Faculty Focus https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/student-learning-in-3-seconds/ notes that when Mary Budd Rowe coined the phrase “wait time” to describe the period of time between a teacher’s question and a student’s response, teachers typically waited between .7 seconds and 1.5 seconds before speaking after they have asked a question to students. Kent States Center for Teaching and Learning explains – Rowe observed that “If teachers can increase the average length of the pauses at both points [after interrogation and after student response], namely after a question (wait time 1) and, even more importantly, after a student response (wait time 2) to 3 seconds or more, there are pronounced changes (usually regarded as improvements) in student use of language and logic as well as in student and teacher attitudes and expectations” (Rowe 43). Rowe identified several improvements in student learning as a result of wait time:
- An increase in length of student responses.
- An increase in the number of unsolicited but appropriate student responses.
- An increase in speculative responses.
- A decrease in the number of students failing to respond.
- An increase in the number of responses by students identified by their teachers as slow learners.
- An increase in the scores of students on academic achievement tests.
I compiled the following best practices from the sources mentioned below, for you to consider in your own teaching practice[I note where I added additional information]:
From: https://instructionalmoves.gse.harvard.edu/providing-wait-time-students-process-and-gain-confidence
The amount of time that you wait is always going to feel to you longer than it actually is. And therefore, you shouldn’t think, oh, this is horrible, nothing is happening. I think that there’s nothing wrong with waiting 10 seconds. (Take time to view the four short instructional videos that demonstrate how different instructors have handled wait-time.
Schoology https://www.schoology.com/blog/importance-wait-time-technology-based-classroom Suggest the following tips:
Implement a Wait Time After Posing a Question
After posing a question, a wait time of between three and five seconds can encourage students to give more considered answers. This kind of wait time is called Wait Time 1.This gives students a chance to recall information, leading to better answers. You can also encourages students to interact with each other during this time, creating an interesting discussion that helps everyone learn.
Don’t Forget About Wait Time 2
The other kind of wait time is called Wait Time 2. This is a brief period of silence after a student responds to a question. By pausing before they react to a student’s response, instructors give students an opportunity to complete or elaborate on their answers.
A Little Wait Time Goes a Long Way
A wait time of a few seconds gives students the space they need to respond thoughtfully. However, it is possible to pause for too long. Students often interpret a wait time of 20 seconds or more as threatening. Avoid creating a ‘threatening’ environment in the classroom by avoiding the use of excessively long wait times.
Ask Open-Ended Questions to the Entire Class
Directing a question to a single student can make that student feel intimidated. Meanwhile, other students may disengage when they know they will not be called on to give a response. Direct questions to the entire class to encourage everyone to think about the question and formulate their own responses.
Where possible, try to ask open-ended questions.
Questions that ask “why” or “how” often provoke more thoughtful, interesting discussions than closed questions that require a “yes,” “no,” or purely factual answer.
Get Back to Me
The “Get Back to Me” strategy is a form of wait time that can be useful in technology-based classrooms. If a student is not ready to give an answer, educators can say “would you like me to get back to you?” to give the student time to think. By going back to the student later to ask for their thoughts, instructors allow learners who are not as good at thinking on their feet as their peers to participate in the discussion. This strategy gives students a chance to share their thoughts when they’re prepared.
It’s very important for teachers to remember to return to the student. It’s easy to forget or get distracted, which can teach students that saying “get back to me” is an easy way to get out of answering questions.
From The Reflective Educator: https://thereflectiveeducator.com/wait-time-techniques/
After an Answer – once a student has answered, wait a few seconds before continuing the questioning. You could even say, “Hmmm…let’s think about that answer.” This reminds students that thinking is a vital part of learning.
During Instruction – students can’t absorb an hour’s worth of new information without “coming up for air.” Include some wait time after presenting “chunks” of information. Think of it like eating – you take a bite, chew it, and swallow. While teaching, wait time allows students to “swallow” the content without choking on it!
Dramatic Moment – I use this most often after I get my students’ attention with “hands and eyes.” I wait until I see that I have 100% of my students with their hands folded and their eyes locked onto me. Then…the pause! The tension builds ever so slightly before I announce what’s happening next in class.
Kent State addresses FAQs that I have often addressed around wait time as well: https://www.kent.edu/ctl/wait-time-making-space-authentic-learning with an emphasis on humanistic learning theories.
How often should I use wait time?
We recommend using wait-time during any portion of class where questions are being asked and answered. Different types of courses will divide up class time differently between lecture, discussion, hands-on activities, etc.
Is wait-time appropriate for all questions posed to the class?
Implementing wait-time can be difficult, as it requires the development of new habits and opens the door for more student-driven interactions in class. Until wait-time is your default mode of working, it’s best to use it all the time to reinforce the habit, both for yourself and for the students. While there may be some instances where waiting is not required, it seems unlikely that a three second pause will cause problems.
What do I do if the same student answers the questions every time?
Setting expectations for students and communication norms can help alleviate this challenge. Raising hands and calling on different students is one step. (I would add, using systems like Poll Everywhere and TopHat can encourage students to reply, who may not what to have people focus on them during the process of replying).
What if students don’t provide a response after the 3-5 seconds of delay, and instead there is uncomfortable silence? How long should I wait? What if it doesn’t improve?
Different classroom dynamics can shape students’ response to this technique. This simply requires patience and a willingness to keep trying. As the gold star alternative noted above, asking students to come prepared with their own questions, or using a small bit of discussion time to allow groups of students to devise discussion questions (see Rothstein & Santana, 2011 for more on this technique) can help jump start these discussions. If you have asked an authentic and difficult question, it might take students a few minutes to develop an appropriate response. In cases like these, you might anticipate the delay and work the questions into a Think, Pair, Share (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266656934_Think-pair-share_in_a_large_CS1_class_Does_learning_really_happen) or Jigsaw activity http://cse.unl.edu/~lksoh/pubs/conference/Soh_ITiCSE2006.pdf [Links added]
Is there a better way to craft questions to demonstrate to students that the question is not rhetorical?
The key here is to avoid asking students to produce a response that matches some pre-determined answer. For example, an instructor could shift from asking questions of fact (e.g., “what are the five key factors that led to the Great Depression”), to asking students what they think, what they find most interesting or troubling or complex (e.g., “which of the factors leading to the Great Depression do you think played the biggest role, or was the hardest for people to bear, or could have been most easily avoided?”). Again, the instructor’s role here shifts from merely evaluating each response to guiding the discussion away from casual opinions and toward engaged, evidence-based analysis and interpretation.
This summer, faculty from the Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science (TIDES) at the University of Austin, held a workshop on metacognition which started with a couple basic assumptions:
