Sometimes the simplest educational strategies are the hardest to implement. The classic example - wait time. It’s not simply a case of knowing that as teachers we should allow wait time to occur; we know that thinking does not have to be fast and it is not a prerequisite for intelligence; we know that not all students have quick processing speeds and that allowing longer processing time is an inclusive strategy; we know that our students can be shrewd, and quickly realise they can avoid thinking if they don’t put up their hands immediately; and we know as teachers it is part of our role to deal with the uncomfortable pause and the inevitable slowing down of time - yet try as we might employing wait time consistently is notoriously difficult to master.
How many of us regularly remind ourselves of the importance of waiting up to 10 seconds before asking for an answer to a question - yet despite our best intentions this strategy falls down by the wayside. Simply put - minimal wait time is a bad habit and habits are ridiculously tough to break because they usually happen without any thought, much like a reflex.
One possible solution is to employ an ‘if-then-plan’ such as the following:
After asking a question have two or three follow up statements to build the idea that hands up it not an option unless a student really does not know:
- So there are only 4 students who think they have an answer hmm (tick tock)
- I am therefore assuming the if you don’t have your hand up you don’t know (tick tock)
- Fear of providing an incorrect answer should not stop you (tick tock)
Some practitioners avoid hands up and instead employ alternative approaches such as lollipop sticks or no hands up which come with their own benefits and pitfalls. Personally I prefer the hands up approach as it provides glimpses of additional information: Who are my slower thinkers? Who doesn’t understand? Which students don’t spend time pausing to think and leap to conclusions? Who worries about making mistakes?
Q&A is visible daily in all types of schools on the educational spectrum. Due to its frequency of use it is important that we try and get it right.
