Lessons · Teaching · gradual release of responsibility
I do, we do, you do, and the trap in the middle
Responsibility moves from the teacher to the learner in three steps: the teacher does one while thinking aloud, the class does one together, then each person does one alone.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
What it is for
You modelled two examples and set them off and the room stalled, and it looked like they had not listened. What actually happened is that they went from watching you succeed straight to being alone with a blank page, with nothing in between. The step in between is about five minutes long and it is the first thing a rushed lesson loses.
How to think about it
Plan the three steps as three boxes with times written in them. If the middle box is empty, the lesson has a cliff in it, and you will find the cliff at the moment you have the least time to fix it.
Worked example
I do: 4 min, one example, thinking aloudThe teacher does it. Not narrating what to do, but doing it out loud, choices included.
We do: 5 min, one example, the class supplying each stepThe class decides and the teacher holds the pen. Nobody is alone yet.
You do: 12 min, 6 items aloneOnly now, and the first two items are the same shape as the one done together.
A check between each boxMoving on is a decision, not a clock.
Your turn
A 21 minute block gives 4 minutes to the teacher's example and 12 minutes to independent work. Write the line that gives the minutes left for the step in the middle.
21 - 4 - 12 = min
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Calling a second teacher example we do. If the class is watching, it is still I do. The middle step is the one where they supply the steps and you hold the pen.