Wait time
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Most of us wait less than a second
When teachers ask a question, they usually wait about a second before they speak again: to rephrase it, to answer it, or to pick the first hand. A second is enough to remember a fact. It is not enough to think.
For exampleQuestion. Half a breath. “Anyone? No? It is because…”
Pick an activity. Each takes two or three minutes.
Say it once, then four moves in this order, for any question worth asking.
Why this works in your room
Three seconds of quiet lets more learners reach an answer.
For your learners: The learners who need a moment get one, so answers come from more of the room and are longer when they come.
For you: You stop answering your own questions, and you find out what the group can do without a rescue.
Say it once
“From today I will wait after every question, and I may ask anyone.”
Ask
Ask the whole room.
No name yet.
Wait
Three seconds.
Count in your head.
Name
Now choose who answers.
Not only the hands up.
Wait again
Three more seconds.
“Say more about that.”
Elsewhere in Bradford ThreadWorks
Big 4Copilot: writing detailed prompts that say who it is for and exactly what you want.Open Big 4 (opens in a new tab)
WalkThrusEveryone thinking, everyone answering: cold calling and think, pair, share.Open WalkThrus (opens in a new tab)
Prompts to paste into Copilot
Copilot cannot wait for you, but it can help you plan questions that are worth the wait. Change what is in brackets.
Questions worth waiting for
I teach [subject] to [level] learners. Write six questions on [topic] that cannot be answered in one word and need about three seconds of thought. For each, say what a good answer would include.
What they do in the silence
Here are my questions for tomorrow's lesson: [paste questions]. Mark the ones that need three seconds of thinking time, and for each suggest what learners do while they think: jot it down, sketch it, or tell a partner.
The finding
Across many recorded lessons, teachers waited a second or less after a question. When they were trained to wait three, learners' answers got longer, more learners joined in, and more of them asked questions.
Rowe, 1986 (opens in a new tab)Why it is hard
Three seconds of silence in front of a class feels much longer. The urge to fill it is strong, and the first few times it will feel awkward for you and for them. It gets easier with practice. Give them something to do in the pause, such as writing a line, and the quiet is working time.
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How sure is this?
Sure of the pattern, less sure of the size. Rowe's research is long-standing, but it was not done with college learners. Three seconds is her figure, and we use it as a rule of thumb. Try it, and see what your group does.
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