As we think about the different modes of communication, the interpretive mode provides us with a lot of room to apply the gradual release of responsibilities. As we move students through the interpretation of a resource, we start by doing a lot of the work for them and move toward them independently interpreting and applying their knowledge. There are 2 ways to approach the gradual release of responsibilities with the interpretive mode. One is within one singular lesson and the other is within a unit of study. Let's take a look at what this can look like in both settings. Within a lesson that has an interpretive goal there are many ways to approach using the gradual release of responsibilities. I Do: This is where the teacher has the greatest responsibility and the students are doing more of the processing. To me, this is where the teacher is setting the context, pre-teaching and preparing students for what they will interpret. Remember, all students come to texts with varying degrees of familiarity with the topic so we want to bring students as close as possible to the same starting spot before interpreting. Ideas:
We Do: This is where the students and teacher share responsibilities. The students will begin processing and interpreting a resource and the teacher will serve as a guide (actively or passively). Ideas:
You Do (Collaboratively): This is where the students are working together to interpret a resource and the teacher is stepping back into more of a consultant role. Ideas:
You Do (Independently): This is where the students are working by themselves to show their understanding of a text. In the interpretive mode, it's hard to truly see what a student understands because all of that is happening in their head. A lot of the time, we require either non-verbal demonstrations or verbal output. Ideas:
As we think about a unit of study, we can think about how we can gradually release responsibilities to students as they continue to process input throughout the course of that unit. Here are some ideas.
I Do: Early in the unit, the teacher will be responsible for helping students process a lot of the input. This requires a lot of supports provided by the teacher, simpler tasks and expecting more non-verbal comprehension checks. Ideas:
We Do: As the unit progresses, the teacher will relinquish some of those responsibilities onto students. Now, students are processing more and the teacher is guiding a little less. This requires supports to be lessened, tasks to become more complex and some scaffolded output to help extend learning. Ideas:
You Do (Collaboratively): The unit is nearing the end and you want students to do the bulk of the heavy lifting. You are now more of a consultant to students as they interpret. You are removing unnecessary supports, adding more complex tasks and asking students to do something with the input they just interpreted. Ideas:
You Do (Independently): This is near the end of the unit as you provide a little bit more input for students. You are seeing what students can do with few to no scaffolds, cognitively engaging and complex tasks and using output to extend their knowledge. Ideas:
Let me know if you have any other ideas!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|
Photo used under Creative Commons from andy michael2012