I Guess I Was Just Releasing Them!

I Guess I Was Just Releasing Them!

“I guess I was just releasing them” …. no I’m not talking about fish, Larry!  This was a comment made to me by a mathematics teacher after a professional development with a high school staff where I introduced the concept of gradual release.

The Gradual Release Model is a framework for moving instruction from teacher knowledge to student understanding and application. Originally introduced by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey, Education and Literacy Professors at San Diego State University, is a process teachers use to teach any core skill, strategy or process. Gradual release may occur over a day, a week, or a semester, depending on the intent for proficiency!

So why do we need Gradual Release?

• Students need to understand the purpose for learning, important learning concepts and learning objectives; then, they must practice applying strategies, skills and information in new ways.

• Students must observe direct modeling of a strategy or thinking/problem solving process before they will be able to use it successfully

• Students will not adequately learn a strategy by using it once.

• Students must experience a new strategy multiple times, and reflect on the use of the strategy, before they are able to internalize it and eventually “make it their own.

Processes for using a Gradual Release approach:

• Focus on content students need to know and be able to demonstrate.

• Determine the strategy, skill or process that will help students learn important content and concepts.

• Think through the following four step process for modeling the strategy within the context of important content.  

• I Do, You Watch - the teacher directly models and “thinks aloud” the process of using the strategy.

• I Do, You Help -  the teacher begins to engage students in the process, providing clear scaffolding and “think aloud” of the process, but also asking for student input.

• You Do, I Help - the teacher begins to turn the process over to students, consistently “thinking aloud” (and encouraging students to think aloud) as students provide the model while discussing, problem solving and negotiating collaboratively with peers

• You Do, I Watch - students begin to apply the process independently, while the teacher observes and gathers information about how well students use strategies and transfer their learning to new tasks. The teacher provides feedback as appropriate.  *It’s okay for students to collaborate during this step, then work as an independent learner.

Points to Remember: 

•   Be strategic about where in the process you will shift from one step to another.  It’s okay to go back and forth if necessary when students are not comprehending at a proficient level.

• Plan your “thinking aloud” carefully.  What are the most important parts of the strategy process to make transparent to the students?

Think about how many times students may need to repeat the modeling process before the strategy becomes their own.  This is not a sign of failure.  Instead, it is a natural part of becoming adept with the strategy over time. This is why we do not assign a time frame to the process.    

       

Fisher_Frey Model, 2003