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How long do you think teachers pause, on average, after asking a question? Several studies from the 1970s on have looked into the effect that the amount of time teachers pause after asking a question has on learners. In visiting many classrooms in the United States and other parts of the world, I've found that, with few exceptions, these studies are still accurate. For example, according to work done by Mary Budd Rowe in 1972 and Robert J. Stahl in 1994, pausing for three or more seconds showed a noticeable positive impact on learning. Yet the average length that teachers pause was found to be 0.9 seconds. Wow.

"One way to promote engagement and learning is to consciously create pauses throughout the day. We can create a sense of spaciousness in our classroom by slowing down the pace of our speech and punctuating our lessons with silence. Introduced well, this practice can improve classroom discourse."

At some point, we will need to pause. Lift our heads up and survey the scenery in this new world. Then, let us hope that we ask the right questions. Making time and space for a moment of pause and reflection will be crucial if it becomes clear that this is more than a brief fling with online learning.

"The suggestion that global warming has stopped is "nonsense," climatologist Richard Alley of Penn State University said last fall. The fact that the year 2012 was no warmer than 2002, he said, ignores the long-term trend of warming. But scientists say that trend has been partially obscured by the ocean, which is likely absorbing the excess heat."

"The excerpt below is from the book "Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom," by Patricia A. Jennings. This section is from the chapter entitled "Orchestrating Classroom Dynamics.""

"Earlier this year, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York, visitors paraded through the fifth floor to see a retrospective dedicated to the abstract expressionist Frank Stella. Although many of the works on display were four or five decades old, in some ways the show felt tailor-made for the Instagram age: a riot of vibrant colors and textures, 20-foot-long reliefs, and sculptures as jagged and dynamic as 3-D graffiti. Visitors one busy Saturday afternoon stopped in front of artworks, lined up shots on their phones, snapped a few photos, and then moved on to the next piece. Some paused briefly to consider a particular painting; more stared down at their screens, furiously filtering. Few noticed an elderly gentleman sitting on a bench in one of the smaller rooms, watching the crowd engage with his work. The only visitor in the gallery not clutching a phone was Stella himself. Museum directors are grappling with how technology has changed the ways people engage with exhibits. But instead of fighting it, some institutions are using technology to convince the public that, far from becoming obsolete, museums are more vital than ever before. Here's what those efforts look like."

"As Abby walked into the school building she had a sinking feeling in her stomach. It was November and she had just moved into a new community. She was nervous about starting a new school midway through the school year. This was her first day of school and she kept her eyes down, nervous, not knowing what to expect as she walked into the main office. Suddenly, the office secretary called out to her in a tone that made her skip a breath, "Where are you supposed to be?  Do you have a pass?  Move on now before the tardy bell rings and the vice principal gives you a detention for being late." Each day in school offices across the country this scenario is playing out with regularity.  Although it may come across as somewhat exaggerated, those of you who have spent any amount of time in school have probably at one time or another been witness to such an interaction in the main office area.  It is these defined interactions that has led to us to ponder this question.  Have we reached the point where we are willing to allow negative interactions to drive the level of success of our students, staff and our school? What if we were to pause, step back and view our office culture through the eyes of students, parents, guests or even staff who visit the main office? What would they say?  If we manage our interactions appropriately they will leave feeling valued and cared for and look forward to their next return trip."

Before we begin, let's lay some groundwork. Vocabulary (or word study) isn't done in a vacuum. You don't pass out lists and have students memorize words and definitions (you don't do that, do you?). If you used to, that's changed with Common Core. Now, you are expected to integrate vocab into learning. Every time students run into a term they don't get, you need to pause and help them decode it. It may be obvious from context, its parts (roots and affixes), but always-always-pay attention so students know unfamiliar words are not skipped. With Common Core, every nuance is important. It's about uncovering knowledge.

"It's a query that can give an ill-prepared job seeker pause: So, do you have any questions for me? Interviewers will judge you by your questions. Almost all employers wrap up job interviews by turning the tables and offering candidates an opportunity to showcase how well they understand the role, how interested they are in the opportunity and what plays to their passions points. When the time comes to flip roles and grill your interviewer about the potential job, it can be tempting to ask pressing questions about salaries, hours and workload. But asking questions about vacation time, salary reviews and benefits might be red flags - and worst-case scenario, they might cost you the job. When asking your interviewer questions regarding compensation or scheduling, there's an imminent risk of being perceived as self-serving. Questions that are more focused on achieving results, helping the company grow and showing how well you've researched the role are the most wow-inducing. The goal is to end with a bang and leave a solid impression. We asked managers what they actually want to hear candidates ask during an interview. Below are a few of their responses."

"We take for granted that we can interact with text, but up until recently it's been a challenge to interact (read/write/talk) with media.  I last looked at tools for annotating and interacting with video more than a year ago.  The field has changed a bit. Why interact with video? Being able to interact with video allows us to personalize video-based instruction, by leading learners to the segment of video we like them to watch, by adding voice-overs, notes, pop-ups, screenshots, maps, references, pauses.   It also allows learners to create video with even more depth and features and can the interaction can be used to support media literacy learning."

"Much has been said about growth mindset and grit this year and for good reason. When learners begin valuing growth and learning over grades and the production of perfect final works, great things happen. When they're able to persevere, even through moments of frustration, they typically meet with success. It makes sense that teachers are compelled by these topics, and I'm grateful to those who have brought these conversations to the forefront. Even as people debate their origins and share cautionary tales about interpretation, we're learning much that can influence practice in critical ways. For instance, I often wonder if human beings are naturally inclined toward these dispositions. I also wonder how much of what we do inside of schools inadvertently compromises their development. What would we need to do in order to help them thrive-organically?"

"No mess.  No danger.  No smelly fumes. BBC Brit's Biggest Bangs is a fun, interactive video experience that allows users to channel their inner mad scientists, mixing dangerous chemicals with sometimes explosive results without a proper laboratory. The secret behind the interactivity is a central choose-your-own-adventure video around which annotations lead to separate videos that respond to your chemical selections. Choose your first chemical and then select another from among eight on the laboratory table.  You'll see the team scientist take each chemical from the table.  Then pause to consider-will it explode or won't it?"

"Storytelling has been around since the start of Mankind. Storytelling was the basic communicational strategy through which culture, traditions, mores, ways of life and early literature was transmitted from one generation to the other. With the advent of internet and web technologies, storytelling has got some new and wider dimensions. The journey of storytelling from its early beginnings to its actual state is the subject of this wonderful graphic below. It documents the major periods and forms of storytelling that was pervasive during each era. It is really amazing to take a pause and take a look back into history to see how storytelling has evolved to be what it is now. Enjoy"

"As you can tell from our video, there are many ways to describe formative assessment. Simply put, Formative Assessment is taking a pause in learning to ensure students are where they need to be for a particular lesson. The best formative assessments are subtle, giving teachers an overall picture of how students are learning and adapting to their immediate needs. Think of it as a GPS for the teacher-knowing where students are in their learning and where you should head in your teaching."

With the year rushing to a close, this seems like the right time to set goals for the year ahead. To pause and consider what next and make some personal promises.  The trouble is that the history of setting New Year Resolutions is littered with failures. It is so easy at this point  in time to make commitments for change and then just a few weeks later to have forgotten what they were.

"Computer science education is not a new field. Much of what we know about the pedagogy and content for elementary students comes from Seymour Papert's research on teaching elementary students to code back in the 1970's and 80's. But, as we shift from labs and one-off classrooms to a broad expansion for all students in every classroom K-12, we are seeing changes to how computer science is taught. This means we are working in a rapidly evolving field (insert metaphor of building a plane while flying it). Over time, we have gone from a focus on coding (often in isolation) to a more broad idea of computer science as a whole, and now to the refined idea of computational thinking as a foundational understanding for all students. Pause. You may be asking, "But wait, what's computational thinking again?" In her book Coding as a Playground, Marina Umaschi Bers explained: "The notion of computational thinking encompasses a broad set of analytic and problem-solving skills, dispositions, habits, and approaches most often used in computer science, but that can serve everyone." More simply, you can think of computational thinking as the thought processes involved in using algorithms to solve problems. Sheena Vaidyanathan writes some good articles explaining the differences between computer science, coding, and computational thinking here and here."

As thousands take to the streets as part of a global 'March for Science' it is worth considering the significant role that education has to play. What are the messages we need to send our students about science and what role have schools played in creating the current climate? Now seems like the time to pause and reflect on the place of science in our community and our schools.