Pausing to Process New Information With a Stop and Jot 

In Kalen Dillon’s social studies classroom at Delta Middle School in Delta, Colorado, she builds her lessons around a simple belief: Students need time to think. “Their thinking is powerful,” Dillon says, “and they need a place to put it.” That belief shows up in a routine she calls Stop and Jot.

At the start of each class, Dillon introduces the agenda and hands out a short Stop and Jot packet—usually three to four pages—that acts as a map for the day’s learning. Students can quickly scan an outline of what content they’ll be working with that day, which helps them feel oriented and prepared. But the packet isn’t just about organization—it’s designed to create intentional pauses and give structure to the learning experience.

Meg Lee, cofounder of Learning Science Partners, understands the power of this practice. “When we learn something new, if we don’t take time to process it in close proximity to learning it, we are likely to forget it,” she says. Building in deliberate moments for reflection gives the brain time to encode and organize new knowledge.

And while Dillon incorporates her Stop and Jots into an agenda-like worksheet, Lee says that it can show up in classrooms in a variety of ways. “Stop and Jot can happen on a sheet of scrap paper. It could be within some kind of a packet or a learning experience worksheet. It could be on a post-it note,” she explains. “The idea is providing that space for students to process what it is they're thinking about and organize their ideas in a way that will eventually be able to help them as they deepen their understanding.”

Once class begins, Dillon typically builds in pauses to process every eight to ten minutes—whenever she has a key element she wants them to remember. Then students write, sketch an idea, or reflect on what they’ve just explored before moving on. The reflections aren’t graded. Instead, they’re meant to help students process new information while it’s still fresh and capture their thinking in the moment.

“If you don’t have something stopping you, it’s easy to move past it,” Dillon explains. The Stop and Jot keeps both her and her students accountable. Each pause highlights the most essential content of the lesson and ensures students are ready for what comes next.

Over time, the rhythm becomes familiar. Students know when they’ll pause and why it matters. In Dillon’s classroom, learning isn’t rushed. It’s punctuated with moments to think—so understanding has time to take hold.

For more resources about slowing down in the classroom, read Paige Tutt’s article for Edutopia, “9 Ways to Teach Students the Value of Slow, Methodical Thinking” or Cathleen Beachboard’s piece, “Intentionally Slowing Down to Ensure That Students Learn Material Deeply.”

This video is part of our How Learning Happens series, which explores teaching practices grounded in the science of learning and human development.