University of Southern Maine USM Digital Commons All Theses & Dissertations Student Scholarship 12-2014 Self-regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) for Writing: A Tier Intervention for Fifth Grade Christina A Flanders PsyD University of Southern Maine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/etd Part of the School Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Flanders, Christina A PsyD, "Self-regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) for Writing: A Tier Intervention for Fifth Grade" (2014) All Theses & Dissertations 356 https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/etd/356 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at USM Digital Commons It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USM Digital Commons For more information, please contact jessica.c.hovey@maine.edu SELF-REGULATED STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT (SRSD) FOR WRITING: A TIER INTERVENTION FOR FIFTH GRADE Christina A Flanders B.S Plymouth State College, 2000 M.S University of Southern Maine, 2005 A DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology (in School Psychology) The University of Southern Maine December, 2014 Advisory Committee: Rachel Brown, Associate Professor of Educational and School Psychology, Advisor Mark W Steege, Professor of School Psychology Gail Bourn, Academic Coordinator for Teaching and Learning, Laconia (NH) Schools ii Copyright © 2014 Christina A Flanders All Rights Reserved iii LIBRARY RIGHTS STATEMENT In presenting the Dissertation, SELF-REGULATED STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT (SRSD) FOR WRITING: A TIER INTERVENTION FOR FIFTH GRADE, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Psy.D in School Psychology at the University of Southern Maine, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for review I further agree that permission for copying, as provided for by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S Code), of this Dissertation for scholarly purposes may be granted It is understood that any copying or publications of this Dissertation for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission I hereby grant permission to the University of Southern Maine Library to use my Dissertation for scholarly purposes Signature: Christina A Flanders Date: November 25, 2014 iv SELF-REGULATED STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT (SRSD) FOR WRITING: A TIER INTERVENTION FOR FIFTH GRADE By Christina A Flanders, M.S Dissertation Advisor: Dr Rachel Brown An Abstract of the Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology (in School Psychology) December 2014 The purpose of this study was to examine whether Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) for writing could be used as a Tier intervention to improve the writing of fifth grade students identified as performing below the 50th percentile on AIMSweb curriculum-based measures of correct writing sequences (WE-CBM CWS) Results of RMANOVA indicated that students in the SRSD Group made significant improvements in their WE-CBM mean score compared to the Control Group from pre- to post-test Additional analyses using a modified WE-CBM that added one minute for students to v organize their writing thoughts (EWE-CBM) did not show significant improvements to mean CWS scores Qualitative analyses indicated that the intervention teacher and SRSD students found the intervention method to be easy to follow, helped improve their writing, and that they will use it again in the future Evidence from this study suggests that SRSD can be effectively used as a Tier writing intervention within a multi-tiered system of supports model The limitations and implications for practice are discussed vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my dissertation committee, Dr Mark Steege, Dr Rachel Brown, and Gail Bourn, for their guidance and support during this process I am particularly grateful to Dr Rachel Brown for sharing with me her wealth of knowledge and research experience The academic imprint she has left on me throughout my years at USM has helped shape me as a professional This research could not have been possible without the support of my school district, including Gail Bourn and Jessica Ortolf, who both showed such enthusiasm and commitment to my research and implementing interventions to improve children’s writing skills Children lucky enough to cross their paths are better students because of them In addition to these individuals, I also owe thanks to Dr Pamela Gallant for helping me to keep this ship sailing towards the shore, and Dr Scott Mantie for his vast statistical advice Lastly, I could not have completed this doctoral goal without the support of my family I appreciate the time away afforded to me by my husband, Chuck, and the understanding of my two sons, Jackson and Colin, who knew I had to sometimes “schoolwork” instead of joining them at soccer I love you vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW Current State of Writing Early Influences on Writing Effective Methods to Teach Writing Key Findings from Writing Research Summary of Literature Review 14 Research Questions and Hypotheses 15 CHAPTER 2: METHOD 17 Setting and Participants 17 Research Design 18 Materials 19 Procedures 20 Data Analysis 22 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS 23 Descriptive Data 23 Effects of Self-Regulated Strategy Development 23 Treatment Integrity 26 Qualitative Analysis of Students’ EWE-CBM Writing Outlines 26 Teacher and Student Satisfaction Surveys 27 viii CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION 30 Limitations and Future Research 33 Implications for Practice 35 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY 37 References 38 Appendix A: WE-CBM Probes 42 Appendix B: Scoring Guidelines for CWS 43 Appendix C: Social Validity Survey 45 Appendix D: Checklist of Steps to POW + WWW What = 2, How = 47 Appendix E: Standardized Directions for WE-CBM Administration 48 Appendix F: Extended Time WE-CBM Script 49 Appendix G: SRSD Treatment Integrity Checklist 51 BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR 52 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Participant and School Demographics…………………………………………18 Table 2: Means and standard deviations (SD) for WE-CBM and EWE-CBM Scores… 23 Table 3: Weekly Group Rate Of Improvement (ROI) for CWS WE-CBM…………………25 Table 4: Planning Categories……………………………………………………………26 Table 5: Teacher Satisfaction Survey Results……………………………………………27 Table 6: Student Satisfaction Survey Results ……………………………………………28 Table 7: Students’ statements about what is hard about writing before and after SRSD intervention………………………….………………………………………………… 28 38 References Applebe, A.N., & Langer, J.A (2006) The state of writing instruction in America's schools: What existing data tell us Albany, NY: State University of New York, Center on English Learning and Achievement Burney, V.H., & Beilke, J.R (2008) The constraints of poverty on high achievement Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 31, 171-197 Coe, M., Hanita, M., Nishioka, V., & Smiley, R (2011) The impact of the 6+1 trait model on grade student writing achievement (NCEE 2012-4010) Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S Department of Education Coker, D (2006) Impact of first-grade factors on the growth and outcomes of urban schoolchildren's primary-grade writing Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 471-488 Cutler, L., & Graham, S (2008) Primary grade writing instruction: A national survey Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 907-919 doi:10.1037/a0012656 Dunn, M.W., & Finley, S (2010) Children's struggles with the writing process: Exploring storytelling, visual arts, and keyboarding to promote narrative story writing Multicultural Education, 18, 33-42 Ennis, R., Jolivette, K., & Boden, L.J (2013) STOP and DARE: Self-regulated strategy development for persuasive writing with elementary students with E/BD in a residential facility Education & Treatment of Children, 36, 81-99 39 Espin, C., Shin, J., Deno, S.L., Skare, S., Robinson, S., & Benner, B (2000) Identifying indicators of written expression proficiency for middle school students Journal of Special Education, 34, 140-153 Feifer, S.G., & De Fina, P.A (2002) The neuropsychology of written language disorders: Diagnosis and intervention Middletown, MD: School Neuropsych Press Graham, S., & Hebert, M.A (2010) Writing to read: Evidence for how writing can improve reading Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education Graham, S., & Hebert, M (2011) Writing to read: A meta-analysis of the impact of writing and writing instruction on reading Harvard Educational Review, 81, 710744 Graham, S., McKeown, D., Kiuhara, S., & Harris, K.S (2012) A meta-analysis of writing instruction for students in elementary grades Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 879-896 Harris, K.R., Graham, S., & Mason, L.H (2003) Self-regulated strategy development in the classroom: Part of a balanced approach to writing intruction for students with disabilities Focus on Exceptional Children, 35, 1-16 Harris, K.R., Graham, S., Mason, L.H., & Friedlander, B (2008) Powerful writing strategies for all students Baltimore: Brookes Hooper, S.R., Roberts, J.E., Nelson, L., Zelsel, S., & Kasambira Fannin, D (2010) Preschool predictors of narrative writing skills in elementary school children School Psychology Quarterly, 25, 1-12 doi:10.1037/a0018329 40 Hosp, M.K., Hosp, J.L., & Howell, K.W (2007) The ABCs of CBM: A practical guide to curriculum-based measurement New York: Guilford Press National Center for Educational Statistics (2012) The nation's report: Writing 2011 Retrieved from National Center for Educational Statistics: nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/writing/ National Governors Association & Council of Chief State School Officers (2012) Common Core State Standards Retrieved from http://www.corestands.org Saddler, B (2006) Increasing story-writing ability through self-regulated strategy development: Effects on young writers and learning disabilities Learning Disability Quarterly, 29, 291-305 Sagan, C (1980) Cosmos New York: Ballantine Books Shinn, M.R., (Ed.) (1989) Curriculum-based measurement: Assessing special children New York: Guilford Press Straub, C., & Alias, A (2013) Next generation writing at the secondary level for students with learning disabilities Exceptional Children, 46, 16-24 Troia, G A., & Graham, S (2002) The effectiveness of a highly explicit, teacherdirected strategy instruction routine Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 290 Troia, G.A., & Olinghouse, N.G (2013) The Common Core state standards and evidence-based educational practices: The case of writing School Psychology Review, 42, 343-357 Videen, J., Deno, S.L., & Marston, D (1982) Correct word sequences: A valid indicator of proficiency in written expression (Reseach report No 84) Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities 41 Zumbrum, S., & Krause, K (2012) Conversations with leaders: Principles of effetive writing instruction Reading Teacher, 65, 346-353 42 Appendix A: WE-CBM Probes I couldn’t fall asleep in my tent I heard this noise outside and … I was fishing in the river when I felt a terrific tug on the line and … The two space invaders stepped out of their spaceship and … The noise was getting louder and louder … It was a hot, dry day and I had been walking for hours without food or water when … We were paddling on a beautiful lake in the woods when our canoe tipped over and … I waved out the window at my family as … Maybe animals aren’t supposed to talk, but … The phone call was mysterious and … 10 I stepped into the time machine and … 11 The roaring snow storm howled and … 12 I was shipwrecked on a deserted island when … 13 He crossed his fingers and opened the box Suddenly … 14 The day was dark and misty as … 15 Working madly in my laboratory, I suddenly realized that my magic formula … 16 If I were to make a TV show, it would be about … 17 I was in the middle of the lake when … 18 I was picking berries when … 19 When I was in the Olympics, I … 20 Being chased by a shark wasn’t fun I had to … 43 Appendix B: Scoring Guidelines for CWS Correct Writing Sequences (CWS) Instructions First, circle Words that are spelled incorrectly in the WE-CBM sample This will help in determining pairs of correct adjacent words Second, place a caret “^” between words that are (1) mechanically (spelled correctly, appropriate capitalization), (2) semantically, and (3) syntactically correct Sum the number of carets “^” s Scoring CWS requires more inferences about what the student intended such as whether a sentence “ended” when a period was omitted What is a Correct Writing Sequence? Two adjacent writing units (words and punctuation) that are correct within the context of what is written Scoring Correct Writing Sequences A caret “^” is used to mark each unit of the correct writing sequence There is an implied space at the beginning of the first sentence ^The^sky^was^blue.^ CWS = Rule Pairs of Words Must Be Spelled Correctly ^All^of^the^kids^started^to^laugh.^ ^All^of^the^kids^started^to_laghf _ CWS = CWS = Rule Words Must Be Capitalized and Punctuated Correctly with the Exception of Commas Correct punctuation must be present at the end of the sentence The first word of the next sentence must be capitalized and be spelled correctly for a correct writing sequence to be scored ^The^sky^was^blue.^ ^It^was^pretty.^ ^The^sky^was^blue.^ it was^pretty CWS = CWS = Rule Words Must Be Syntactically Correct Sentences that begin with conjunctions are considered syntactically correct ^I^had^never^seen^the^wolves^before.^ ^I^never_seen^the^wolves^never.^ ^And^then^the^boy^gave^the^duck^some^bread.^ Rule Words Must Be Semantically Correct ^Jamaal^went^to^the^library.^ ^Jamaal^went_too_the^library.^ ^My^dad^made^the^treehouse^especially^for^me.^ CWS = CWS = CWS = 10 CWS = CWS = CWS = 44 ^My^dad^made^the^treehouse_specially_for^me.^ CWS = Rule Contractions Apostrophes are required if the word cannot stand alone without it ^I^went^to^Sam’s^house.^ ^I^went^to Sams house.^ CWS = CWS = Rule Words with Reversed Letters Words containing reversed letters are included in the total CWS count unless the reversed letter causes a word to be spelled incorrectly ^There^was^a^bad^storm ^ ^There^was^a^dad^storm ^ ^The^dolphin^swam^in^the^sea.^ ^The bolphin swam^in^the^sea.^ CWS = CWS = CWS = CWS = Rule Story Titles and Endings Words written in the title or endings that are capitalized and spelled correctly are included in the total CWS ^The^Big^Run^ the Big ^Run^ the big run ^The^End.^ ^The end.^ CWS = CWS = CWS = CWS = CWS = Rule Abbreviations Commonly used abbreviations that are spelled correctly are included in the total CWS count ^Jan^lives^on ^Sunset ^Blvd ^ CWS = Rule Hyphens Hyphenated words are counted in the total CWS count as long as each morpheme separated by hyphens is spelled correctly ^My^sister-in-law^graduated^from^school.^ ^My siter-in-law graduated^from^school.^ CWS = CWS = Rule 10 Numbers With the exception of dates, numbers that are not spelled out are not included in the total CWS count men^ran.^ ^Three^men^ran.^ ^It^is^June^10, ^2004.^ CWS = CWS = CWS = Rule 11 Unusual Characters Symbols used in writing that are not spelled out are not included in the total CWS count ^I^won^a^prize @ the^carnival.^ CWS = 45 Appendix C: Social Validity Survey Teacher Survey: Please rate the following statements regarding your opinion of SRSD for writing in your classroom using the scale: = Strongly Disagree = Disagree = Neutral = Agree = Strongly Agree 1 The SRSD method was easy to implement in my class The Steps to SRSD were understandable SRSD made a meaningful difference for the students in my class I will use the SRSD method with future classes 46 Student Survey: Please rate the POW + WWW What = 2, How = method for writing that was used in your classroom using this scale: = Strongly Disagree = Disagree = Neutral = Agree = Strongly Agree 1 The POW + WWW What = 2, How = steps were easy to understand I was able to write better because I used this strategy to help me I will use POW + WWW What = 2, How = again in classes More teachers should use this strategy to help students write better 47 Appendix D: Checklist of Steps to POW + WWW What = 2, How = o P = Pick my idea o O = Organize my notes o W = Write and say more o W = Who is the main character? o W = When does the story take place? o W = Where does the story take place? o W = What does the main character or want to do; what other characters do? o W = What happens then? What happens with the other characters? o H = How does the story end? o H = How does the main character feel; how other characters feel? 48 Appendix E: Standardized Directions for WE-CBM Administration Select an appropriate story starter Provide the student with a pencil and a sheet of lined paper Say these specific directions to the students: “You are going to write a story First, I will read a sentence, and then you will write a story about what happens next You will have minute to think about what you will write, and minutes to write your story Remember to your best work If you don’t know how to spell a word, you should guess Are there any questions?” (Pause) “Put your pencils down and listen.” “For the next minute, think about (insert story starter).” After reading the story starter, begin your stopwatch and allow minute for students to “think.” (Monitor students so that they not begin writing) After 30 seconds say: “You should be thinking about (insert story starter).” At the end of minute say: “Now begin writing” Restart your stopwatch Monitor students' participation If individual students pause for about 10 seconds or say they are done before the test is finished, move close to them and say Keep writing the best story you can This prompt can be repeated to students should they pause again After 90 seconds say: “You should be thinking about (insert story starter).” At the end of minutes say: “Stop Put your pencils down.” If students want to finish their story, it is allowable to so as long as they complete it on a separate piece of paper 49 Appendix F: Extended Time WE-CBM Script Select an appropriate story starter Provide the student with a pencil and a sheet of lined paper Say these specific directions to the students: “You are going to write a story First, I will read a sentence, and then you will write a story about what happens next You will have minute to think about what you will write, and minutes to write your story Remember to your best work If you don’t know how to spell a word, you should guess Are there any questions?” (Pause) “Put your pencils down and listen.” “For the next minute, think about (insert story starter).” After reading the story starter, begin your stopwatch and allow minute for students to “think.” (Monitor students so that they not begin writing) After 30 seconds say: “You should be thinking about (insert story starter).” At the end of minute say: “Now please take minute to create an outline of what you will write about Go ahead.” Restart your stopwatch for an additional minute After minute say: “Now begin your writing.” Restart your stopwatch for minutes Monitor students' participation If individual students pause for about 10 seconds or say they are done before the test is finished, move close to them and say Keep writing the best story you can This prompt can be repeated to students should they pause again After 90 seconds say: “You should be thinking about (insert story starter).” At the end of minutes say: “Stop Take minute to review what you wrote.” Restart stopwatch for an additional minute before saying: “Put your pencils down.” 50 If students want to finish their story, it is allowable to so as long as they complete it on a separate piece of paper 51 Appendix G: SRSD Treatment Integrity Checklist Teacher: _ Observer: _ # of Students: _ Date: _ Lesson #: Directions: During the lesson presentation, place a checkmark in the column for each step that is observed If the step does not apply to the lesson, write in N/A in the column and not include that step in the calculation of fidelity SRSD Step Lesson Checklist Completed? Develop Background Knowledge (i.e., read works in the genre, develop vocabulary knowledge, introduce concepts, discuss what strategies will be learned) Discuss It (i.e., explore current writing and self-regulation strategies, graphing introduced and used with prior compositions, goal setting) Model It (i.e., teacher models writing and self-regulation strategies, analyze and discuss strategies and model’s performance) Memorize It (i.e., require and confirm memorization of strategies, mnemonic(s), and self-instructions) Support It (i.e., use writing and self-regulation strategies collaboratively, prompts, guidance, and collaboration faded, discuss plans for maintenance) Independent Performance (i.e., students able to use task and self-regulation strategies independently, teacher monitors and supports as necessary, Number of checkmarks/6 = _ % SRSD Lesson Fidelity 52 BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR Christina A Flanders was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in the Lakes Region area in New Hampshire, where she earned her high school diploma from Winnisquam Regional School District in Tilton, NH Christina graduated cum laude from Plymouth State College in 2000, with her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and the Law She then continued on to earn her Master of Science degree in School Psychology from the University of Southern Maine in 2005 Christina is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) and worked for nine years in the Laconia School District as a school psychologist During that time she was awarded the 2014 New Hampshire School Psychologist of the Year distinction She is now a full-time faculty member for Plymouth State University’s M.Ed in School Psychology program and serves on the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists (NHASP) executive board Christina is a candidate for the Doctor of Psychology degree in School Psychology from the University of Southern Maine in December 2014 ... teaching of self-regulated strategy development (Dunn & Finley, 20 10; Ennis et al., 20 13; Graham et al., 20 12; Graham & Hebert, 20 10; 20 11; Harris et al., 20 03; 20 08; 15 Straub & Alias, 20 13) Not... (Graham & Hebert, 20 10; 20 11; Graham et al., 20 12; Saddler, 20 06), students with significant learning problems (Harris et al., 20 03; Straub & Alias, 20 13), and those with emotional and behaviors... 45 .27 (15. 12) 54.54 (16.38) 55.98 (19.33) Effects of Self-Regulated Strategy Development A repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) was calculated in order to examine scores before and after