Gradual Release of Responsibility

After viewing the videos Improving practice with Sarah Brown Wessling (click here for a written transcript of the video) and Embedded formative assessments (click here for a written transcript of the video), and after reading Releasing responsibility by Fisher and Frey, discuss the following:

Part 1 
Sarah Brown Wessling remarks; “It is not about ways of delivering content as much as it is about ways of getting students to become thinkers; ways for students to be more autonomous.” 

• What evidence did you observe in Ms Wessling’s video that her students were becoming thinkers? 
• How is this an example of the teacher assessing FOR learning?

Part 2 
In Dylan William’s video on embedded formative assessments, he mentions five strategies for teachers to meet students’ learning needs more effectively.

• Describe what you observed from Ms. Wessling’s video that represents each of these strategies. 
• Were there any that you did not observe?
• What evidence was there of Ms. Wessling’s students examining their own thinking?
• What evidence did you find to suggest she designed her instruction to meet instructional learning objectives in several areas of development (Think Bloom’s)?
• What did you see from her video that you’d like to try (remember best practices are transferable across grade and age levels)?