Welcome to the show everyone! I'm Colin Whitfield, here with Renata Salas. And Renata, we are diving straight in today with one teaching method you can use tomorrow morning. Specifically, we're talking about the Four-Phase Lesson Planning Workflow. This is the newly updated take on the classic Gradual Release of Responsibility model, published by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey in the October 1st, 2025 issue of ASCD Educational Leadership. Their piece is called "Revisiting the Rules of Gradual Release of Responsibility." And let me tell you, Colin, when I saw Fisher and Frey's names on this, I immediately sat up. Because in middle school ELA, we live and die by gradual release. But they've completely reframed it. In plain classroom language, they lay out four distinct phases. First, Focused Instruction, which is where you, the teacher, model your thinking out loud. Second, Guided Instruction, where you're scaffolding at a small-group table using targeted prompts. Third, Collaborative Learning, where students work in pairs or trios, actually using academic vocabulary with each other. And fourth, Independent Learning, where they apply that skill completely on their own. Right, but here is where the tension lies. Historically, we've treated GRR as a rigid, linear conveyor belt. It was always: "I do" first, then "we do," and finally "you do." In that exact order, across a neat forty-five minutes. But Fisher and Frey's big 2025 update says that's actually a myth. These four phases do not have to be linear. In fact, they can, and should, run simultaneously inside one single lesson for different students. Which makes so much sense! Because my eighth period has thirty-two human beings who do not learn in lockstep. And this actually ties directly to some heavy-hitting research. I'm thinking of Christine Rubie-Davies and John Hattie's 2024 work on high-expectation teachers. They found that high-expectation teachers don't just teach to the middle; they differentiate by offering multiple ways for students to attain the same success criteria. They're not lowering the bar; they're letting kids take different paths to get over it at the same time. Exactly. It's about flexible routing, not a slower conveyor belt. So, how do we actually plan this without losing our minds on Sunday night? The simple planning move is to write just one student-facing success criterion first. Literally, write down: "By the end of class, you can..." followed by your single, clear target. We are organizing the lesson around that one destination instead of planning five separate, disconnected activities to fill the hour. And then, you map it out using a simple four-column table. Fold a piece of paper or open a document and make four columns: Focused, Guided, Collaborative, and Independent. Put exactly one concrete move in each column. For instance, in column one, a five-minute teacher model. Column two, two guided questions for your small-group table. Column three, one sentence stem for a peer discussion. Column four, one independent application task. That's it. One move per column. And the payoff is massive. Think about the logistics. While you have one small group sitting with you at the kidney table for Guided Instruction, another pair is at their desks negotiating the exact same concept during Collaborative Learning, and a third student is already working quietly on Independent Learning. Nobody is sitting there twiddling their thumbs waiting for the whole class to finish the "I do" modeling phase. Yes! Fisher and Frey actually highlight a brilliant example of this in action. Lacey Dake Phillips, a middle school math teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She uses this exact workflow for geometry transformations. In one class period, she has one group doing focused modeling with her, another peer pair debating a translation on their grid, and a third group doing independent practice. All targeting the exact same success criterion, but moving through different phases at the exact same time. I need this tomorrow. In middle school, you always have those two kids who grasp the concept in thirty seconds and are ready to fly, while three others need you to re-model the step three more times. This workflow honors both. Precisely. We have to break the planning myth that more sequential activities equals better teaching. Adding a sixth worksheet to your lesson plan doesn't make it better; it just makes it longer. Now, to make this work without classroom chaos, you need some operational guardrails. First, decide in advance which two phases will run at the very same time in the middle of your lesson. Then, build a strict 90-second switching routine. This is non-negotiable. Use a physical chime, do a quick scan of student work, and execute a rapid group swap so you don't lose that hard-won momentum. And if you want to build this quickly, you can use AI to scaffold your own planning. Get your pens ready, or open your notes app, because I'm going to read this prompt slowly so you can copy it down. Here it is: "Act as an instructional coach. I am planning a lesson on . The success criterion is: . Design four phases that can run simultaneously." And to keep the output super practical, make sure you ask the AI for three specific things. First, the exact words you should say to students for each of the four phases. Second, which two phases should run at the exact same time. And third, that 90-second routine for switching between them. You know, the real test of this isn't whether we can write a beautiful four-column plan. It's whether we can allow our students to be in different places at the same time without turning our classroom into five separate, chaotic lessons. It's about trust and structure. Try it tomorrow morning. Tell us how it went. See you next time, everyone! Goodbye!
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