This morning’s Twitter feed has brought forward a lovely representation of a gradual release of responsibility model of teaching with some sound supporting advice. Terrific!
However, in a world in which mere mortals are feeling swamped by bytes of advice, merely taking this graphic and charging down the implementation path will only lead to yet another failed intervention and even more cynical colleagues. I will restate that this model is a great one. What we must do is learn from it, not consume it.
How do we learn from the advice included with this piece? We need to connect it to what we already know about effective teaching. Does this model support or irritate our current understanding (irritate is also good; remember the oyster)? For me, this model immediately throws up a reminder of the need to better apply Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development: ‘the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers.’ (Griffin, 2014, 31)
The next connection could be to ask how we connect our current assessment practices to this notion of identifying a student’s ZPD? Is my assessment helping or hindering this task? Is my assessment creating transparency for my students about their current proficiencies and their future learning pathways? Is there a tool that could help us here?
That is where we can justify the investment of time in unpacking the Guttman analysis and applying that to our assessment process. It is important that we are not adding another layer to our work. What we need to realise is that we need a new way of thinking about assessment if we wish to be successful with a gradual release of responsibilty model of teaching. Connect, connect. I refer readers again to Patrick Griffin’s seminal work, Assessment for Teaching. Chapter 10 addresses Guttman analysis.
A Guttman chart orders actual student performances according to students’ demonstrated proficiency, and orders assessment items (questions, observations, survey responses and so on) according to their difficulty. Students with similar skills can be identified and grouped together. The skills behind each assessment items can also be grouped to see the usual order of development of the skills assessed. Finally, groups of students can be matched to the group of skills they need to develop. In this way, the assessment data can be used to provide teachers with a clear picture of what each group of students is ready to learn. With this information to hand, teachers can select strategies and resources to meet the learning needs of each group. (Griffin, 191)
So, now we have a really powerful twitter feed. Because we have made the connections between what we already know, what the feed is telling us and what more we need to know, we are in a position to be make a change in our assessment practices that will connect to a change in our teaching. And, if we engage with our colleagues about this thinking we can broaden our shared understandings and learn with each other, support each other and celebrate our successes. No longer do we need to be the solo pine tree in the forest struggling to find the light alone. Sharing the nutrients will strengthen our growth.
A Curious Educator 