Gradual Release
What are the four phases of Gradual Release?
I Do, We Do, Y’all Do Together, You Do Alone
Who carries the majority of the cognitive load during this phase?
The teacher
During this phase, who shares the cognitive load?
Teacher and students
Who carries the cognitive load during this phase?
Students working with peers
Who carries all of the cognitive load?
The student
True or False: Gradual Release phases must always occur in the same order
False
What strategy should a teacher use to model the full thinking process and narrate decisions?
A think-aloud
Should the teacher immediately give students the answer when they struggle?
No—use prompts, then cues, with direct explanation as a last resort
What should every student contribute during collaborative learning?
Intellectual thinking/contribution—no passengers
Should independent practice simply repeat the teacher's example?
No—it should require application in a new/novel context
What should determine which Gradual Release component a teacher uses?
Ongoing checks for understanding and student feedback
Why does the teacher explicitly name the strategy being modeled?
So students can transfer it to new contexts
Before moving forward, what should the teacher collect?
Evidence of student learning
What should a teacher do instead of immediately rescuing a struggling group?
Ask another peer for their answer or Circulate, listen, and allow productive struggle
What should the teacher carry while completing deliberate active-monitoring laps?
A standards-aligned teacher exemplar
What changes across the Gradual Release model?
Responsibility/cognitive load shifts from the teacher to the students
What two types of examples should teachers show and compare?
Strong and weak examples
During We Do, what should students show besides their answers?
Their thinking/reasoning using academic language
What is the difference between productive struggle and unproductive confusion?
Productive struggle involves students attempting and reasoning through the task; persistent confusion requires teacher support
During independent practice, what should students use to monitor their own progress?
The learning target, success criteria, anchor chart or rubric.
Scenario: Students struggle during collaborative learning despite appropriate productive struggle. What can the teacher do?
Re-enter guided instruction/We Do
Scenario: The teacher solves a problem while explaining why each decision is being made. Which phase and teacher behavior is this?
I Do—modeling through a think-aloud
Scenario: Students attempt a rigorous problem while the teacher asks questions and gives prompts instead of providing the solution. Which phase?
We Do
Scenario: One student completes the group assignment while everyone else watches. What key expectation is missing?
True interdependence and individual accountability—every student contributes intellectually
Scenario: Students successfully practiced a skill with the teacher. What should the teacher ask them to do next to demonstrate independence?
Apply the skill independently in a new context