This week I’ve been thinking about
the gradual in the Gradual Increase of
Responsibility Model. The GIR model
illustrates a sequence of mentoring moves that is helpful for teachers who are
novices – or those who are being asked to do new things. When you begin working with a teacher, modeling is a good place to start. Seeing you in action gives her a visual for
teaching strategies she may later try herself.
This modeling phase continues until the teacher is ready to try
something new on her own – with your support.
Together, you’ll discuss the instructional plan, and your
recommendations will play an important role.
Making recommendations, the
second phase of the GIR model, provides less support than modeling, but is
strong scaffolding to assure that students receive cogent instruction. As the teacher you’re working with increases
in experience with new strategies, you should plan to pull back and provide support
that is more ancillary. By asking
questions that encourage the teacher to reflect on her own instruction and the
needs of students, you give her more responsibility for pedagogical decisions
about the new approach. Asking questions, the third phase of the
GIR model, encourages metacognition and contemplation about teaching and learning,
building the teacher’s capacity as a reflective practitioner. As the teacher you are working with
internalizes this stance, she’ll routinely ask herself the kinds of questions
you have been asking. This inquiring
attitude is characteristic of a life-long learner – someone who will continue
to grow in her professional abilities.
At this point in a mentoring relationship,
the teacher you are working with will need less and less from you. Because of the relationship you’ve developed
and her respect for your experience, she may still look to you for affirmation
that the decisions she is making are appropriate. When you reach Affirming, the fourth stage of the GIR model, you’ll know that your
mentee is on solid ground with the new instructional approach, and your job as
a coach shifts. Praise, the coaching move for the final phase of the Gradual
Increase of Responsibility model, is a form of feedback that you might provide
to any colleague. When you see something
good happening, say so! Although at this
stage your intern is more confident and not necessarily feeling a need for your
approval, she’ll still appreciate having the hard work she is doing
recognized.
How you move through the five phases
of the GIR model will, of course, be idiosyncratic. You’ll advance from one stage to the next
when you have evidence that the teacher you are working with needs less support
than what you have been providing. It’s
a gradual process – thus the name of the model.
You provide support that is successively scaled back, while the teacher
shoulders progressively more responsibility for instructional success. It’s a line-by-line, step-by-step process.
This week, you might want to take a look at:
Tips
for overcoming immunity to change (for yourself and the teachers you work with:
Grant
Wiggins (UBD) blog post about why just posting objectives is a waste of time
(just to get you thinking!):
This
podcast about the best assessments for students (with Linda Darling-Hammond):
Education
Week’s “Spotlight on the Changing State of Assessments” is a free download that
contains 7 articles on a variety of topics related to formative and summative
assessments:
A video about learning through
drama:
That’s all for this week – happy coaching!
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