10. Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers
Many teachers who are aware of the research on the use of “wait time” will confess that they do not use it often enough. What do you think are some of the reasons that might explain why we do not use this strategy systematically and effectively?
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I think most of us have every intention of using wait time, but when the reality of the minute arrives, we want to keep the “flow” of the lesson going. Speaking for myself, I know I fall into the trap of calling on those who raise their hands – and probably know the answer immediately. I am aware of this “fault” and try to call on others to “activate” them. Many times they do know the answer – they just need prompting and the proper “wait time.”
I also think that with the pressure to “cover” everything for TAKS, we want to move through our lessons, which means sometimes not wanting to “wait” for “wait time.”
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
First off – I LOVE Debbie Gibson and that song!
Hmmmm? Wait time….You mean that long drawn out silence when almost everyone in the room is relieved I’m not waiting for their answer? I agree with the arguement for wait time and I am one that does not use it enough. I personally find silence uncomfortable. ANY silence. I can’t imagine falling asleep in a room without David or Conan talking me to sleep.
As a math teacher,I know not everyone loves numbers the way I do so I try to keep it moving so I don’t have students tune me out. If the class is filled with lots of pauses, I fear losing them to daydreaming. As educators, we have a set amount of time to impart quite a bit of information and I think we hate to lose any of that time to silence even though we know if we listen close enough, we would hear gears turning and thoughts percolating.
October 10th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
First, I totally agree with Elizabeth that I usually blow this opportunity because I’m concerned more about the flow of the lesson. Sometimes to me, silence equals lack of brain activity during a questioning session in class which is absolutely stupid given the fact I’m one who likes to mull over things before I speak. Also, sometimes when I pause and wait I wonder if I’ll get off track in my own mind waiting on their reply….because you know how five silent seconds is an eternity, right?
In fluency testing with my 8th graders, I’ve noticed when I tell them to take a few seconds to think things over before giving a main idea the answers turn out way better. Some of them have answered so succinctly I’ve actually thought, “Wow, who knew you could sound like an academian if you really tried! You go!! Nice job!!!”
The bottom line I picked up from this chapter is that I need to work on “wait time” as a teacher. Silence is golden as long as a 7th grader doesn’t fill it loudly passing gas.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I like to ask rhetorical questions. (you have to “tell” 6th graders it is rhetorical – they want to answer every question you ask!! )
After asking one, I give them a chance to think about it. Most of them are thinking, “What’s a rhetorical question??”
Of course, you can’t always use these, so I do the next best thing – I ask questions that have several different answers. I don’t usually pick on someone to answer; I just let them answer the question spontaneously. I’ll get several responses, and they will spawn “thought” in those that were not thinking at that moment. Then I’ll get several more! After listening to the responses, we go back and discuss each one in depth. This process takes out the need for wait time because the class is listening and responding as they listen.
October 14th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Actually, I feel like “wait time” is a strength of mine as a teacher. I am not one who becomes uncomfortable with silence. I believe this carries over in to my teaching. “Wait time” is really just think time. Some students just need longer to formulate an answer then put it in to words. When I am hosting class discussion I often give a question and make the students wait for at least a minute or 2 before anyone can answer. This is forced “wait time”. If I come to a student who still can not verbalize an answer I will let others offer their answers and come back to the student who was struggling to verbalize their answer. “Wait time” is so important in teaching as well as in personal relationships. Everyone needs time to think…
October 14th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Being an ENFP type person I really struggle with this concept myself. I tend to talk or spit out every thought in my head. I’m also the type of teacher that reviews that whole class by open discussion, which rarely uses any “wait time”. I like listen to various answers that are openly stated and try to go more in-depth with follow-up questions. However, I do know that there is a need for wait time, so I try to switch things up. I just simply state “okay, for the next question I want the whole class to think for 30 seconds before answering”. I will have to admit, that I do not do this enough because I tend to build enthusiasm and energy from the student’s who have word vomit….like me!
October 25th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Wait-time – yipes – I’ll tell you who is a pro at wait-time: Kay Pratt. She waits so patiently for students to respond to her questions. I marvel at how effective it is.
I did a little research of my own on wait-time (WT). Here is what I found:
1) The median figure of 3 seconds is the minimum amount of WT recommended by most of the research literature on this topic, and about twice as long as what the research literature has actually observed and reported (Stahl,1994).
2) The typical teacher pauses, on the average, between 0.7 and 1.4 seconds after his/her questions before continuing to talk or permitting a student to respond.
3) Three complete breaths = good WT, according to research.
4) A teacher should model WT and make it “OK” to pause before answering.
5) Too long a WT (20 seconds) can be detrimental and more WT will not solve the problem.
There is no good reason I can’t be using WT more systematically. That is a goal of mine this year…and I’ve got the perfect role model!
October 28th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I think we do not wait because of time constraints. We only have so many minutes in a day and some of the students we teach can outwait us. Also, being an Extrovert, I really have to think about wait time because I was the kid with her hand up all the time. I never understood those kids who didn’t want to talk. I really do try though to wait on those I know are processing the information, but on some kids you see the glazed look and you just know to move on.
October 30th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I will be the first to say that I am horrible about wait time in both pe and athletics. It is not so much that I want the lesson to flow (though I do), but that I want the kids to get busy with the hands on part. I have always prided myself in being a physical education teacher who keeps the instuction short and simple (4 steps at the most when teaching a skill). The less that I am talking, the more the kids are practicing. When I ask questions about what they have learned, I have noticed that even more lately, I am answering them. I don’t know why except I just want to “plow” through. I want to work on this because I know they need time to process what they have learned and not just be spoon fed an answer. This is involve some patience on my part. I am pretty sure that is why most teacher’s dont allow much wait time. It is easy to believe that there is not time for it.
October 30th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I agree with most everyone that we are so concerned with the flow of the lesson and with time constraints that wait time is diminished. I too, do not like silence. I constantly have to work at waiting for the student to have time to process and answer the questions. After about 10 seconds of wait time, I usually give them a hint. Sometimes I have other students give the student a hint to help them out. Of course the raise your hand if you want to answer the question usually results in the same people wanting to answer each time.
November 4th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I’m not sure what it is (being a first year teacher, or the 6th grade age group), but wait time typically opens the door for unrelated or “less thought provoking” questions that arise in class. That’s a good reason I don’t use it like I should. I would love nothing more than to have a good classroom discussion, but at the time I actually wait for a good response, I have to be careful who I call on. In order to keep the flow going (as so many have already mentioned) it’s important NOT to have the, “well…one time…my dad and I were walking when…” type of comment throw everything to a hault.
I believe wait time is important, but you have to be very careful in how you keep the lesson moving; especially with younger age groups.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Like so many other teachers who have blogged with their responses I too seem to get in a hurry with asking for responses from students. Usually, time restraints tend to keep me going with the lesson and I also tend to ask students who raise their hand. Again, old habits are hard to break. But after reading this chapter I realized that certain students do have to process a question using more time than I think they need, which is unfair to those that may not process as fast as others. With this in mind, I try to give more time for responses now and remember that we all process questions at different speeds.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
We do not use wait time because the kiddos cannot wait. If a teacher uses wait time, and the student who is answering takes too long to answer (in other students’ eyes) – they feel the need to blurt out an answer without being called upon. Also in this fast paced world of ours-hurry up and get everything done – it is difficult to slow down and wait however long it takes to guide a student to the right answer.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Mick says…”Time, time, time, is on our side, yes it is”.
I agree wholeheartedly with Elizabeth. Good intentions, sometimes bad results. With lots to cover and not much time, it’s easy to let the same kids answer over and over and over to keep the lesson going at a good pace. It takes self control and awareness to slow down and have appropriate wait time. You do have to draw the line on how long you will wait. The natives do get restless.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I agree with everyone that the “flow” of the lesson is what teachers tend to like which doesn’t help wait time. Plus, students can tend to become “off-task” when a lesson does not “flow” or there is a lot of down time. In my mind, I think they are zoning out if I do not keep them on their toes and working at a quicker pace even with Q/A. I try to make myself tell the students to all first think about the question (and not say it a loud); that way everyone is using their own brain for awhile. Then I either ask particular students answers after the wait time or ask for volunteer answers. Wait time is certainly something teachers can work on.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Even the best-designed group lesson in my sixth period will demand that students “fill in” a great deal of missing information. Questions can greatly aid students in this process. I believe the reason most teachers don’t use wait time is that they want an answer to a question quickly so that the lesson can continue. I can’t hurry my students into answering because it usually takes them a long time to answer. Most of my students are usually told what to do without ever being able to have input into the outcome. If the wait time becomes too long, I will just give my student cues to help him get the answer or thought.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
I’m actually getting better at this thanks to my GT kids and reading with them. We read a bit, and then I pause for their reaction. They know there must be something significant they are supposed to find on the page and I must have a certain look I give them. They laugh and say, “Oh no–it’s the look! There must be something here.”
The class I do have trouble is in on-level and it’s not so much that I’m afraid of interrupting the flow of the lesson but I am afraid that if I stop talking, they will start. And I don’t mean they will start talking about how effectively prepositions are being used in the sentences of the note they received in the hall before class. It’s so hard to keep a lid on them that as Elizabeth et al stated when you see a hand raised, you feel like you need to keep moving and call on that person to keep them on task. (maybe that is the flow of the lesson, but dang it, it shouldn’t be.)
I heard J talking about his popsicle sticks the other day. I think he must have every student’s name on a stick and he draws a name to answer a question. That eliminates the temptation to call on the first hand you see, but still leaves you with the issue of what to do about wait time if that stick didn’t know the answer. I suppose the answer is as the ever fragrant Diane Kissel suggests…what was it? 3 breaths at least? Sigh. What did I say–something new to work on? A work in progress!
November 20th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I agree with the others in wanting the flow of the classroom to continue. As a teacher I should not only use the wait time, which I do, but also be conscious of when the student probably does not know the answer and is only hoping that I will give up and go on to someone else. Rarely do I have a student who will say,”I knew that answer, but you didn’t give me enough time to answer.” Wait time is essential.
November 20th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Well, anyone who knows me can understand why “wait time” is a HUGE problem of mine. I don’t even think I have a “process time”: thought enters brain-comes-out of mind simultaneous. Yes, sometimes people find it humorous; sometimes I even entertain myself. However, it sure gets me in trouble and is not good in terms of allowing the kids to process and speak their thought. Additionally, as Joe said, “the natives do get restless” while waiting for a kid to verbalize his idea.
November 24th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
There seems to be this awkward silence when giving think time. I am also concerned that if the student does not know the answer then they will be embarrassed because everyone in the room is waiting and STARRING at them. With my GT classes, I have started to implement longer wait times. I think I am moe successful in these classes because I have had these students for 2 years and they know my expectations. “I don;t know,” doesn’t fly. They all must be ready to give me something. Another idea I have used to keep form having the same student answer over and over, becuase they volunteer, is to have the students’ names on sticks. I ask the question, they all think about it and then I draw a stick with the student who is supposed to answer. It keeps them all on their toes!
November 29th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
http://www.uterli.com/suziqb77
Yeah, I have the radio on. Enjoy the music while I speak.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
http://www.utterli.com/suziqb77
Yeah, I have the radio on. Enjoy the music while I speak.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I think it is important to inform students of your strategy so they know that they have time to think about your question before answering.
December 5th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Acquiring the skill of practicing wait time during a lesson took “much” practice for me. It is difficult to wait because students are so easily distracted and/or loose concentration or focus, the flow of the lesson, from a teacher’s standpoint, is perhaps compromised, and sometimes behavior problems arise during the wait time, depending on how long students require processing and answering a question. After learning a student’s strengths and weaknesses, i.e., reading orally, finding answers to computation problems only, or knowing which operation to use when solving a word problem, I am able to call on them according to these characteristics, thus improving the wait time strategy during class.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I feel like my students force me to use wait time. They are so eager to give the answer that they shout out the first thing that comes to mind. I find myself prefacing my question with, “Now, don’t yell out the answer. Think before you say something. Give yourself time to come up with the right answer.” When I am reviewing something in say grammar and I break it down into baby steps, that yelling out stuff is okay. But when I want them to apply their knowledge to a situation, that requires “wait time”. Time to think through and process everything. They have to be trained to do it, but it is good.
December 9th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Using wait time has proven to be my most effective tool in communicating with my classes. I use it to bring order and begin a lesson. I use it to refocus the class and bring them back to the objective at hand. I also use it to teach the kids that patience is a virtue and that much more is accomplished with thoughtful, rational behavior.
In spite of the fact that we are all pressed to get the material down their throats, wait time is well worth the results. I use it every day in almost every class.
December 9th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I think there is a time dilation that occurs when you’re in “wait time”. Kind of like when you’re a kid and that last 24 hours before Christmas or your birthday seems to last a month. I know I have every intention of allowing wait time and at times when I have made an effort to actually track the time, it always goes by much more slowly than I think it is.
I also very much agree with others about the flow of the lesson. We all have so much to cover and so little time to do it, that we’ve fallen into the trap of programming down to the second.
December 12th, 2008 at 12:31 am
My wait time is not as long as it should be. I begin to feel I am putting the students on the spot and making them uncomfortable, even though it has probably only been a couple of seconds. There is the student who comes up with the answer right away and the student who needs more time. As others have previously stated, there is the concern about keeping the lesson moving and getting the information covered.
December 14th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Many times teachers do not use “wait time” because they have so many things they need to cover and get accomplished that they feel they don’t have the time to devote to “wait time.” Also, many times, students do not use “wait time” in the manner it should be used, so teachers began to feel they are not using their classroom time in an effective manner. Teachers must teach students the skills to make “wait time” work.
December 14th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I am a firm believer in using wait time. As a shy student, I was often reticent to answer, and was often not a “handraiser.” I often knew the answer, but was too timid to raise a hand or speak up. Teachers often neglected or overlooked me, or if they did call on me, wouldn’t give me time to formulate a response.
I think teachers often try to “shield” those students who are either shy or a little slower at processing information. We think we are helping them out by preventing an awkward situation. I also think many teachers or students can’t abide silence. But, by hurrying students, or allowing others to blurt out answers rather than respect another student’s time to think we are limiting a growth in confidence in the former, and in patience in the latter.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Reading this chapter made me chuckle at the memory of a college professor my freshman year. She would call roll, and then when she was finished, WT. It would go for minutes and we used to time her. The she would say, “Any more questions?” As if anyone had said more than “here” to her roll call. Once the WT went on for 17 minutes. Now do I recall learning anything in the class? Of course not, that was 34 years ago!
With our diverse population and because I get every type of learned in my room, WT is very important. We have to remember the ELA students are translating into their first language to comprehend and then back to English to answer. WT has become more important at WMS with our ever-changing learners.
December 15th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I try to give wait time any time I ask a student a question. Like Deanna said, I will give hints, or I may rephrase my question if the student does not answer the question after a few seconds. I agree with so many of the other comments in that I try to give wait time, but sometimes I move on quicker than I should to keep the flow of the class moving.
December 16th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
In my class, we have a thought for the day, a quote about life that they students need to tell what they think means. The intention is to think about it and discuss it. At the beginning of the year, I try to stress that there is no one right answer and that they can disagree with it. Most days, I do fairly well with wait time, but not so much on days where we have a lot to do. I think with teaching, there is so much to get done, we feel strapped for time and don’t wait like we should.
Some days kids’ hands shoot in the air so fast that I know they have not given it too much thought. In these cases, I make sure to wait until more hands go up so that some real thought has been put in the thought for the day.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
The 50 minutes go quickly in a classroom – well when you have participation. As many have said the participation is essential for the lesson to flow properly. I often use the wait time and all of us know how uncomfortable that can become at times. There are times I am willing to ‘fight the battle’ and get those who would not normally participate involved by waiting and waiting and waiting and then there are times I am too weary to fight that battle. I am continually asking my students how did you get that? – (answer). With 90 % accuracy I can tell you if they know what their talking about or just stumbled on to it or copied their answer within 5- 10 seconds. However that 10% have gears turning and are trying to compute, review and re track their steps as to how THEY did it. These responses equip me with informal data and enables me to assess what my students can do and cannot do better than any multiple choice TEKS check can provide me.
The ever increasing demands placed on our students through formal assessments trickles up to the teachers and this is the main reason for us not waiting for our students to ‘reason.’ We simple fell we don’t have time to wait.
December 16th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Wow–one serious negative consequence of waiting until the last minute is that all the good answers are taken!
I’ll second all those motions above in which “flow” was an issue. I frequently need more time at the end of class to finish the day’s objectives so slowing down during class seems counterintuitive.
I also agree with Donna W that it seems to be a cultural habit that every spare second is filled with noise and action–quiet time to reflect seems to be perceived as lonely, unappealing business.
Loved Susan’s thoughts about teaching some to have confidence and others patience.
I am going to join my friends above who said they’ll work on this.
December 17th, 2008 at 7:03 am
I have tried to exercise more WT each year that I have been teaching. Sometimes I “sing” the Final Jeopardy song quietly so the students know I’m waiting for their “winning” answer. There are students who want to blurt out some “cute” answer no matter what question you ask because they like to be the class clown. Then you have to re-direct the class back to the real issue.
I talk fast, because I never seem to have as much time as I would like to cover the story of the day. I don’t give as much time as I should many days for the students to process the question and respond. Then, I have a class or two that gives me a blank stare and I can’t inspire a verbal response from them some days.
December 17th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
For me in reading, it’s not really hard to use wait time for a student response. Thinking over a novel or a story is a natural thing for some in discussing. If the wait time becomes a little uncomfortable, using open ended questions help to “jog” one’s memory in order to respond.
December 17th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I think if you have a lovely, well-managed classroom you can really use wait time effectively. If the students don’t speak out of turn, don’t speak without being called on, and will hold their hands up in the air once they have a ready response, this is a great concept. I haven’t been good enough to create one of these classrooms yet. Or if I have gotten a class there, I often think it has more to do with the particular kids in the class, than in my particular skill as a classroom manager.
If your class isn’t in good shape, then wait time does indeed open the door for kids blurting out answers, yelling at each other to hurry up, introducing non sequiturs, and generally wreaking havoc. I often feel that I have to hold the reins awfully tight to get the kids where I want them to go, and allowing too much wait time releases the colts.
December 17th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
One of the many reasons why educators do not use enough “Wait Time” is FEAR as everyone else might have mentioned in the previous postings. We fear that class just might not go according to plan and lessons might not be covered in time so we speed through our questions. Sometimes we answer the question before even asking. Wait time was one of my many weaknesses my first year teaching at Nimitz High School. Luckily I had a good mentor that year who kept emphasizing the importance of the waiting time for responses to my many questions.
Now, I understand that wait time matters. I give students time to think before jumping in with an answer to my own question. I know that pausing for just a few seconds is likely to generate better classroom discourse, including more conversation among students. I realize that when I ask higher-level questions, it involves more waiting time. This year I have tried more often to phrase questions that require analysis to prompt my students to go beyond simple recall of information and help to develop their higher-order thinking skills.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I agree with all the previous blogs about pacing their lessons. I have really found that this year’s group of 6th graders has a built-in automatic wait time. I ask a question and call on a student, pause, pause, pause, correct answer. Most of the time they are correct. I have had to change up the methods I use in class to teach them that at times it is best to have an answer quickly.
Some favorites:
“Answer this question in your brain and then raise your hand.”
“Answer this question in your brain and then don’t raise your hand.” I then do the uncomfortable silence pause for me and then pick someone.
“When you know the answer stand up.” Then, I wait until most of them are standing and pick one of the standing kids.
Ask child a question. If there is a long pause, ask the student if they want to pass the question to a friend.
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Personally, I don’t incorporate “wait time” in my lesson on a regular basis with the young groups because I feel so pressed for time to get through what I need to get through. I want as many reps as possible.
I do think it is an effective way to keep kids thinking and on their toes. If you through a cue or a question out there and wait and don’t give away who will be called on, then every kid has to keep the wheels turning and keep resolving for an answer because they may hear their name called. If you call the kid’s name FIRST, then the question, kids can check out and not feel pressed to think through the process. I hope I can get back in a routine of using it at least once a class period, if not more.
January 19th, 2009 at 10:35 am
I could say “ditto” to what Cumbie wrote. Personally, wait time is hard for me because I’m hyper. Dead air in a classroom feels weird to me because there is almost always SOUND in a choir classroom. (Sometimes when I walk down the 6th grade hall and peek in and see the students reading quietly, I wonder what it would be like to have quiet built into my teaching day. It is never ever ever ever quiet.)