Go as Fast as You Can, but as Slow as You Must

 In a course I teach on dyslexia, I use a phrase attributed to Anna Gillingham that has stayed with me well beyond that classroom: “Go as fast as you can, but as slow as you must.”

At first, it sounds like advice about pacing. But for me, it has become a way to think about teaching in higher education. Students do not all need the same amount of time, explanation, or practice at the same point in a course. The goal is not to slow everything down. It is to make thoughtful decisions about when to move forward and when to make room for learning to take hold.

Speed is not the same as progress

A course can move quickly through its syllabus while students are still trying to grasp the ideas that will make the next unit meaningful. Most faculty know this tension. We have important content to cover, limited weeks to cover it, and learning outcomes that cannot simply be set aside.

The phrase asks us to hold two commitments at once. Go as fast as you can means respecting students’ capacity to learn, maintaining momentum, and avoiding unnecessary repetition. But as slow as you need means recognizing when a concept, skill, or task requires another example, a different explanation, or time to practice.

Neither half works as well without the other. Moving too quickly can leave students behind; moving slowly without a clear purpose can leave them wondering where the course is going.

Make the pace responsive

Responsive pacing does not require redesigning a course every time students look uncertain. Often, it begins with a small question: What do students need to be able to do before we move on?

That question can lead to practical choices:

• Ask students to explain a key idea in their own words before introducing the next one.

• Use a brief, low-stakes task to see whether they can apply a concept, not just recognize it.

• Offer a second example when the first has not made the pattern clear.

• Move ahead when students demonstrate readiness, rather than repeating material because the schedule says it should take another day.

• Distinguish between productive struggle and confusion that calls for more guidance.

These choices help us treat time as a teaching resource, not just a constraint.

Keep the destination visible

Slowing down works best when students understand why. “We’re spending more time here because you’ll use this skill in the next assignment” gives a pause a purpose. Likewise, moving quickly can feel energizing when students know what they have accomplished and where they are headed.

This matters in a college classroom, where students may be balancing unfamiliar academic expectations with work, family responsibilities, and courses that ask them to learn in very different ways. Clear goals and timely feedback help them judge their own progress. They also help faculty decide where extra time will make the greatest difference.

A question for our teaching

The next time a course feels caught between covering everything and making sure students learn, the phrase from my dyslexia course may offer a useful reset: Go as fast as you can, but as slow as you must.

Not every topic needs more time. Not every student needs the same support. But every course benefits when its pace serves the learning we want students to carry forward.