevance to three democracies, two forms of democracy, and the changing world (such as misinformation, deepfakes, propaganda, and partisanship).

Write 3 questions at the recall or comprehension level, 2 questions at the “apply” level, and 1 question at the evaluation level

Discussion/Listen/Discussion

Three ways you agree, two ways you disagree, and one thing you learned (or surprised you) during your conversation

Three things they said, two things they made, one thing you want to know more

Three things I know about the mindset (in general terms), two examples of the effects of the mindset (in general terms), one thing I noticed about today/before this lesson or recently my thinking (in specific terms)

My thoughts are three ways that occur easily or naturally for me, my thoughts require focus or effort on my side, and adjustments I can make accordingly

Three things I remember thinking during the lesson, two things I remember doing during the lesson, and one thing I couldn’t do but didn’t do

Time-based

Summary, 2 minutes of clarification, and 3 minutes of writing a sentence per minute to concise “Thing”

Three things I can do from what I’ve learned, two things other people do with this kind of knowledge and skills, and what I’m trying to do with what I’ve learned

3 similarities, 2 differences, 1 question and guide nutrition learning

“Big ideas” summarizing the three things I learned, two things that were a bit confusing, and all the connections between them

3 open-ended questions, 2 closed questions, 1 deepening question

Three clear questions, two survey questions, one contextualized question

Lesson Planning: What are three ways you designed with enough flexibility to meet the needs of different learners? What are the two questions or challenges I expect? If they can only learn one thing from this lesson, what do I want it to be (ideally in one sentence)?

Curriculum Planning: What are the three most important “big ideas” in this curriculum? (Obviously, this could be any number (6, 10, etc.).) How can you integrate “less important” or a wide range of ideas? What curriculum planning strategies can be used to promote lasting understanding (or critical thinking, transfer, etc.)? What are the one changes I can make to this curriculum to make it more flexible for all learners?

See 20 different questions for critical thinking

Read example response prompts

Non-fiction Text/Simple: What I remember or learnt the name, what I learned from reading, two things that I was confused or surprised, and one thing I would like to learn more

Non-fiction Text/So Simple: Name 3 Example Text Structure, Analyzes two ways that structure affects its meaning, and the claim of Name 1 asserts whether the text created it or does not seem to support it well

Fiction: Describes three ways the author developed the protagonist in the course of the book, explains two ways that development influenced the development of the plot, explains one change the author may have made in that development, and how that change influenced the meaning/interpretation of the text.

Use 3-2-1 learning strategies for critical thinking