Week # 30 ….Wait Time

❝Let them think❞

Why wait time in questioning transforms learning

What is wait time?
Wait time refers to the intentional pause following the presentation of a question. Research shows that even 3–5 seconds can dramatically change the quality of answers, participation levels, and learner thinking and processing, as opposed to just guessing.

In classrooms and on the pitch, silence feels uncomfortable. So we rush to fill it. But when we do, we take away learners’ chance to think.

For The Crafted Concept, wait time is intentional, with purpose, and a key element of instructional practice.

What the evidence says
Educational research showed that increasing teacher wait time from one second to three seconds leads to:

- Longer and more elaborated responses

- Greater learner confidence

- Increased voluntary contributions

- More speculative thinking

The Education Endowment Foundation echoes this: high-quality questioning isn't just about what is asked, but how space is given for learners to process and respond.

In education
Imagine a teacher asking, “Why did the author choose that metaphor?”

- Without wait time: one confident pupil answers quickly. The rest disengage.
- With wait time: more students reflect, all are challenged by the learning environment that the culture of the classroom is that they need to think, and processing thus deepens.

As Tom Sherrington suggests in Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, questioning must include “time for processing and generating a response.” Wait time isn’t passive; it’s learning design.

In sport
A coach at half time or an injury interval asks, “What did you notice about the opposition’s formation?”

If players answer instantly, it is likely that they are guessing, trying to please and acting on the values around questions eliciting quick responses. With processing time pattern recognition kicks in, tactical awareness sharpens, and recall becomes active.

How to build wait time into your craft
- Pause for 3–5 seconds after every question  
- Cue reflection: “Take 30 seconds in silent thought…” or “Jot down your first thought…”
- Signal silence as thinking time, not absence

- Support this with random selection of learners to contribute answers
- Following responses, pause again to allow learners to process and add if they need to, or for other learners to assess the response versus their thinking

In summary
Wait time is an underused catalyst to thinking. The Crafted Coach lets learners wrestle with uncertainty, not rush them through it.