Which practice structure facilitates skill-building by gradually transferring responsibility?

• A. Gradual release of responsibility from instructor to student
• B. Withhold all feedback until the end
• C. Move quickly through tasks without repetition
• D. Rely solely on self-directed learning

Answer: (A)

The key idea is building skill through a stepwise transfer of responsibility from the teacher to the learner, with support fading as competence grows. This structured approach starts with clear modeling and guided practice, where the instructor demonstrates the skill and provides scaffolding. Then the teacher gradually hands over more control to the student, moving from guided practice toward independent work as understanding deepens. This gradual release supports effective skill-building by managing cognitive load, giving timely feedback, and ensuring students master each step before tackling it on their own.

For example, in a new writing task, the teacher might show a strong model, then guide the student through a shared writing activity with prompts, and finally allow the student to write more independently with occasional feedback. Other approaches fall short because they delay feedback until the end, skip necessary intermediate steps, or rely entirely on students to direct their own learning without scaffolds.