The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model is a challenging concept to successfully enact. It consists of 4 stages and all four can be present within a single lesson. The first is demonstration, which is basically the instructor doing while the students watch. The second stage is guided practice, here the instructor does and the students help. The third stage is independent practice and here the instructor helps while the students do. The fourth and final stage is application and here the instructor is simply watching as the students do. Depending upon the lesson and the prior knowledge of the students, it is conceivable to not advance past the guided practice or conversely go directly from demonstration to application.
This past week, I gathered my field group together for a team building exercise called the Human Knot. A few of them were already familiar, so I briefly did a demonstration and then moved towards independent practice. After listening to my instructions, I stepped back and they dove into the activity. I provided a few reminders from the sidelines as they proceeded to get throughly tangled. Once I confirmed that everyone was connected, I provided verbal guidance for how to slowly and safely untangle. Twice they ended up with two separate circles, so only a partial success towards the goal. However the second time, the circles were at least intertwined, so they had improved upon their first attempt. Throughly motivated, the students attempted a third time, however before they began I asked them to reflect upon the previous attempts to try and problem solve. Students suggested looking at who was connected beyond their immediate hand to ensure that only one circle was made this time. The chaperone then suggested that one-by-one students squeeze their left hand and say their name out loud, thus assuring that everyone is connected in a single circle. With both these suggestions in mind, the students then began their third and final attempt. Students utilized both ideas and caught themselves making a separate circle and adjusted accordingly.
This final attempt at the Human Knot turned out perfect! The students untangled to reform a perfect circle with everyone facing each other. I felt successful and that we had moved to the final stage of application where the students took control and I watched. Although I had facilitated the activity and did not directly participate, my chaperone did participate in the activity. While they did not take on a leadership role, their suggestions did influence how the various attempts panned out. I wonder if that third attempt would have ended the same if the chaperone had not contributed that suggestion? In subsequent attempts I might try muting everyone or at least just the adults. I have not yet applied mute to any of my students or chaperones, so I am not sure how that would play out. Perhaps next time, I will mute 2 or 3 students on the second attempt and give the chaperone another task such as photographer. Ultimately, this activity is for the students however I do like my chaperones to participate because I continuously stress that they are an equal team member. If I can provide them another task of importance to the team, such as recording observations which we would discuss as a whole team afterwards then I would feel more comfortable asking them to step back from the activity. In this manner, I would somewhat ironically, have better control with the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model and be better able to evaluate how my lesson is moving through the various stages.