Assignment & Assessment Design
Assignment Scaffolding

Gradual Release of Responsibility Model - I Do, We Do, You Do

Scaffolded instruction, as demonstrated in the Gradual Release Model, first coined by Pearson & Gallagher in 1983, and popularized by Fisher & Frey in 2008 with their book Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, is a great approach for moving from instructor-led training to student-centered collaboration, and ultimately independent practice.

Gradual Release Model In the “I do” phase of instruction, the instructor is responsible for content delivery and demonstrates the skills to be taught to the students.

Next, in the “we do” phase, students shift into practicing activities to learn the skill or content together in some way, still with some guidance and modeling from the instructor.

Finally, in the “you do” phase, students complete the tasks being asked of them on their own, in an effort to demonstrate mastery. This is a great instructional technique that can be used in many contexts.

Table provides a view of the role and responsibilities of the teacher and student as you go through the I do, We do, You do concept.
Teacher Role		Student Responsibilities
I do it Direct Instruction	Provides direct instruction Establishes goals and purpose Models Think aloud	Actively listens Takes notes Asks for clarification
We do it Guided Instruction	Interactive instruction Works with students Checks, prompts, clues Provides additional modeling Meets with needs-based groups	Asks and responds to questions Works with teacher and classmates Completes process alongside others
You do it independently Independent Practice	Provides feedback Evaluates Determines level of understanding	Works alone Relies on notes, activities, classroom learning to complete assignment Takes full responsibility for outcome
You do it together Collaborative Learning	Moves among groups Clarifies confusion Provides support	Works with classmates, shares outcome Collaborates on authentic task Consolidates learning Completes process in small group Looks to peers for clarification

Article based on work created by Ellen Levy (2007)

More Information

You can learn much more about this popular instructional technique on Wikipedia. You can also see Doug Fisher, Ph.D. himself discuss the Gradual Release Model on YouTube.