The underlying goal of all instruction is to move children from total dependency on teachers and parents to self-sufficiency. But that’s often a giant leap!
This Gradual Release Model is a graphical representation of how that process takes place. It’s based on the pioneering work of Piaget (cognitive structures, 1952), Bandura (attention/retention, 1965), Vygotsky (ZPD, 1978), and Wood, Bruner, Ross (scaffolding, 1976).
The “gradual” part may take a day, a week, a few months, or even years … but the objective is to constantly move the child from dependency towards mastery. This graph is a great way to remind your teachers of that ultimate goal.