It’s another maths lesson and you can see that Kian is stuck.

Your instinct, of course, is to swoop in and help: talk him through where he is going wrong and point him in the right direction. That’s what a good teacher does, right?

Sometimes this is true. But for every instance when it pays to speak up, there will be a time when students will benefit from your biding your time.

Here are five examples of when teacher silence is golden:

1. ‘Struggle time’

When students are working independently, it’s OK to circulate without a pen and “just” observe. Provide students with a clear, visible and accessible set of success criteria, and a specified amount of time in which to “struggle”. Students should use the unsupported time to think about alternative solutions and methods to solve their problems. Afterwards, you can discuss their ideas and identify misconceptions.

Teachers can use their judgement to decide how much struggle time is needed; the important point is that we don’t always need to jump in immediately to support students when they are “stuck”.

2. Tricky questions

If you ask a question and not many hands go up, it could be because it was poorly worded, or it could be an excellent question that students just need a moment to process.

I’d rather see students thinking hard than answering everything at lightning speed. If answers come too fast, it can mean the question is pitched too low. Wrong answers and delayed responses, on the other hand, can highlight where the misconceptions are - much-needed information for the teacher.

We can paraphrase and craft accessible questions and we can support with a think/pair/share activity, but let’s not answer the tricky questions we pose without first giving students time to contemplate their responses.

3. Question, pause, add name

“No hands up” approaches to questioning often mean selecting a student to respond from the outset: “Maya, what do you think character X is feeling?”

In this instance, the rest of the class will relax as soon as they hear Maya’s name, because they know they are off the hook.

A better approach is to pose the question, pause to give everyone thinking time and only then name the student you would like to answer. All students should be expected to contemplate their ideas and opinions, and all should be poised to respond.

4. Exposing teacher thinking

I remember being destroyed by an observer in my NQT year because I took the time to mull over a question before responding, explaining to students that this was what I was doing. Fortunately, a lot has changed since then. It’s OK to pause and talk students through why we are pausing. This is part of us modelling what “expert” steps we take when asked tricky questions.

5. Reflecting ‘in action’

Part of being an effective teacher is accurately gauging the classroom climate and not simply cruising through content.

I often find myself saying “right, scrap that” after taking a moment to observe quietly, as it is clear to me that the task, explanation or question hasn’t quite hit the right note.

It is OK to pause and reset, but we don’t always take the opportunity to do so, especially when we are hurtling towards exam season.

Hanna Miller is assistant head for teaching and learning across the Thinking Schools Academy Trust. She tweets @notesfromthebun

This article originally appeared in the 5 June 2020 issue under the headline “Sometimes teacher silence is golden”