Teaching expressive writing to students with learning disabilities: research-based applications and examples

Area of Science:

• Education
• Special Education
• Writing Instruction

Background:

• Students with learning disabilities often struggle with writing quality.
• Effective instructional strategies are crucial for improving writing skills in this population.
• Research syntheses highlight key areas for intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present research-based examples of effective instructional approaches for improving writing content.
• To describe research on transcription skills and their impact on writing quality.
• To illustrate the implementation of effective writing strategies in general and special education.

Main Methods:

• Review of experimental studies from a meta-analysis on writing intervention research (Gersten & Baker, 2001).
• Focus on instructional approaches targeting organization, idea generation, and coherence.
• Examination of the effects of handwriting and spelling instruction on writing quality.

Main Results:

• Instructional approaches focusing on organization and idea generation improve writing content.
• Explicit instruction in transcription skills (handwriting, spelling) positively impacts overall writing quality.
• Effective strategies enhance coherence and organization in student writing.

Conclusions:

• Research-based instructional methods can significantly improve writing quality for students with learning disabilities.
• Integrating findings into general and special education settings is feasible and beneficial.
• Targeted instruction in content and transcription skills is key to student writing success.