Thinking time benefits everyone, and increases participation in whole-class learning.
But how long it should be?
As with many things, there’s no simple answer – you’ll need to use your professional judgement. Take into account the following, and vary how much thinking time you give:
prior learning, and how recently your students last encountered the content
question type
type of response required
age.
I recommend a minimum of three seconds.
(More on this, and many other oracy topics, in my new book Oracy - 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers.)
“When we want a child to initiate talk, or take a turn, we need to wait.”
More on thinking time
