Wait Time
Overview
Wait time, or think time, of three or more seconds after posing a question increases how many students volunteer and the length and accuracy of their responses. Having more time to think also increases students' Motivation to respond and supports their Short- and Long-term Memory. Waiting after hearing a student's response has also been shown to improve the quality and variety of teachers' questions, in particular increasing the number of questions that require higher-level thinking.
Example: Use This Strategy in the Classroom
Watch this short clip on wait time in a middle school classroom. This teacher waits at least three seconds after posing a question about making connections across different genres and cuing her students to look back at their notes as they think.
Design It into Your Product
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Teacher Modeling & Support Strategies
Teachers support language development by using and providing vocabulary and syntax that is appropriately leveled (e.g., using simple sentences when introducing complex concepts).
Content that is provided in clear, short chunks can support students' Working Memory.
Building positive and trusting relationships with learners allows them to feel safe, a Sense of Belonging, and that their academic, cognitive, and social and emotional needs are supported.
Actively and authentically encouraging all students to seek support, ask questions, and advocate for what they believe in creates a safe space for risk-taking and skill development and supports a Sense of Belonging.
Teachers can help students understand that learning involves effort, mistakes, and reflection by teaching them about their malleable brain and modeling their own learning process.
Providing feedback that focuses on the process of developing skills conveys the importance of effort and motivates students to persist when learning.
By talking through their thinking at each step of a process, teachers can model what learning looks like.
Teachers sharing math-to-self, math-to-math, and math-to-world connections model math schema building.
Maintaining consistent classroom routines and schedules ensures that students are able to trust and predict what will happen next.
Providing students a voice in their learning is critical for making learning meaningful.
