What Is Lesson Pacing?

Whether teaching first graders or high school seniors, the pace of a lesson plan should be constantly controlled. Lessons are broken down into individual segments or "chunks." By speeding up those segments or slowing them down, teachers can adjust the pace that students are moved through activities and content in order to make the speed and delivery of instruction accessible to all of them.

Pacing changes can be helpful to all students and teachers. Those that grasp content more quickly can work through material at an accelerated speed. Those who struggle with proficiency can have more time for practice or revision when the teacher slows the pace to include everyone. The challenge is to find the right pace to help students at varying levels of ability at the same time. Teachers sometimes manage this difficulty by creating groups of learners, either at mixed levels of understanding or homogeneously. Those that are moving through content more quickly can help classmates that might need more time.