In many situations, teachers encourage learners to take their time:

• ‘Don’t rush it.’
• ‘Take as long as you need.’
• ‘This isn’t a race.’
• ‘It’s about producing the highest quality work, not finishing first.’
• ‘Slow down.’

All these comments are intended to help learners understand that taking a little longer and going a little slower often leads to better outcomes than trying to do things as fast as possible.

We generally caution learners against acting too quickly and praise the benefits of thinking before doing.

The underlying message is that a little time spent thinking and planning is worth it in the long run.

Despite knowing the benefits of not rushing in, and frequently communicating these to learners, many teachers struggle to apply their own wisdom in the context of whole-class discussions.

It is not uncommon for teachers to ask learners questions and to expect an immediate answer.

A lack of wait-time means a lack of thinking time.

It means learners must answer straightaway, or not at all.

Some research (Rowe, 1986) suggests teachers give an average of 1 second before expecting an answer.

While that research is now fairly old, experience suggests it remains accurate in lots of classrooms.

It is of benefit to wait.

This gives learners time to think.

In this time, they can consider the question or topic under discussion and then formulate a response that accurately communicates their thoughts on the matter.

The process of piecing together disparate ideas and synthesising these into clear, articulate speech requires at least a few moments.

For some pupils it requires even longer.

There are two ways you can introduce wait-time into your practice.

First, after you ask a question, simply wait.

If you find this difficult (because it’s unfamiliar or feels awkward), try counting to ten in your head before you speak again.

If you count fast, then go up to twenty or thirty!

Second, after you ask a question, say to the class something like: ‘OK, twenty seconds silent thinking and then we’ll share some ideas.’

In both examples, you give learners space in which to think about what you’ve asked them.

Space in which to develop an answer that accurately reflects what is in their minds.

Questions and discussion are intended to promote thinking.

If it takes a little bit of time, so be it.

Perhaps one of the greatest difficulties teachers have with implementing wait-time is getting past the feeling that, in a discussion, silence is a bad thing.

There are times when silence in discussion creates a feeling of awkwardness.

Equally, there are moments when it feels like nothing is happening and no learning is taking place.

These feelings need to be ridden out.

They must be subjugated to the more important point: it is not speaking alone that creates knowledge and furthers learning in discussion activities.

It is speaking combined with thinking. And thinking can take time.