Difference between revisions of "Wait time"

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'''Wait time''' is the duration of a pause after a question is posed. Students of color and female students respond positively when wait time is increased.  
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'''Wait time''' is the duration of a pause after a teacher poses a question. Wait time allows each student to begin to formulate his or her own response to the question.  Studies have shown that students of color and female students benefit when wait time is increased.
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__NOTOC__
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(See more on [[classroom climate]].)
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==How to incorporate wait time==
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[[File:Wait Time Image1.jpg|right|200px|Link:http://irishautismaction.blogspot.com/2010/02/vote-on-time.html]]
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*Increase wait times for all students.  
  
==Example==
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*Let students know you are going to give them some time to think about your question.
Sadker and Sadker investigated the effect of '''wait time''' (the duration of a pause after a question is posed) on differential participation in the class discussion. Their study and observation of undergraduate classrooms found that teachers unconsciously give white males more wait time than female students and students of color. Sadker and Sadker hypothesize that longer pauses after questions convey a "vote of confidence" for the student's answer and thus motivate participation.
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*Be mindful of differential teacher-student interactions in the classroom.
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:: Studies have shown that teachers devote different amounts of wait time to male versus female students and students of minority race versus Caucasian students.  Myra Sadker, a former professor of Education and Dean of the School of Education at American University, and David Sadker, also a professor of Education at American University, investigated the effect of these different '''wait times''' on differential participation in the class discussion. Their study and observation of undergraduate classrooms found that teachers unconsciously gave white males more wait time than female students and students of color. Sadker and Sadker hypothesize that longer pauses after questions convey a "vote of confidence" for the student's answer and, thus, motivate participation.  
  
==How to incorporate wait time==
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*Avoid calling on the first hand that goes up. Share the learning experience of speaking out loud with all students, not just with those who feel most confident.
Try to be more mindful of differential teacher-student interactions in the classroom, undergraduate professors could track and codify participation in class discussion, formulate plans to randomize grouped class seating, include group and presentation work, and, of course, increase wait times for all students.
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*Codify and track participation in class discussions.
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*Include group and presentation work. Provide students with an array of opportunities to speak.
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==Evidence of positive effects of wait time==
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: Studies compiled by Robert J. Stahl, a Professor in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction at Arizona State University, show that increasing wait time to 3 or more seconds results in positive effects for both teacher and student. '''Typically, a teacher waits between 0.7 and 1.4 seconds''' after a question before beginning to talk again. Stahl proposes '''increasing this wait time to at least 3 seconds'''. (Duell, however, finds negative effects of extending wait times to 6 seconds.) For students, increasing wait time increases the length and accuracy of question responses, increases the number of appropriate responses volunteered by students, and increases the academic achievement level (e.g., test scores) of the students. Additionally, teachers who implement a longer wait time also tend to ask higher quality questions, vary their questioning strategies, and ask questions that challenge students to use more complex information processing skills.
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{{hidden|Sources|
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Rowe, M. (1987). Wait-time: Slowing down may be a way of speeding up. American Educator, 11, 38-43.  
  
==Evidence==
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Sadker, D., Sadker, M. (1994) Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls. Toronto, ON: Simon & Schuster Inc.
Various studies by Stahl have shown that increasing wait times to 3 or more seconds has numerous positive effects for both teacher and student in class discussion across diverse ages and disciplines. These benefits include increased number and length of relevant responses volunteered as well as improved questioning techniques by the teacher. Typical increased wait times lasted between 3 and 7 seconds for high-level questions, as opposed to the <1 second wait time for all questions observed in many classrooms.
 
  
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Stahl, R. (1994). Using "think-time" and "wait-time" skillfully in the classroom. ERIC Digest. Bloomington, IN: ERIC clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education. ED370885.
  
==Sources==
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Duell, Orpha K. (1994) Extended Wait Time and University Student Achievement. American Educational Research Journal, June 20, 1994 vol. 31 no. 2 397-414
  
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Swift, J. Nathan; Gooding, C. Thomas  "Interaction of wait time feedback and questioning instruction on middle school science teaching" Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 20, Issue 8, pp.721-730
  
* Sadker, and Sadker, D. (1994)
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Tobin, Kenneth. "The Role of Wait Time in Higher Cognitive Level Learning." Review of Educational Research. American Educational Research Association, 1 Jan. 1987. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://rer.sagepub.com/content/57/1/69>}}
* Stahl, R. (1994). Using "think-time" and "wait-time" skillfully in the classroom. ERIC Digest. Bloomington, IN: ERIC clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education. ED370885. [http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed370885.html]
 
* Rowe, M. (1987). Wait-time: Slowing down may be a way of speeding up. American Educator, 11, 38-43.
 
*Tobin. K. (1987). The role of wait time in higher cognitive learning. Review of educational research,57, 69-95.
 
*Swift, J. Nathan; Gooding, C. Thomas  "Interaction of wait time feedback and questioning instruction on middle school science teaching" Journal of Research in Science Teaching, vol. 20, Issue 8, pp.721-730
 

Latest revision as of 12:47, 10 December 2015

Wait time is the duration of a pause after a teacher poses a question. Wait time allows each student to begin to formulate his or her own response to the question. Studies have shown that students of color and female students benefit when wait time is increased.

(See more on classroom climate.)

How to incorporate wait time

Link:http://irishautismaction.blogspot.com/2010/02/vote-on-time.html
  • Increase wait times for all students.
  • Let students know you are going to give them some time to think about your question.
  • Be mindful of differential teacher-student interactions in the classroom.
Studies have shown that teachers devote different amounts of wait time to male versus female students and students of minority race versus Caucasian students. Myra Sadker, a former professor of Education and Dean of the School of Education at American University, and David Sadker, also a professor of Education at American University, investigated the effect of these different wait times on differential participation in the class discussion. Their study and observation of undergraduate classrooms found that teachers unconsciously gave white males more wait time than female students and students of color. Sadker and Sadker hypothesize that longer pauses after questions convey a "vote of confidence" for the student's answer and, thus, motivate participation.
  • Avoid calling on the first hand that goes up. Share the learning experience of speaking out loud with all students, not just with those who feel most confident.
  • Codify and track participation in class discussions.
  • Include group and presentation work. Provide students with an array of opportunities to speak.

Evidence of positive effects of wait time

Studies compiled by Robert J. Stahl, a Professor in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction at Arizona State University, show that increasing wait time to 3 or more seconds results in positive effects for both teacher and student. Typically, a teacher waits between 0.7 and 1.4 seconds after a question before beginning to talk again. Stahl proposes increasing this wait time to at least 3 seconds. (Duell, however, finds negative effects of extending wait times to 6 seconds.) For students, increasing wait time increases the length and accuracy of question responses, increases the number of appropriate responses volunteered by students, and increases the academic achievement level (e.g., test scores) of the students. Additionally, teachers who implement a longer wait time also tend to ask higher quality questions, vary their questioning strategies, and ask questions that challenge students to use more complex information processing skills.