Have you ever noticed how quickly teachers often move on after asking a question in class? Wait times, the time between asking a question and getting a response play a crucial role in student learning. While it may feel natural to jump in when silence lingers, giving students more time to think can lead to deeper understanding and better discussions.
But how long should you wait after asking a question? And how might Wait time affect student participation when different types of questions are asked? To explore this question, we looked to a recent paper published by researchers from the Technical University of Munich. Read on for:
- A quick introduction to wait times
- The relationship between question type and wait time
- What the latest research tells us about wait times
- Practical implications for the classroom
What are wait times?
In a classroom, wait time refers to the pause between a teacher posing a question and selecting a student to answer. Studies show that most primary and secondary school teachers only wait around 0.7 to 1.4 seconds before calling out a student for an answer. In universities, this pause is slightly longer, averaging around 2.25 seconds. However, research suggests that extending this pause to at least three seconds can significantly enhance both the quality and quantity of student responses.
But why is this extra time so important? Questions in class often require students to actively recall information that they have learnt in the past. This process, known as Retrieval Practice, leads to better learning by strengthening memory. But when teachers rush this process by cutting wait times short, they limit students’ ability to engage in meaningful thinking.
Furthermore, some students need more time to gather their thoughts, and short wait times can leave them struggling to keep up. By simply pausing for a few more seconds, teachers can make the classroom a fairer, more supportive space where all students have the chance to participate and succeed.
How does the type of question inform wait time?
Not all questions are created equal. Some only require students to recall basic facts, while others might ask students to explain different concepts in their own words. Naturally, these more complex questions place additional cognitive load on students, requiring deeper thinking and more time to generate an answer.
Because of this, experts suggest that teachers should allow more wait time for challenging questions, allowing students to gather their thoughts before answering. On the other hand, simpler questions, like true or false questions, usually don’t need as much time and can still foster a good level of student participation with a shorter pause.
What the latest research about wait time says
In a recent paper, researchers recorded videos of 29 classroom lessons to see how often teachers paused after asking a question. They measured how long these wait times lasted, grouping the questions into different types. Then, they compared how student response rates varied with different amounts of wait times for each type of question.
Here’s a brief overview of the different question types they examined:
- Initial vs. Repeated / Follow-up questions – Initial questions introduce a new topic. Repeated and follow-up questions build on initial questions. While repeated questions rephrase initial questions in simpler words, follow-up questions encourage students to explain their answers in more detail.
- Closed vs. Open questions – Closed questions only have one correct answer, while open questions let students share their own ideas and opinions.
- Reproduction vs. Elaboration questions – Reproductive questions ask students to remember facts they’ve learnt before. Elaboration questions require students to connect different ideas and explain their reasoning.
Let’s look at what the paper found:
1. There were large variations in wait times observed between teachers
Only 10% of all questions were followed by wait times. Here, the median wait time recorder was around 3.4 seconds. However, there was quite a wide variation of wait times between different teachers. For instance, while some teachers had a median wait time of 2.88 seconds, others’ median wait times were as long as 10.96 seconds.
2. Students required less wait time to respond to repeated and follow-up questions
When teachers waited longer before expecting an answer, more students participated. For initial questions on a topic, student response rates jumped from 36.4% with a 5-second wait to 65.8% at 10 seconds and 75.4% at 12 seconds.
However, for repeated or follow-up questions, responses increased from 60% to over 80% when wait times extended from 5 to 8 seconds. Researchers explain that students need less time to answer repeated and follow-up questions because they are already thinking about the topic, making it easier to respond.
3. More students answered reproduction questions within the same wait time
After 5 seconds, 47.1% of students responded to reproduction questions, while only 38.5% answered elaboration questions. The researchers suggest this happens because elaboration questions require deeper thinking, so students need more time to process their thoughts before responding.
4. No difference in student participation was found between close and open questions
This trend continued even after a 10-second wait time, which goes against what the researchers expected. Typically, open-ended questions are considered more complex, so they would likely result in fewer student responses. While the researchers did not offer a clear explanation for this, it could suggest that open questions, which ask students to share their opinions or perspectives, might not require as much mental effort as elaboration questions that ask students to connect different conceptual ideas.
Practical implications from the study
Based on their results, the authors provide two practical takeaways for teachers:
- Increase your wait times – Because student response rates increase as wait time increases, the authors recommend that teachers wait at least 5 seconds, but not longer than 10 to 12 seconds, after asking an initial question (including elaboration questions).
- Adjust your wait times according to your question type – Because student response rates vary according to the type of question asked, the authors suggest that teachers change their wait times to suit the needs of the question. For instance, shorter wait times of around 5 to 8 seconds are suitable when asking repeated, follow-up, and reproduction questions.
Final thoughts on questions and wait times
By understanding that different types of questions and varying wait times can significantly influence how students respond, teachers can adapt their approach to foster deeper thinking and participation. Allowing students just a few extra seconds to process their thoughts before answering can lead to more thoughtful and accurate responses. By refining their questioning strategies, teachers can create more inclusive and effective learning environments that benefits all students.
