The Power of Pausing on Student Learning

Happy Wednesday, work friends. How are you?

This week’s blog post arrives in your email inbox the day before Thanksgiving (in the United States). I hope you are spending time with friends and family or doing something that recharges you. Personally, I’m elated at the opportunity to sleep in, cook dinner with my family, and host game night (my favorite holiday pastime).

Today’s post is about the value of pausing, and not just over Thanksgiving break.

Let's face it: it's almost the end of the semester, and we're all tired.

It’s been a long semester—from a highly contentious presidential election to daily life obligations and challenges.

Our students are feeling it, too. I have great students taking my Emotions and Politics course this semester who have engaged deeply and thoughtfully. Still, I’ve noticed more and more sleepy faces and yawning as we move through the final weeks of the semester.

I’m realistic in my expectations, but I also want to have engaging sessions with my students. To bridge the gap, I often devote significant energy to selecting video clips that will motivate students to actively participate.

This is an example of doing more to hopefully get more from students. Sometimes, it works, and other times, it doesn’t.

Because I am running on fumes myself, the idea of devoting a couple of hours last week to finding engaging videos just wasn’t going to happen. Instead, I decided to look at my bookshelf, which contains all the books about teaching and learning I’ve invested in over the last ten years.

My exhaustion led my eyes to fall on the book Hitting Pause: 65 Lecture Breaks to Refresh and Reinforce Learning by Dr. Gail Taylor Rice.

After skimming the table of contents, I immediately turned to the chapter “Starting Pauses Focus Attention.”

In this chapter, Rice describes how pausing is a tool instructors can use to generate curiosity and anticipation by activating, building on students’ prior knowledge, and scaffolding.

Dr. Rice’s Hitting Pause had me at hello. Whatever she was offering, I wanted it. In fact, make it two.

Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash

I adapted her KWL Chart “starting pause” to fit my students’ needs. My approach combined the benefits of having students create a physical chart with the clarity of identifying and recognizing a “muddy point” when learning.

To start, I asked students to write down the four emotions we had discussed the preceding two weeks: hope, compassion, empathy, and sympathy.

The distinction between these emotions often confuses students, especially the difference between sympathy and empathy. I know this because I’ve taught the material enough to know.

However, most students would tell you they could easily explain the difference. They would laugh at the absurdity of the question (I know from experience).

That’s why I knew I had to guide students to this realization rather than stating it outright.

Toward that goal, I started the class with this slide:

Photo by Brielle Harbin, PhD

I asked students to take out a sheet of paper and write their responses. Because I admire their ability to arrive at their results without my help, I told them I would give them extra credit if their responses were accurate and legible.

The lure of extra credit at the end of the semester was very enticing, so they immediately got to work.

I noticed several students staring into the air, erasing and rewriting their responses.

I asked one student who looked especially invested, and she explained, “I was certain I could do it when you asked, but now that I’m doing it, I realize it’s more tricky than I realized.”

TEACHING WIN!

After students completed their columns, we went around the room and most students had difficulties with the same issue: the distinction between empathy and sympathy.

Because we had gone through the exercise, they were now invested in figuring out the answer. As each offered a clarification, they listened and responded to one another.

The discussion even prompted a broader “big think” question about whether it was more important for leaders to be sympathetic or empathetic.

I could not have planned a better group discussion.

I allowed my second section to look at their notes when completing their chart, which led them to focus more on how they distinguished the four emotions.

Having done the exercise both ways, I prefer having students start from their working memory and hash out the details together. This approach resulted in a much better group discussion.

After we return from the break, I plan to use a second method suggested in the book: having students complete a series of True/False questions about material covered in the day’s lecture. Rice argues that students’ desire to know the right answer keeps them more engaged and invested in the material being covered.

Based on what I know about my students, I think this will definitely be true for them. While it will take me more time to prepare the questions beforehand, the investment seems worth it if students have a better command of the material and feel more motivated to learn and engage.

As you wrap up your courses, could it be useful to slow down, pause, and nudge students to think more deeply? Could you use the method I outlined to help students identify gaps in their knowledge as they prepare for final exams?

I would love to hear about your experiences slowing down to pause in your classroom. How did you create a moment of pause in your class? What were the results?

Until Next Time,

Brielle aka Your Cooperative Colleague