Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

Struggling Writers: How to Improve Their Writing

From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

Very often, writing is taught to struggling writers in very haphazard and unscientific ways. Such  instruction produces very little progress and often promotes student beliefs that for them writing is too difficult and will always be a struggle.

Fortunately, however, writing can be taught in systematic and scientifically-supported ways that promote progress and student beliefs that they can succeed. One such systematic and scientifically-supported method is Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). SRSD removes the mystery of how to write. It shows students the steps they need to practice to succeed.

Conceptually, SRSD is easy to understand. The italicized steps below show how Karen Harris and Steve Graham conceptualized SRSD. As you read the sequence of steps, keep in mind that SRSD is a systematic, logical framework of instructional processes for teaching different writing strategies. Here’s the sequence:

Develop Background Knowledge: Teachers help struggling writers develop the background knowledge and skills they need to use the particular strategy SRSD will emphasize. For example, in her class, Mrs. Kierstin will emphasize the LIST strategy: List Ideas and Sequence Them. She’ll help her writers develop whatever knowledge they need to master LIST. In another class, Mrs. Alexis ignores LIST. Because her struggling writers differ from Mrs. Kierstin’s, she emphasizes the knowledge her struggling writers need to master POWERR: Pick my idea, Organize my notes, Write and say more, Edit my work, Read it aloud to myself, Revise it.

Discuss It: In discussions with her struggling writers, Mrs. Kierstin helps them understand the purposes and benefits of LIST. Mrs. Alexis does the same for POWERR.

Model It: Mrs. Kierstin shows her struggling writers how they should use LIST; similarly, Mrs. Alexis models POWERR. As the teachers model the different strategies, they speak aloud to all their struggling writers. Speaking aloud, Mrs. Alexis might say: “I need to pick an important idea. Perhaps, ‘The internet is dangerous for children.’ Or perhaps, ‘Children need to eat more whole grains.” Does one of these interest me? Which one would interest my audience? How can I get the information I need to support my belief?”

Memorize It: Mrs. Kierstin’s struggling writers need to memorize the steps in LIST. To help them, she gives them a pack of cards with the L-I-S-T steps written out and a cartoon illustrating each. Several times a day, for a week or so, she has them repeat and explain the steps and quiz one another on them; finally she asks them to repeat and explain the steps from memory. All this is done in ways her struggling writers enjoy. She does this until they repeat the steps perfectly and quickly. Every so often, she repeats the process. Mrs. Alexis does the same with POWERR.

Support It: Both teachers have their struggling writers practice the strategy: Mrs. Kierstin LIST; Mrs. Alexis POWERR. As they practice, their teachers give them feedback, such as “Meagan, I like the way you thought about your audience—what they’ve been worried about. That’s a good way to Pick an idea.” The teachers might also work with them, reinforce them for good effort and correctly using the strategy, and, if struggling writers are having difficulty with the strategy, model it again.

Let Them Work Independently: Mrs. Kierstin and Mrs. Alexis give their struggling writers lots of opportunities to use the strategies by themselves. The teachers create situations that the writers find motivating and which, with moderate effort on their part, will likely make them successful. Once in a while, if necessary, the teachers reintroduce and review the strategies.

SRSD is a framework of instructional processes for teachers to use. Of course, teachers should use it flexibly and adapt it to the situation, which includes the needs of the writers. So why should parents of struggling writers try to understand it?

Knowing about SRSD and similar methods can help you judge the appropriateness of your child’s current or proposed instruction. If his progress is poor, you should request an extensive writing evaluation that goes well beyond standardized testing, that examines personal, environmental, instructional, and methodological factors that may be blocking his progress. (See our post of April 12, 2010:  My Child Struggles With Writing. Can Typical Writing Evaluations Hurt Him?).

Methodological factors refer to the methods or strategies used to teach your child. To see if changing methods can boost his progress, you might ask, in your written referral, that the school’s evaluation use SRSD or a similar approach to teach him to write. By asking for this, you’re demonstrating knowledge, a source of influence, and you’re alerting the school to the fact that you want him taught by methods that research supports. You’re also alerting the school to the fact that for you, standardized tests alone will not suffice as a writing evaluation.

By asking that your child’s evaluation assess the effectiveness of SRSD or other well-researched approaches to writing instruction, you’re asking for trial or diagnostic teaching. As part of evaluations, diagnostic teaching is a well-respected strategy often used by university clinics. It will help you and the school assess the effectiveness of methods for your child. And to a large extent, that’s what a writing evaluation should do—identify what will work, what will solve your child’s problems.

The method used in diagnostic teaching need not be SRSD. We recommend, however, that it have several of SRSD’s characteristics: systematic, explicit, research-supported, and easy for teachers to implement. SRSD is systematic: the steps have a logical order. It’s explicit: strategies like LIST and POWERR can be illustrated and demonstrated. It’s supported by research: lots of studies in reputable academic journals have shown it’s effective. And finally, it’s teacher friendly: with training and support, many teachers have successfully used it and continue to enthusiastically and knowledgeably use it years after their training has ended.

If research and diagnostic teaching have shown that SRSD or a similar method will likely help your child, and he’s eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), we recommend that you, as a member of his Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team, propose that his IEP specify the research-based method. This aligns with IDEA, which states that each child’s program “must be based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable” (IDEA regulations, §300.320). Similarly, throughout the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), scientifically-based practices are stressed. Here’s one example: schools should use “effective methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically based research” (PL 107.110, Sec 1114).

But beware. No method is perfect. What works with one teacher may fail with another. What works in 2010 may fail in 2011. So be sure your child’s IEP states that the school will do three things—frequently: monitor progress, monitor progress, monitor progress. For much more information on monitoring your child’s IEP, you might read chapter 7 in Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds (www.reading2008.com).

Resources

Santangelo, T., Harris, K. R., & Graham, S. (2007). Self-Regulated Strategy Development: A validated model to support students who struggle with writing. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal 5(1), 1-20. [Available from Learning Disabilities Worldwide, www.ldworldwide.org.]

Howard Margolis, Ed.D. © Reading2008 & Beyond www.reading2008.com