How much “Think Time” did you give your students today?
"My goal is to bite my tongue and give students more time"
These are the words of science teacher Danita Byrd as she reflects on how TeachFX's automated feedback on her use of “think time” has helped her practice shifting the heavy lifting to students during classroom conversations. Danita is one of thousands of teachers who uses TeachFX to get personalized feedback on how her own instruction aligns with her intention to lace ample Think Time into her lessons every day. Let’s dig into why Think Time matters, a specific strategy you can try to build more Think Time into your lesson plans, and how you can use TeachFX to practice it.
5 extra seconds can make the biggest difference in class
According to research, a teacher typically waits less than one second for a student response after asking a question. Similarly, after a student responds, teachers respond with another question in less than one second. Providing students with at least 5 seconds of Think Time has tremendous benefits:
Increased length of student responses.
Increased the number of unsolicited student responses.
Increased speculative responses.
Decreased number of students failing to respond.
Increased number of responses from student with learning exceptionalities.
In life, 5 seconds is not enough time to do anything. So how can that additional time help increase student responses and increase the number of student participating? The answer is simple — processing time. Students need the time and space to think on what they were asked or what they heard.
Taking a few seconds to pause the classroom conversation gives your audience time to process the message, and time to understand and digest the meaning of the message. It helps manage fear of public speaking that our students might harbor. It creates space to be more deliberate in whatever is said next, and to avoid filler words or more shallow responses. It’s an invitation to think deeply about what was said.
Use Think-Write-Pair-Share to take student engagement to the next level
One of the best procedures to give students time to process the conversation, build the confidence to speak up, and understand opposing points is Think-Write-Pair-Share. Many educators rely on this learning strategy to promote classroom participation by encouraging a high degree of student-to-student responses, rather than using a basic recitation method in which a teacher poses a question and one student offers a response. Additionally, this strategy provides an opportunity for all students to share their thinking with at least one other student which, in turn, increases their sense of involvement in the learning process.
When I taught math, Think-Write-Pair-Share allowed me to reach students who didn’t feel confident in their ability to speak in front of the class or doubted their mathematical abilities. I would pose a higher-ordered thinking question to the class, give students time to think about the question and possibly create a plan to solving the question. Students would then spend time writing their solution and creating a response. Next, I would pair students so they could exchange responses and give each other feedback. Finally, I would strategically have students share either their response or the response of their partner aloud to the class. This was the perfect procedure for math because it provided plentiful Think Time for students as they were solving real-world problems. It also helped students with learning and language exceptionalities to build up confidence to speak during class. Check out this helpful thought-catcher students can use when doing a Think-Write-Pair-Share.
How do you prepare you classroom and students for Think Time?
Set High Expectations - Think Time doesn't "just happen" - it requires planning and making it a daily routine. Intentionally incorporate Think Time into you questioning and envision how you want it to look and sound. Make Think Time as important as any other classroom procedure and let students know how to engage during Think Time. For my students, I would model how to use Think Time. Sometimes our students need to see it before they can do it.
Challenge Students Who Excel - Some students answer every question - every time. In the moment, it feels great to have an enthusiastic student engage with every question and so quickly. However, this may be a sign that they aren’t being challenged. Also, if the same student answers all the questions, the other students aren’t given the opportunity to engage. In order to prepare for students who need to be challenged, plan follow-up questions that can push their thinking. Intentionally planning for these students cognitively pushes them and provides space for other students to engage as well.
Scaffold for Students Who Need Additional Support - Sometimes students may not participate because they need some extra support to get there. Asking scaffolded questions that build students up to grade-level content ensures that all students are able to participate in class discussions. Take time to plan these additional questions that make the conversation accessible to all students.
Create a Welcoming Environment - Creating buy-in greatly increases participation. Let students know what to expect and make it a part of the culture of conversation in your classroom. Make your classroom a safe space for all students to participate by encouraging healthy conversational habits and celebrating great moments in class.
Celebrate your “Think Time” wins with TeachFX, and pinpoint what’s working in your classroom
We love to open our class reports in TeachFX and see a large amount of student talk — but sometimes in our eagerness to get students talking, we forget how powerful silence can be. Think Time moments are when our students’ best ideas percolate.
Our AI technology makes it easy to collect evidence of how your use of Think Time impacted classroom discussions. The best part: getting this kind of feedback doesn’t require any additional work from you. Just record your lesson on TeachFX, and —boom! — when class is over we’ll send you a report that flags the moments when you used Think Time. Easily pinpoint what’s working for your students. Get private, personalized support to empower you to do more of what’s working to elevate your students’ voices.
Check out this video and listen to how teachers in Detroit Public Schools Community District use TeachFX to increase Think Time and student engagement.
