The Gradual Release of Responsibility Method

Overview
One way to help students understand the procedures that you identified in Activity 1 is to teach them the procedures and let them practice them so that they become the regular routine in the classroom. Periodically through the school year, you may have to re-teach a procedure. One way to teach and reinforce the procedures is to use the gradual release of responsibility model that is described in the Required Study section of this activity. That model is also referred to as the I Do It, We Do It, You Do It Together, You Do It Alone Strategy. This strategy is also effective in teaching content and skills throughout a school year.

For this activity, I did not have access to a classroom or a group of children, so I used college students that I gathered from all over the United States. We met on Google Hangout, and I recorded our session. Please bear with the technological difficulties we had throughout the video. I taught a lesson on iambic pentameter, including how to identify and produce this particular meter.

Reflection on the Gradual Release of Responsibility Method:

I was pretty nervous going into this activity, largely because I had to do this activity is a bit of a non-traditional way. Not only did I not have access to a group of kids this week, but I also needed to complete the activity on Google Hangout, a medium with which I am not terribly familiar. I did log on and practice using Google Hangout a few times throughout the week before my scheduled “class” to make sure that things would run smoothly.

            Overall, I think my lesson went pretty well. The approach might be a little young for the age group with which I was working (college students), but it ultimately felt pretty natural. I actually used to teach college students twice a week in supplemental instruction sessions, and I found myself using a lot of the same techniques in this lesson. One thing that I did that may have seemed especially out of place was have students count the syllables on their fingers. Honestly, I think that is a great approach no matter how old the students are. It helps the students keep track of their counting and helps avoid mistakes.

            As far as the approach itself is concerned, this is a very natural way of teaching for me. In my experience, I have tended to cut out the “you do together” step, so my approach has looked something like this: First, I give an example. Then, we work together as a full class. After that, students get to practice on their own. I actually really liked having students work together because it gave them a chance to test their understanding by explaining the concept to others. This is a valuable learning tool, and I plan to continue to use it in my future teaching. Another thing I liked about this approach is that my students did not feel like they were just tossed into a new topic without any guidance. Gradually releasing responsibility to students allows students to ask questions and try out their ideas before they are completely on their own.

            If I were to do an activity like this again, I would make sure that everyone’s microphone works! It was unfortunate that one of my students could not get his working, but we worked around it. He typed in a chat box, and I did my best to read what he was typing out loud to the group. Additionally, I would ask the students to evaluate each others work after the “you do alone” portion. This would be much easier to do in person where I could partner students up, but I think it would be beneficial to have them check each others work before sharing with the larger group.

            All of that being said, this was a good experience. Ideally, I will be able to work with students closer to my target age range on the next few activities, but considering I had to complete this activity non-traditionally, I think it went well. I do need to get more practice teaching while being recorded because being recorded still makes me nervous. I know it is not really any different, but it is still something I need to get used to. I will be sure to practice that prior to entering the classroom for Module 8.