The Impact of The Gradual Release of Responsibility on Reading Comprehension
By Andrea Harrell, Literacy & Learning Specialist, K-12
What does it take to help students understand how to comprehend what they read? As an adult reader, I am not always aware of what is happening in my brain as I read because it comes naturally to me; however, students do not understand the critical processes occurring in their brains as they read text. Educators must realize the vital role in modeling these processes using The Gradual Release of Responsibility. It is a model strongly supported by research and not highly used in current curricula.
Scarborough’s Reading Rope provides a window into understanding the complexity of skilled reading (Scarborough, 2001). This model shows how critical processes and skills contribute to reading development and gives educators direction for their instructional practices.
The Gradual Release of Responsibility
The Gradual Release of Responsibility provides the framework for a systematic approach to teaching reading comprehension. The teacher’s responsibility is to model cognitive processes occurring in the brain so that the learner can understand the metacognition process. Once the learner acquires more knowledge, the cognitive weight shifts to the student (Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2013). The Gradual Release of Responsibility has four parts: Focused Instruction, Guided Instruction, Collaborative Learning, and Independent Learning.
Focused Instruction is the “I do it” portion of the lesson. This is where the teacher models the thinking. Modeling is not telling students HOW to do it. It shows them the teacher’s thinking while using “I” statements. Simply explaining is not enough. Students must see it for themselves. They must see the cognitive processes in the teacher’s brain to help them learn how to make meaning of the text.
Guided Instruction is the application part of the process. This is the “we do it” portion. This element is critical because it allows students and teachers to see what they can and cannot do. During this part of the lesson, the teacher must choose text with the same barriers to comprehension that were modeled. Walk through that process WITH the student. The teacher can guide the students through their thought processes by asking questions, giving them prompts, or giving them cues.
Collaborative Learning is the “we do it together” portion of the model. Interacting with each other using collaborative structures is the next step to ensure students can interact with text independently. The teacher, at this point, is the facilitator. When students encounter roadblocks, the teacher moves into the group to provide guided instruction. After guided instruction, the teacher listens to the conversation to determine if students can work through the barrier. This is what is known as a productive struggle. With support from their peers and teachers, students can work through their misconceptions and resolve their problems, which makes them more confident.
Independent Learning is the “you do it alone” portion. As a teacher plans out a lesson, thought must be given to ensure that the phases of the gradual release of responsibility align with the independent learning task. This is when the teacher can determine if the student can make meaning of the complex text using the think-aloud strategy that was modeled and practiced. Just as we want to develop automaticity with word recognition, we also want to develop automaticity with strategies that help students tackle complex texts and make meaning of them.
Why is using the Gradual Release of Responsibility strategy so important?
Many of our students must prepare for the cognitive processes required to understand complex texts. Remember, it is not all about the product. Students must see how teachers think through a text. Teachers must repeatedly model this and gradually release the cognitive responsibility when students are ready. Through purposeful planning and modeling, the result will be that the student is successful in reading comprehension.
For more information about using The Gradual Release of Responsibility model to aid in language comprehension, visit our website at The Center for Literacy and Learning.
References
Cain, K. & Oakhill, J. (2007). Children’s comprehension problems in oral and written language: A cognitive perspective. New York, NY: Guildford Press.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2013). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility (2nd ed.) Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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