Knowledge and practice of wait-time in mathematics classroom instructions

Abstract

The study was designed to ascertain if mathematics teachers in secondary schools know and practise wait-time during classroom instructions. It also sought to determine wait-time periods in current practice by mathematics teachers in Nigeria. Four research questions were used to guide the study. The study adopted survey research design. The sample used for the study comprised 210 qualified mathematics teachers. Two instruments, namely; Wait-time Practice Questionnaire (WPQ) and Checklist for Classroom Wait-time Observations (CCWO) were constructed by the investigators and used for data collection. Research questions 1, 2, and 4 were answered using percentage (%), while research question 3 was answered using mean. The results established that wait-time is being practised in Nigerian secondary schools by mathematics teachers during classroom instructions. The results equally revealed that mathematics teachers currently practise an average of 1.33 seconds wait-time in class. Based on these findings, it was recommended that mathematics teachers should not only practise waittime, but; they should be seen to practise adequate wait-time of at least 3 seconds each lesson, and the practice of wait-time should be emphasised in Nigerian schools for meaningful learning of mathematics to take place.