Scaffolding Instruction: Gradually Releasing Responsibility

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Scaffolding InstructionGradually Releasing
Responsibility
Office of Literacy Dr. Audrey Cooper-Stanton,
Chief Officer Dr. Karen Boran, Manager Gertie
Brogsdale, Social Science Coordinator Lawanda
Funches, Mathematics Coordinator Carla Hunt,
Reading Coordinator Naeem Karriem, Science
Coordinator
Area Content Coaches Content Literacy PD,
December 8, 2004
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Purpose of todays conversation

• Extend our discussion of discipline specific
  content area literacy practices through the
  Literacy Instruction Handbook (Karen)
• Examine how gradual release of responsibility can
  be modeled in the content areas using
  discipline-specific content area literacy methods
  (Office of Literacy Content Coordinators)

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A recap of where weve been

• Content Area Literacy, to date
• Summer Institute (July-August)
• Content Area Literacy and Standards-based
  Assessments (October)
• The Role of Text in Content Area Literacy
  (November)
• Literacy Instruction Handbook Scaffolding
  Comprehension -- Monitoring Comprehension
  (November)
• and todaymore on Scaffolding Comprehension
  specifically, sequencing and supporting
  instruction

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Scaffolding instruction

• Teaching from School of Rock (Linklater, 2003)

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What is scaffolding instruction?

• Three perspectives
• Gradual release of responsibility to learner in
  instruction design (today lesson level)
• Supporting comprehension through coherent
  instruction (on-going intent of instruction and
  literacy SMART goals course level)
• Supporting comprehension through careful unit
  design, implementation, and assessment (purpose
  of the course planning process district level)

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The Gradual Release of Responsibility

• Vygotsky (1978) believed that structured support
  for what a child was unable to do independently
  allowed that child to do the same task
  independently later.
• This is the zone of proximal development The
  space between the child's level of independent
  performance and the child's level of maximally
  assisted performance (Vygotsky, 1978).

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Gradual Release of Responsibility

• This kind of teaching provides temporary support
  for tasks students would be unable to do
  independently.
• Supports are removed when skills become
  internalized.
• Teacher sets new mastery levels and creates new
  scaffolds, while student begins to internalize
  new skills.

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Another way to look at this...

• Teacher models, student observes.
• Teacher models, student assists.
• Student performs, teacher assists.
• Student performs, teacher observes.
• (According to Rodriguez as quoted by Rafael,
  2004)

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SCAFFOLDING FOR INDEPENDENT STRATEGY ACQUISITION
AND APPLICATION
T e a c h e r R e s p o n s i b i l i t y
100

0
0

100
Student Responsibility
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Some of the risks

• If the support is removed too early, the child
  may have incomplete or incorrect understandings.
• If the supports are left too long, the child will
  not be encouraged to move on to new learning.

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Making the link

• Why this discussion now?
• Teachers structured release of responsibility
  empowers students to negotiate the gap between
  independent reading level and instructional
  reading level.
• Discipline-specific knowledge about effective
  content literacy activities is necessary as
  teachers identify and sequence skills and
  concepts deemed necessary for students to
  demonstrate mastery.
• Comprehension monitoring (our November PD) is a
  model of how that can look in an content lesson.

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Steps in gradually releasing responsibility....

• 1 Teacher selects appropriate Illinois
  Learning Standards, Standards for Transition
  (and, possibly, the Literacy SMART goal).
• 2 Teacher builds assessment that requires
  students to demonstrate mastery of content
• 3. Teacher examines assessment to determine
  what literacy skills are necessary for students
  to have internalized to demonstrate mastery of
  the content.
• 4 Considers these questions What are the
  supports that some of the students need to do
  this? How should this be structured and
  sequenced?
• 5 Unit is designed, lessons created.
  Instruction is implemented, using formative
  assessments to make on-going adjustments.

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This is the same whether a teacher uses this
design.
Standards-Based Curriculum What do students need
to know and be able to do? What do students need
to learn?
Collect and Analyze Evidence of Student
Mastery Are the students learning? What have they
mastered? What do I need to reteach?
Identify and Plan Assessments How will I know if
students are learning? What will they need to do
to show mastery? What products will I collect?
Standards-Based Instruction What learning
activities must I provide to ensure that all
students show mastery?
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Course Planning Process
Or this design
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Continuing the conversation

• Content Breakouts
• Mathematics Lawanda Funches, Room 217
• Science Naeem Karriem, Room 208
• Social Science Harolyn McIntosh, Room 314
• English Carla Hunt, Room 113a

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The nature of the breakout sessions

• Content based
• Facilitator presents problem
• Unit of study
• Summative assessment provided
• What literacy activities are embedded?
• How do we scaffold that instruction within the
  unit so that gradual release of control is
  support and sequenced so that all students have
  opportunity to demonstrate mastery?
• Coaches design plan of instruction

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Connecting the dots

• Content coordinator facilitates conversation
  about what coaching moves might be necessary to
  support this
• In schools where this is happening?
• In schools where this is not happening?

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References

• Bodrova, E., Leong, D. (1996). Scaffolding in
  the zone of proximal development. Of Primary
  Interest, 3(4). Available 11/29/04 at
  http//naecs.crc.uiuc.edu/opi-nl/volume3/number4.h
  tml
• Linklater, R. (Director). (2003). School of Rock
  Motion picture. United States Paramount
  Pictures.
• Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind and society The
  development of higher mental function. Cambridge,
  MA Harvard University Press.