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The GRR Model is a particular style of teaching which is a structured method of pedagogy framed around a process devolving responsibility within the learning process from the teacher to the eventual independence of the learner. This instructional model requires that the teacher, by design, transitions from assuming "all the responsibility for performing a task...to a situation in which the students assume all of the responsibility." (Duke & Pearson, 2002, p. 211). Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices. The ideal result is a confident learner who accepts responsibility for their own learning and directs this learning through the cognitive processes involved, moving through the academic spectrum, to independent choice (personalised learning.) Whilst similar models have been identified and represented throughout the study and development of teaching and learning as a construct, it was Pearson and Gallagher (1983) who coined the phrase “gradual release of responsibility” to describe this dynamic in the classroom. Basing their model on the ideas of the great Russian educational theorist Lev Vygotsky, Pearson and Gallagher envisioned instruction that moved from explicit modeling and instruction to guided practice and then to activities that incrementally positioned students into becoming independent learners. One element which is crucial to the success of the GRR model is the notion related to 'scaffolding', which is grounded in Vygotsky concept of the "zone of proximal development, (ZPD)." This is described as the distance between the actual developmental level of a learner as determined by their independent problem solving abilities and the level of potential development through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers. That is, the distance between what the children can do without assistance and what they can accomplish with the assistance of more capable peers. Vygotsky (1978) believed that guided interactions, with an adult, or a more skilled peer, could facilitate a higher level of thinking within the zone. (e.g. Newman, Griffn, & Cole, 1989; Rogoff, 1990). Newman, D., Griffn, P., & Cole, M. (1989). The construction zone. New York: Cambridge University Press. There have been a number of ways of describing and representing the ways in which adults or more experienced others may assist novice learners within their ZPD. These have included guided participation (Rogoff, 1990), “means of assisting” (Tharp & Gallimore, 1991), reciprocal teaching (e.g. Brown, 1978; Palincsar & Brown, 1984), the integrated approach of collaboration in conceptual change (Rochelle, 1992) and the cognitive apprenticeship model of Collins, Brown, and Newman (1989). Although based on the work of Piaget, the influence of Vygotsky's 'constructivist theory' and learning in the classroom has become more popular because it considers the influence of group processes and social contexts that are, in themselves, influenced by such constructs as cultural diversity and stages of development. One of the main integral tenets of this model relies heavily on the concept of 'scaffolding' learning. The metaphor is used to symbolise the process of supporting a learner in the early stages of the learning process - as the walls get higher - until there is sufficient evidence of knowledge and skills having been acquired, to then be able to remove that scaffolding so the learner is able to 'stand alone', or be effectively independent enough to continue learning 'alone'. In a similar way, there is a gradual dismantling of the scaffolding as the 'job' becomes more secure and so there is a gradual release of responsibility from the teacher to the learner. As scaffolding is temporary, so too are the lessons that are constructed to help students as they embark into unfamiliar thinking. These lessons eventually fade away as students become gradually more comfortable with the learning and are able to work without the necessary guidance of the teacher. The GRR model emphasises instruction that supports and mentors students into becoming capable thinkers and learners when handling tasks with which they have yet to develop expertise in. It is a successful model and has been documented as an effective approach in teaching many subject areas and a variety of content, from writing achievement (Fisher & Frey, 2003), reading comprehension (Lloyd, 2004), and literacy outcomes for English language learners (Kong & Pearson, 2003).