Publications

GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY

by:
Angelyne E. Pedron
Teacher III, Orani National High School

Learners know better how they learn best, and teachers need to give them
opportunities to lead the way themselves.

One of the best strategies gearing towards developing learners' independence is

the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR). It is a teaching strategy that provides a
structured sequence of activities that gradually transfers responsibility from the teacher
to the students. Previously, it takes the form of the "I Do It, We Do It, You Do It Alone"
teaching model. However, it misses the "You Do It Together" aspects, which further
denotes the importance of collaborative learning.

In totality, the gradual release of responsibility must describe the four critical
processes of modeling or direct instruction (I Do It), scaffolding and supporting or guided
instruction (We Do It), collaborative learning (You Do It Together), and transferring or
independent learning (You Do It Alone). It is a strategy that we had frequently been using
nowadays without noticing that it is the gradual release of responsibility.

As a non-linear process, the students may go back and forth between levels to
develop more profound proficiency to master a skill, concept, strategy, or standard.
Hence, teachers need to be cautious in showing learners what to do, helping them along
the process, letting them work with one another, and allowing them to do on their own.
This strategy's end goal is to provide learners with direct instruction and make them
independent learners at the outset.

As a dynamic instructional model, it provides opportunities for devolving

responsibility from the teacher to the learners' eventual independence to content, process,

15 April 2021
 Publications
and product. It strategically provides efficient transfer of teachers’ knowledge to
students’ understanding and application, leading to effective collaboration and active
engagement in the educative process.

So, from time to time, as an educator, we should think of meaningful ways of

giving opportunities to our learners to be independent and responsible in their pace of
learning. In the end, they are the ones who exactly know how they learn to the fullest.

References:

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework
for the gradual release of responsibility. Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development (ASCD).

Heick, T. (n.d.). The gradual release of responsibility model in 6 simple words.

TeachThought Staff. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/the-
gradual-release-of-responsibility-model-in-6-simple-
words/#:~:text=The%20Gradual%20Release%20of%20Responsibility%20Model%20is%
20a%20teaching%20strategy,transfer%20understanding%20on%20their%20own.

15 April 2021