Writing Coach: An Approach to RTI in Writing with UDL Software

1. Writing Coach: An Approach to RTI in Writing with UDL Software Karen Erickson, PhD, Director Center for Literacy & Disabilities Studies Chapel Hill, NC www.med.unc.edu/ahs/clds

2. Writing Coach and Project SOLO™ Research & collaboration resulting in solutions for schools and students who struggle.

3. What is SOLO™?

4. SOLO™ • A Universally Designed Literacy Software Suite that includes: • Word Prediction (Co:Writer) • Graphic Organizer (Draft:Builder) • Talking Word Processor (Write Out:Loud) • Text Reader (Read Out:Loud)

5. As a UDL solution, SOLO™ supports • Tier I interventions by offering: • high quality, differentiated instruction • multiple means of representation, expression and engagement • Tier II interventions by offering: • a means to customize assignments • additional supports (e.g., Topic Dictionaries) • Tier III intervention by offering: • extensive personal preferences & instructional scaffolds

6. What is Self-Regulated Strategy Development?

7. Self Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD, Graham & Harris, 2005) • SRSD is a method for providing explicit, focused writing instruction. • SRSD assumes that some children require more specific teaching in order to be able to understand and use effective writing strategies. • SRSD is supported by numerous research studies with children who experience difficulty writing (d= 1.15, Graham & Peren, 2007) • SRSD is typically a Tier III individualized intervention

8. Six Recursive Stages of SRSD Instruction • Background Knowledge • Discuss It • Model It • Memorize It • Support It • Independent Performance

9. Three Strategies Summary PLANS: A Goal Setting Strategy PLEASE: Paragraph Writing Strategy

13. Project SOLO™ Combing UDL Software with Research-Based Writing Interventions Funded by the National Center for Technology Innovations Technology in the Works

14. Design • Random assignment of 6 teachers to two treatment conditions: • SRSD Only • SRSD plus SOLO™ • Six weeks of intervention (18, 45 min. lessons) • Ongoing classroom observations and collection of observational data including fidelity checklists.

15. Research Measures • Pretest/Posttest Measures: • Test of Written Language–3 • (TOWL-3, Hammill & Larsen, 1996) • Writing Attitudes Survey • (Kear, Coffman, McKenna, & Ambrosio, 2000) • Focus Group Interviews • Observation of instruction (Fidelity)

16. The Intervention • Teachers selected a strategy to teach using SRSD instruction. • 3rd Grade: Summary Writing • 4th Grade: Narrative • 18 lesson plans for each writing strategy were developed. • No information regarding the implementation of SOLO™ was provided in those lessons.

17. SRSD as a Tier 1 Intervention Addressing the needs of all learners in the general education setting.

18. Group Results • All 53 participants with pre/post TOWL • Cohen’s d = .38 • One-tailed paired samples t-test • T(52) = -4.28764, p=.000*

19. Group Results by Grade Level • 3rd Grade (n=23) • Cohen’s d = .36 • One-tailed paired samples t-test • T(22) = -3.702, p=.0005* • 4th Grade (n=30) • Cohen’s d = .42 • One-tailed paired samples t-test • T(29) = -4.699, p=.000*

20. Can the addition of SOLO™ turn SRSD into a Tier 2 intervention without changing the setting?

21. All Participants by Intervention Groups • SRSD only • Cohen’s d = .525 • One-tailed paired samples t-test • T(14) = -4.631, p = .000* • SRSD + SOLO™ • Cohen’s d = .35 • One-tailed paired samples t-test • T(37) = -4.305, p = .000*

22. Ability Group Membership Based on TOWL Pretest Scores

23. Results for All Students Below Average • SRSD only (n=2) • Cohen’s d= .30 • One-tailed paired samples t-test • T(2) = -.487, p = .3375 • SRSD + SOLO™ (N=20) • Cohen’s d= .61 • One-tailed paired samples t-test • T(19) = -4.134, p = .001*

24. What would happen if SRSD + SOLO™ became a Tier 3 intervention? Separate setting Small group Intensive, every day