Nancy Frey, Ph.D.San Diego State University
Structured Teaching: A Gradual Release of Responsibility Model
of Instruction
PowerPoints available From www.fisherandfrey.comClick “Resources”
Early Predictors for Passing (or Failing) the CAHSEE • Grade Point Average
• Absences• Classroom Behavior
These are present as early as fourth grade
Zau, A. C., & Betts, J. R. (2008). Predicting success, preventing failure: An investigation of the California High School Exit Exam. Sacramento, CA: Public Policy Institute of California.
Education is loaded with myths…
Hard Books• “Students must read books at their grade level”
Whole Class Texts• “Read chapter 4 and answer the questions”
Interventions for Struggling Readers
• “I’m teaching fluency”
It sounds so easy, so what gets in the way?
Myths about Project-Based Learning
Direct teaching is bad.
Only the “smart” kids benefit from PBL.
All the projects take weeks or months to finish.
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.20.3
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.70.8
0.91.0
1.11.2
Reverse effects
Developmental effects
Teacher effects
Zone of desired effects
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement. New York: Routledge.
Neg
ativ
e
Low
Medium
High
Retention: d = - 0.16
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.20.3
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.70.8
0.91.0
1.11.2
Reverse effects
Developmental effects
Teacher effects
Zone of desired effects
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement. New York: Routledge.
Neg
ativ
e
Low
Medium
High
Homework: d = .29
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.20.3
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.70.8
0.91.0
1.11.2
Reverse effects
Developmental effects
Teacher effects
Zone of desired effects
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement. New York: Routledge.
Neg
ativ
e
Low
Medium
High
Small group learning: d = 0.49
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.20.3
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.70.8
0.91.0
1.11.2
Reverse effects
Developmental effects
Teacher effects
Zone of desired effects
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement. New York: Routledge.
Neg
ativ
e
Low
Medium
High
Meta-cognitive Strategies: d = 0.69
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.20.3
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.70.8
0.91.0
1.11.2
Reverse effects
Developmental effects
Teacher effects
Zone of desired effects
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement. New York: Routledge.
Neg
ativ
e
Low
Medium
High
Reciprocal Teaching: d = 0.74
7 Essentials for PBL
Larmer & Mergendoller, 2010
1. A need to know.
2. A driving question.
3. Student voice and choice.
4. 21st century skills.
5. Inquiry and innovation.
6. Feedback and revision.
7. A publicly presented project.
Three ideas
Increase instructional
consistency.
Teach for
interaction with you and the content.
Teach for metacognition.
Internalize a gradual release of responsibility instructional framework.
Apply GRR to a PBL approach to learning.
Interact with colleagues about both.
Today’s Purposes
Discuss skills students need for 21st century PBL.
Identify quality indicators of effective instruction.
Use quality as a method for conducting instructional
rounds.
Apply principles of feeding up, feeding back, and feeding forward to improve learning.
Tomorrow’s Purposes
The First Idea: Increase instructional consistency.
Let’s Make a Foldable™
Envelope fold• Focus Lesson• Guided Instruction• Collaborative Learning• Independent Learning
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Focus Lesson
Guided Instruction
“I do it”
“We do it”
“You do it together”Collaborative
Independent “You do it alone”
A Model for Success for All Students Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
The sudden release of responsibilityTEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Focus Lesson “I do it”
Independent
“You do it alone”
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
DIY School
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY(none)
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Independent
“You do it alone”
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
The “Good Enough” Classroom
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Focus Lesson
Guided Instruction
“I do it”
“We do it”
Independent“You do it alone”
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Time for a Story
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Focus Lesson
Guided Instruction
“I do it”
“We do it”
“You do it together”Collaborative
Independent “You do it alone”
A Model for Success for All Students Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Video available at http://books.heinemann.com/wordwise/
Table Talk
What evidence do you see of learning in this classroom during
modeling, guided instruction, collaborative learning, and
independent learning?
The Second Idea: Teach for interaction
with you and the content.
Modeling Your Thinking
• Goal: arrive at “truth”• Importance of “close reading” an
intensive consideration of every word in the text
• Rereading a major strategy• Heavy emphasis on error detection• Precision of understanding
essential • Conclusions subject to public
argument
Cindy Shanahan, 2008
Reading Math Textbooks
Thinking Aloud in Math
Background knowledge (e.g., When I see a triangle, I remember that the angles have to add to 180°.)
Relevant versus irrelevant information (e.g., I’ve read this problem twice and I know that there is information included that I don’t need.)
Selecting a function (e.g., The problem says ‘increased by’ so I know that I’ll have to add.)
Setting up the problem (e.g., The first thing that I will do is … because …)
Estimating answers (e.g., I predict that the product will be about 150 because I see that there are 10 times the number.)
Determining reasonableness of an answer (e.g., I’m not done yet as I have to check to see if my answer is makes sense.)
Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Anderson, H. (2010). Thinking and comprehending in the mathematics classroom (pp. 146-159). In K. Ganske
& D. Fisher (Eds.), Comprehension across the curriculum: Perspectives and practices, K-12. New York: Guilford.
Livescribe Pulse Smartpen
Teacher thinks aloud doing a math problem, then uploads notes to classroom wiki
Table Talk•In what ways does Dina connect mathematical thinking to thinking aloud?•How does she establish an environment where learners explain their thinking?
Guiding
Instruction
Let’s make a
Foldable
Robust Questions
Prompts
Cues
Direct Explanation
Guided Instruction
Direct explanation and modeling
Cues
Prompts
Robust questions
Teacher: What is a nocturnal animal?Student: An animal that stays awake at
night.Teacher: Good. What is a diurnal
animal?
I-R-E
Teacher: What is a nocturnal animal?Student: An animal that stays awake
at night.Teacher: Tell me more about that.
Does a nocturnal animal have special characteristics?
Student: Well, it doesn’t sleep a lot. Probe
Teacher: What is a nocturnal animal?Student: An animal that stays awake
at night.Teacher: Tell me more about that.
Does a nocturnal animal have special characteristics?
Student: Well, it doesn’t sleep a lot.
Misconception
Teacher: What is a nocturnal animal?Student: An animal that stays awake at night.Teacher: Tell me more about that. Does a nocturnal
animal have special characteristics?Student: Well, it doesn’t sleep a lot.Teacher: I’m thinking of those pictures we saw of the
great horned owl and the slow loris in the daytime and at night. Does your answer still work?
PROMPT
Background knowledge prompts
invite students to
use what they know to resolve problems
Process or Procedure Prompts
To perform a
specific task
Cues
Shift attention to sources of
information
More direct and specific than prompts
the expert commentator sees things you don’t
cues do the same for
novices
Attention grows with competence
Direct Explanation
Direct Explanation
Take care not to re-assume responsibility too quicklyTake care not to re-assume responsibility too quickly
Identify
Explain
Think aloud
Monitor
Table Talk
• How does Rita encourage oral language while building vocabulary?
• How are students using their language knowledge to develop new vocabulary learning?
Responding When Students Don’t Get It
• Read the article and take notes in the top left quadrant of the Conversation Roundtable.
• What quote from the article resonates with you?
• Take notes throughout the discussion on what your group members have to say.
• Summarize in the rhombus in the center.
Conversational Roundtable
Your Notes: Group Member #2:
Group Member #3: Group Member #4:
Summ
arize
The Third Idea: Teach for metacognition.
Making Group Work
Productive
Making Group Work
Productive
Students work together to solve problems, discover information, and complete projects
Students use the “language of the lesson”
Purposes of Productive Group Work
It is not:•Ability grouping
•For introducing new information or new skills
• Students are consolidating their understanding
• Negotiating understanding with peers
• Engaging in inquiry• Apply knowledge
to novel situations
These are key to successful PBL
But it’s more than merely being “engaged”…
He’s engaged…
… they’reinteracting.
Reading• Literature Circles• Collaborative
Strategic Reading• Reciprocal
Teaching• Partner reading• Jigsaw
Sample Instructional Routines
Sample Instructional Routines
Writing• Progressive
Writing• Paired Writing• Peer response• GIST writing• Collaborative
poster
Sample Instructional Routines
Sample Instructional Routines
Rural Voices Project
Sponsored by the National Writing Project
Students podcast about their hometowns
Sample Instructional Routines
Sample Instructional Routines
Oral Language• Think-Pair-Square• Numbered Heads
Together• Socratic Seminar• Walking Review• Novel Ideas Only
How have you helped today?
Did you offer help?
Did you ask for help?
Did you accept help?
Did you nicely decline help so
you could try it yourself?
Conversational Roundtable
Visualize It: Write It:
Calculate It: Check It:
Table Talk
What are your favorite ways to encourage collaboration between students? What are the benefits
and challenges?
What does it take to make a task engaging and interactive?
Enough background knowledge to have something to say.Enough background knowledge to have something to say.
Language support to know how to say it.
A topic of interest.
An authentic reason to interact.An authentic reason to interact.
Expectations of and accountability for the interaction.
An established community of learners that
encourage and
support each other.
Understanding of the task.
Knowledge of the norms of interaction.
Independent Learning: Not Just “Do It Yourself” School
Independent Learning: Not Just “Do It Yourself” School
26% Number of high school
teachers who “often or
very often” run out of time in class and assign the content
for homework
(MetLife, 2008)
Traditional homework occurs
too soon in the instructional cycle.
Goals of Homework
• Fluency building• Application• Spiral review• Extension
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Homework and the gradual release of responsibility: Making responsibility
possible. English Journal, 98(2), 40-45.
Consistency Interaction
Metacognition