Studies indicate the need for teachers to monitor and direct the course of student thinking generated by higher-order questions. One of the most fruitful insights to come from the research on questioning is the concept of wait time. A series of related studies conducted over the last twenty years has shown that when teachers wait three to five seconds after asking a question, and again after the response, the nature of the discourse in the classroom changes in a positive way. More students answer questions and they answer more accurately, with more elaborate, reasoned, and supported responses. In other words, the level of students' answers becomes cognitively higher.
Students also become more attentive and listen more intently to each other's responses.
Reciprocally, this improved feedback from students alters the teacher's questioning pattern. Teachers ask fewer questions, connect them better, and also raise the cognitive level related to the question. The application of the principle of wait time is especially significant, then, to the effective use of higher-order questions. Strategies for higher-order questioning are suggested by experienced teachers and in the research. Expert teachers stress the need to carefully compose the higher-order questions that will be used to initiate a lesson, or a segment of a lesson, preferably by writing them down in advance so they can be edited for clarity.