Time to Reflect

Ahhhh...Spring. Spring is the perfect time to pause and self-reflect. I am currently pondering how well I've implemented the Gradual Release Framework since putting it into practice was THE overarching goal I set for myself back in August. I tracked my learning journey via my blog and captured students' data, my personal "glows" and "grows, " my reflections, and my next steps within my action research project. 

One of my most impactful learning experiences was participating in a Spotlight visit this past November. I visited Michelle Montes, Shannon Tunno, Laura Salazar, and Kevin Stott. As part of their lesson planning, each Spotlight teacher indicated what stage of gradual release visitors, like myself, would most likely see. The Spotlight visit enabled me to observe how my colleagues at different schools and at various grade levels employ gradual release. I highly recommend Spotlight visits as they are a valuable learning experience for both the Spotlight teacher and the visitors.

For the remainder of this post,  I will look at my progress with the Gradual Release Framework from the lens of my action research project. I chose math as my content area focus and have designated iReady results as the data point to measure my success with the framework. 

 

Observations:

• On August’s benchmark diagnostic, I had three students in the yellow band and twenty-two students in the red band. Twelve were at the first-grade level and ten were at the kindergarten level. 

• By the second diagnostic, one student was in the green band, six were in the yellow band, and nineteen were in the red band, with sixteen at the first-grade level and three at the kindergarten level.

• By March, two students were in the green band, thirteen were in the yellow band, and eleven were in the red bands, with seven at the first-grade level and four at the kindergarten level).

Conclusion:

• Since the data shows growth between the initial “Summer” assessment in August and the “Fall” assessment, as well as growth between the “Fall” and the “Winter” Assessments, I can conclude that my ability to implement the framework improved as well. 

Teaching is rocket science and the Gradual Release Framework is only one component in the complex interplay between instruction and learning. Three decades in, I am still learning so much and am a self-professed lifelong learner. I am not an expert yet at implementing the Gradual Release Framework, but I am gradually developing my expertise. Next year I will continue my learning journey and I hope you will join me.

             Still Learning,

             Lola E. Jollie