Sometimes the most difficult problems have the easiest solutions. Such is the case with Wait Time. You ask a child to do something and they don’t listen. So you repeat your request, louder this time, still no response. You get frustrated; I get it. Let’s look at this from the child’s perspective. They are asked to do something. They repeat the direction in their mind. Before they figure out what it is that you want them to do, you are saying it again. They can tell you are not happy and they get nervous. Now they are repeating your second command in their mind. Before they know it they are in Time Out, as they think to themselves, What did I Do?
When you give a direction to a child, wait 10 seconds for them to understand and comply.
Teacher has a class and asks a comprehension question. Five hands shoot up and teachers pick a hand, Correct answer. Good. Teacher repeats different questions using the same method, choosing the same 5 students each time. See a problem here? Some students easily know the answer, while others need to understand the question and process it to figure out the answer.
When you give a direction to the class, wait 15 seconds for everyone to figure out what the answer is, before calling on a student. Otherwise, most students will not bother to try because they will correctly assume they will not be called on because questions are only for Smarty Pantz. Give every student a chance. Then ask another student if they agree with the answer given. Call on students randomly, not just the ones who have their hands up!