Gradual Release of Control --- I Do, We Do, You Do

I’ve been doing lots of thinking lately about those “hard to teach kids”and why they have such difficulty ever operating independently in the classroom. (I’m sure that will really surprise those of you who know me well!) But seriously, what is that elusive magic trick? What is it we, as teachers , can do to help our struggling students take on the learning and jump on the road to independence? 

I think we would all agree that there are as many instructional techniques at our disposal as there are, say, phonemes in the English language, all of them claiming to get ‘er done! But alas! They do not always prove successful, even when delivered with the utmost skill and efficacy. So what is a teacher to do?

    I keep coming across this notion of gradual release of control, and although it is really not a new concept in the educational world  I think the skilled and consistent delivery of the technique may be just the magic we are looking for. Well, at least some of the magic! Jerome Bruner, Lev Vygotsky, Madaline Hunter, and Pearson and Gallagher (Your friends and mine!) have each put their twist on the use of scaffolding and  gradual release as a reliable instructional strategy.  More recently it has been the work of Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey who are reviving and refining its use. Fisher and Fry suggest a purposeful, yet gradual release of responsibility for learning from teacher to student. To make this transfer of responsibility ( or control) we must give students supports that they can hold on to as they take the lead. It is these supports, along with the perfect pace of gradual release, that they suggest will give us the independent learners we all so desire.

     Here are the basic components of gradual release of control, along with some of the suggestions from Fisher and Frey for successfully fine tuning the technique. Think------I do, We do, You do.

Focused Instruction---Here is where we need to really model our thinking for the students. Use lots of “I” statements such as “I predict that the boy will ________ because right here the author said______” They need to hear our expert thinking continually modeled out loud, so they will in turn do their own. Guided Instruction---Don’t tell the students the answers when they struggle. Instead, employ well worded questions, prompts, and cues during this time. This encourages them to do the cognitive work, which is where the gains in learning happen. Collaboration---Students need to interact in many ways using the language of instruction. (Yay! ELPs strategy !)      4. Independent Learning---Make sure not to jump to this phase in the process too  soon. Even homework , which is a form of independent learning, needs to           be assigned over skills the students are fairly successful with. ***Throughout each phase, the teacher is either modeling and thinking aloud or   commenting and responding in a manner that nurtures student independence…..control!

     If you think you may have drifted away from a good strong lesson cycle in your day to day teaching, try consistently and gradually releasing the responsibility of the learning to your students and see if you work a little bit of magic in the process!

Support a Culture of Risk Takers

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Last week, we shared the work of Carol Dweck from Stanford University as she talked of children that possess a “growth” mindset outperforming children with a “fixed” mindset.  The children in the study who were praised for their effort were more likely to persist in the face of a challenge than the children who were praised for their intelligence.  In today’s society our children face pressures of testing, grades, class ranks, college entrance exams, and the list goes on and on.  How does all of the stress of being the best affect our children’s self esteem and what can we do to help them realize that hard work and persistence pays off even when we make mistakes?

Making a mistake is a serious risk that some children are not willing to take, but we can create a learning environment that supports and rewards taking risks.  I recently came across an excerpt from an essay written by Kristi Johnson Smith titled, “Creating a safe space for students to take academic risks.”  She talks about the importance of building strong relationships with your students by showing them you are invested in their future, and incredible things will happen. Once those relationships are formed this creates a classroom that encourages risk taking.

Kristi Johnson Smith’s method consists of 3 steps:

1.) Risk Taking - Be willing to stand in front of your students to demonstrate something that you’re good at. For example, dribbling a basketball. Then explain the next level of competence will never be reached without pushing yourself to the point of making mistakes.  Communicate to the children that making mistakes is an opportunity to learn.  Smith writes, “I will be better tomorrow because I was willing to to take risks in the classroom today.”

2.) Be Willing to Fail - Be willing to try something that you are terrible at.  Your students will celebrate your willingness to try. The author talks about the experience of playing a guitar and singing in front of the class. This experience was absolutely awful and humiliating, but her students loved it and saw a side of her that was willing to fail.  She would pull her guitar out at times, when children would express fear of giving presentations, to remind them that everyone must be willing to try.

3.) Build Risk Taking into your Classroom Management - Develop a system that rewards students who are willing to try and support one another during risk taking opportunities, and also provide consequences to those students who ridicule and try to break the classroom risk taking culture.  

Feel free to read the complete essay excerpt from Kristi Johnson Smith.

Developing a classroom culture that supports risk taking is not an easy task. It requires a whole class commitment and constant nurturing.  Check out this short video from the Teaching Channel of Jen Saul a 3rd grade teacher at Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School in East Palo Alto, CA.  She discusses how she creates and nurtures a safe and inclusive classroom environment in her classroom.

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

Your mind can be a powerful thing. How you feel about yourself or what you tell yourself can prevent change from happening or keep new skills from developing. This is true for us as teachers but also true for our students. 

Carol Dweck is known for her work in growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. Here is how she describes the two...

In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don't necessarily think everyone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it. 

- Carol Dweck, Stanford University

Check out this video on growth mindset from a student's perspective:

Full video: https://goo.gl/4DKZyr - Thanks for sharing @MrsRitter86

How can we help our students have a growth mindset?

Growth mindset can be a powerful motivator. Teach students that the brain is like a muscle that gets stronger with practice in overcoming challenges. Teachers who incorporate a growth mindset also provide feedback and give students an opportunity to revise work. They create a classroom where students are encouraged to take on challenges, try new strategies and acknowledge and explain their mistakes. These classrooms are safe environments where students feel comfortable taking risks.

As we work to develop growth mindsets in our students, take time to think about your mindset. Most people are a combination of fixed mindset and growth mindset. How can you create that perfect balance of fixed mindset and growth mindset in yourself?

Want to learn more about growth mindset, contact your instructional coach!

Welcome to BISD Classroom Connections

Brenham ISD Instructional Coaches are excited to bring you a new blog. We look forward to using this blog to share instructional strategies, suggestions for implementing the ELPS, and classroom tips and tricks. Check back weekly for new information and don't forget to subscribe for email updates in the sidebar. Have a specific need? Comment below and we would love to help!