What's Sustained Shared Thinking?

The formal definition of sustained, shared thinking is 'when two or more individuals work together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept [or] evaluate an activity … Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend the understanding' (Sylva et al., 2004, p. 6).

What is sustained shared thinking?

'Sustained shared thinking' occurs when two or more individuals 'work together' in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend the understanding.

What is an example of sustained shared thinking?

For this to be true sustained shared thinking, the children will return to the activity later on, with anticipation from their prior games. For example, getting excited and gurgling when you get out the peek-a-boo blanket or your baby holding a toy over the edge, waiting for you to look before dropping it.