It turns out that this issue was present in public education and studied as early as the 1960s and 70s! Mary Budd Rowe presented the benchmark research paper regarding wait time in 1972. Robert Stahl continued and expanded on Rowe's theories in the 1980s. And yet, most of us haven't heard of either of these researchers.
Asking your class questions is almost always a part of instruction and discussion in every subject. Take a moment to consider this; fielding these questions (especially higher-order, well-worded ones) requires multiple cognitive tasks for students. They first need to process the language of the questions and figure out the information they need to respond. They need time to reflect on the answer they want to provide, and then need time to frame how they want to present that answer. Add to that, students who are slower processors or have more difficulty with oral language. It's easy to see how classroom question and answer sessions are often rushed.
Also read: 5 Questioning Strategies that Work!
Mary Budd Rowe found that wait-time in classrooms averaged from less than one-tenth of a second to one and a half seconds. The results of her research indicate that a wait time of 3 to 5 seconds improves the educational experience for everyone, teachers included. But it is hard! It's so awkward! This length of wait time gives students time to go through their cognitive processes, while the teacher has time to think about their question and expectations for the answer.
Some aspects of wait time are directly related to a healthy classroom environment. Students with the processing time they need will feel safer to take risks. Mary Budd Rowe found that 3 to 5 seconds of wait time improved the length and quality of student responses. Beyond that, wait time improved the quality of the questions teachers asked! Teachers may also tend to limit response time for students who they don't think will have the answer. This gives faster, more articulate students a disproportionate amount of floor time. Having a set wait time allows students the same amount of "on-task thinking" and an equal opportunity to be heard.
Also read: How to Build Positive Relationships with Your Students
Robert Stahl's contribution included naming the different kinds of wait time in the classroom. The different types of wait time aren't important, the crucial take away is that the same wait time is required for each pause - after the teacher asks a question, after a student answers, after a student comments on another student's answers, and when either students or teachers need to take a moment to regroup during a response. Think about it as practicing mindful thought and cultivating patience.
At first, implementing 3 to 5 seconds of wait time will feel like an eternity! It feels awkward and you may want to jump the gun just to move things along. Students may shout out answers just to move things along. As with all things education, practice makes perfect. Try using an actual stopwatch in the beginning. Enlist your students to get on board with wait time - they need to give each other the necessary time to process and respect each other's contributions to discussions. Consider asking fewer questions that are of higher quality, to allow for the extended wait time and more lively discourse. And, finally, watch the distribution of answers in the class. We all have students who want to run the class and wallflowers who just want to disappear. Make sure you are using strategies to evenly distribute your students' opportunities to speak up in class.
If you haven't already, try implementing a 3 to 5 seconds wait time in your classroom and let me know how it went!
