Writing: What we know from research SPED 586 –Advanced Methods 1

Today Review background on writing instruction Expressive Writing (Gersten, Baker, & Edwards, 1999) Writing for Adolescents (Graham & Perin, 2007) New Technology SRSD and Steve Graham Have students write, write, and write some more 2

Writing Skills (Minskoff & Allsopp) What are some of the subskills of writing? 1) Plan ideas to express 2) Find sentence and words to express these ideas 3) Spell words 4) Capitalize where necessary 5) Use appropriate punctuation, grammar and syntax 6) Proofread for clarity and mechanics 7) Do ALL of this together!!! 3

Writing basics (Minskoff & Allsopp) Where do students with LD typically struggle? 1)Mechanics -grammatical correctness, spelling, punctuation, capitalization 2)Composition -getting across the intended message What strengths do students with LD bring to writing instruction? 1)Verbal abilities 2)Creativity 4

Teaching expressive writing Reliable and consistent findings are: – Adhering to a basic framework of planning, writing, and revision; – Explicitly teaching critical steps in the writing process and – Providing feedback guided by the information explicitly taught. Emerging Findings – Use a scribe – Assign daily writing instruction and include instructional time devoted to both the mechanics and the process of writing 5

Teaching adolescents students on writing instruction lead to 154 effect size evaluations The results were: – strategy instruction (0.82), – summarization (0.82), – peer assistance (0.75), – setting product goals (0.70), – word processing (0.55), – sentence combining (0.50), – inquiry (0.32), – prewriting activities (0.32), – process writing approach (0.32), – study of models (0.25), – grammar instruction (-0.32). What does this all mean to our classrooms? 6

Learning Strategies Review strategies – Sentence writing – Paragraph writing Gersten, Baker, & Edwards (1999) 7

Strategies for Writing Sentence Writing P= Pick a formula E= Explore words to fit the formula N= Note the Words S= Search for subject and verb Power Writing – – Organization of idea(s) – Specifically assigned to sentences 8

Speech-to-Text or Speech-recognition software (National Center for Technology Innovation, 2010) Provides access to those with less opportunity (vision or physical disabilities or poor motor control) Teaching the writing process because of the need to correct and check for accuracy and restructure work once displayed as text Increases independence Decreases anxiety Connects reading and writing 9

Initiating an SRSD approach One of the more effective research-supported approaches to writing is SRSD Self Regulated Strategy Development Read the details of SRSD and how to enact it. Interview with Steve Graham 10

Upcoming Events Vocabulary (we have already had a peek) Mathematics The gauntlet of projects: – CRA steps – Adaptive Problem Solving – Cognitive Strategies – Student-led IEPs – Unit Plan 11