Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
EdD Program in Child and Youth Studies
Advisor
Barbara Christina
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Rochelle Green
Keywords
analysis, applied dissertation, composition, curricula, details, essays, fifth-grade students, graphic organizers, independent writing, learning disabilities, mnemonic devices, mnemonics, paragraph development, punctuation, Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), self-regulation, sentence structure, spelling, students, teacher-modeled writing, topic sentences, writing, writing practice, writing programs, writing skills, writing strategies, written language
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to provide students with learning disabilities the opportunity to improve their writing skills. Students were expected to organize information and utilize correct spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure in order to write independently on grade level. This was not happening. For years the writer witnessed the struggle that students with learning disabilities had encountered with written language. Graphic organizers, writing programs, and modifications made to the curricula did not solve the problem of fifth-grade students with learning disabilities to demonstrate grade level writing.
In her research the writer discovered the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model of writing. This strategy to writing taught students how to organize composition that included topic sentences and details. The SRSD strategy provided students with a form of self-regulation that promoted independent writing. The writer modeled writing and provided students with the skills and practice to write independently. Encouraging student to utilize mnemonic devices the SRSD model provided direct instruction with no hard to read graphic organizers. Students took pleasure in learning these mnemonics and regaled in their simplicity.
An analysis of the data revealed that students’ writing improved. The simpler the mnemonic the easier it was for them to recall. Overall, students understood the concepts of developing a paragraph and how paragraphs were turned into essays. Students incorporated more details into their writing and increased the length of their writing. Daily rehearsals of mnemonic strategies, writing practice, and teacher-modeled writing provided students with a sense of self-regulation.