The effect of direct instruction and self-management strategies on writing fluency of students with learning disabilities

The purposes of this investigation were to evaluate the use of the Reasoning & Writing Direct Instruction program, examine the curriculum-based measurement tools for writing fluency of Total Words Written and Correct Word Sequence, examine the impact of teaching students with disabilities self-management techniques, including self-monitoring, self-graphing, and self-reflecting, and review how self-reflections toward writing and writing performances change through the process. Three fifth grade students, all receiving replacement writing instruction via a resource room, participated in this study. Two of the participants were classified as having a Specific Learning Disability, and one as Other Health Impaired. A single subject design with change of conditions was used to determine if Direct Instruction and self-management techniques increased student writing skills. Over the four month study, students were provided with daily Direct Instruction with self-monitoring and self-graphing of their writing performances via three-minute writing probes given twice weekly. Student reflections were also examined as pre and post surveys were given to review whether self-reflections became more accurate or positive after self-management strategies were taught. Means for both TWW and CWS showed slight to moderate effects when self-graphing took place. Positive changes in the planning and organizing phases of the writing process were seen, with a decrease in perceptual ease with editing and revising. Using short, timed writing probes and student self-graphing, teachers were able to measure student performance quickly on writing quality, and build academic self-management skills in the classroom. Further studies with a large student population are recommended to examine effects of selfmanagement on writing performance of students with learning disabilities.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A. Special Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Language, Literacy, and Special Education

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Richetti, Shawna

Contributors dc:contributor

• Xin, Joy

• Language arts--Study and teaching; Learning disabled children
• Special Education and Teaching

Repository record dc:identifier

https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/227

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rdw.rowan.edu:etd-1226