Seen? Learnt? Now, you’re on your own!
As long as pedagogy has been in existence, countless models have been proposed at every step to carry it out more efficiently than before. These models have tried in their own way to tackle the basic question of the “balance of power” in the classroom. Except, the so-called “balance” has proven itself to be too ideal to maintain. Power either fell entirely in the teacher’s lot or, as nowadays, with the students’. This devolution of power from teacher to students is all what GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY model of TEACHING is about. As you know, with power, comes responsibility.
Outdated Traditional Model:
There’s a precursor to everything. Now, you might ask: What is the forerunner to GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY model of TEACHING? Good question! It is the traditional model. This model hailed the “Teacher” as an ultimate authority, and considered the student only as a passive rote learner. The teacher spoke, the students listened and at the end of the day wrote what they’d crammed in their heads. There was no real application of the learnt rules. By and by, the classroom learning faded in the corners of the memory. Nothing brilliant came out of this- only automatized, short-term storing.
Teacher’s Authority- How Long should it Last?
Eventually, it was seen that the old models dampened the spirits of the posterity and made them too dependent on authority. What was done as a result of this realization? Power was slowly made to trickle down to the students. The GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY model incorporated this transfer of power most efficiently. According to this, a teacher’s only supposed to introduce concepts, prompt practice work, and then sit back and watch over as the students deliberate amongst themselves.
Transfer of Responsibility:
How does this transfer take place? How is responsibility received as a legacy by the students? How does the class move from being teacher-centred to student-centred? Here’s how:
- Teacher as a model: Teacher brings new ideas in the class to work on and remains a model whilst delivering the lesson.
- Teacher-Student interaction: Once the idea’s been conveyed, teacher and students work on it together. Questioning takes place back and forth, and confusion is cleared.
- Student-Student Interaction: Teacher steps aside and let the group activity begin, in which students negotiate meaning together. Teacher evaluates the understanding of the students.
- Student alone: The idea, once acquired, is implemented by the student alone. Students evaluate the understanding of their fellows.
Independent Thinkers:
What is created as a result of this process? An independent, intellectual and creative thinker. In this sort of classroom, students learn to tackle with things they’ve never heard before, and all on their own. The teacher only shows them the basic picture and sets the ground rules. There’s no spoon-feeding. The idea is put into context by the students, which is beneficial for them, because here, they are being trained for their practical life. The answer to the question “will this method work?” is in your hands.
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