Writing and Students with Special Needs Meeting the Writing Needs of Students with Mild Disabilities

Writing is a complex process requiring skill and knowledge of different writing demands

On the Other Hand (right or left) Writing well occurs when multiple skills are attained Stronger reading Greater knowledge of vocabulary Connecting how one verbalizes with words on a page Acquired knowledge of what it is we write about Learning what to say facilitates Learning How to say it The process of writing has two components Expression: What to say Comprehension always precedes production Teach students to say what they mean; don’t judge “how” when you are learning what it is they want to say Exposition: How to say Teach students how best to say what they want to say

Writing Demands That May Lead to Writing Difficulty Content knowledge of writing topic Ability to retrieve knowledge of topic Writing conventions for specific purposes Physical demands of writing Procedural demands of writing Individual strategic knowledge for writing Individual strategic procedures for writing

Writing Assessment Processes How to Assess Determine criteria before assessing Teach criteria Assess student writing consistently (reliably) Use criteria to examine writing progress Across classroom goals and objectives By individual student growth (i.e., identify writers at different levels) Use criteria and learner feedback to show each student’s progress over time.

Writing Assessment Methods

Informal Writing Assessments Sensitive to incremental growth Examples Portfolio samples analysis Informal inventories Criterion-referenced tests Observations

Portfolio samples analysis Samples across different purposes book reports, science reports, notes, letters, creative writing Creative writing example read beginning of a story S writes what is to happen next for 3 minutes non-stop If S wants to continue, give the story a title and finish the story in own words.

Informal inventories Checklists of skills and subskills spelling handwriting mechanics

Criterion-referenced tests teacher-made based on instruction curriculum-based assessment Standardized assessments Brigance Inventory of Essential Skills completing applications tax forms, etc.

Observations Analyze fidelity to the writing process e.g., Planning, writing, editing Observe time spent in each process Over-planning, non-planning, under-planning Organization of space Attention to editing Determine performance and skill deficits Mediate performance deficits Teach skill deficits

Methods for assessing writing samples Collect a representative sample of writing products Conduct quantitative analysis (# of sentences, words, sentence types, word types, etc.) Conduct error analysis Visual inspection Oral edit (student interview)

Models of Instruction Cognitive models Reciprocal peer editing Teacher-directed instruction

Cognitive models Strategic knowledge and instruction Self-Instructional Strategies

Reciprocal peer editing peers work together to correct each other’s work peer editor training development of writing teams

Teacher-directed instruction determining skill needs remediation of skill deficits

Alternative Instructional Tools Computer-assisted Instruction specific skill programs technology competency Identifying transition needs for writing career development job skills