Writing Interventions: Implementing evidence-based practice for students with EBD in applied settings Carlos J. Panahon, Ph.D. Alexandra Hilt-Panahon,

Writing Interventions: Implementing evidence-

based practice for students with EBD in

applied settings

Carlos J. Panahon, Ph.D.Alexandra Hilt-Panahon, Ph.D.Minnesota State University, Mankato

Lauren Arbolino, Ph.DNationwide Children’s Hospital

Introduction

• Writing is considered an essential skill for children’s success.

• Writing has been identified as a neglected skill (National Commission on Writing, 2003).

• The writing skills of children in the United States has been summarized as– “. . . not what it should be” (p. 7)

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The Nation’s Report Card (2002) – Writing

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The Nation’s Report Card (2002) – Writing

Two-thirds of students did not demonstrate solid performance in writing

Below Basic At Basic At Proficient Advanced0

20

40

60

80

100

Per

cen

t

72% 28%

Fourth-Grade Students

One-third of the students demonstrated solid or superior performance in writing

Academics & EBD

• The relationship between emotional and behavioral disorders and low academic achievement has been well documented in the literature (Wehby et al, 2003).

• Despite this, academic deficits of students with emotional and behavioral disorders is often secondary to behavior/emotional needs (Gunter & Denny, 1998)

Academics & EBD

• Historically, less emphasis on academics for EBD students

• Problem behaviors are mitigated when students are engaged in instruction

• Academic lesson and intervention must be instructionally appropriate

• Reinforcement that is often and specific is effective

Writing intervention for students with EBD• Recent research has sought to

identify interventions to remediate academic skills for students with emotional and behavioral disorders.

• Behavioral Disorders special issue– Reading – Writing

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The Nation’s Report Card: Implications

• Significant number of students have not developed mastery in basic writing skills

• Students at greatest risk for not developing mastery include:– Eligible for free/reduced price lunch

(83%)– English Language Learners (93%)– Eligible for special education services

(83%)

Research-Based Effective Teaching Strategies

• Students learn more when they are actively engaged in instructional tasks

• High success rates correlate positively with student learning outcomes

• The more content covered, the greater the potential for student learning

• Students become independent learners through instruction that is deliberate and carefully planned

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How Do We Improve Children’s Basic Writing Skills?• Lower-order writing skills:

– Handwriting and spelling– Capitalization, punctuation, and

grammar– Text generation

• Higher-order writing skills:– Planning processes– Text generation (increased

expectations for amount, nature, quality)

SOURCES: Berninger, V. W. et al. (2006). Tier 1 and Tier 2 early intervention for handwriting and composing. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 3-30.  Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (2005). Improving the writing performance of young struggling writers. The Journal of Special Education, 39, 19-33. 

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How Do We Improve Children’s Basic Writing Skills?• Writing

fluency:The total number of words written within 3 minutes

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How Do We Improve Children’s Writing Fluency?• Provide

instructional/performance feedback to promote children’s writing fluency

• Based on Thorndike’s law of effect (1898, 1911): Feedback serves to reinforce stimulus-response association

Classwide Performance Feedback Study

• 11 week study – 2 weeks for baseline; 9 weeks for

intervention

• 4 Middle School classrooms– 7 participants were assigned to the

No Feedback Condition– 8 participants were assigned to the

Performance Feedback Condition

• Participants were probed once a week at the beginning of the class

Results

Baseline Intervention

No Feedback

40.7 44.5

Feedback 28.8 48.1

Choice v. No Choice Study

• 6 week study• 1 Elementary School classroom

– 6 participants– Administered either Choice or No

Choice writing session

• All 6 participants performed better during the Choice condition

• 5 of 6 participants made more gains across time during the Choice condition

Evidence Based Strategies – Give choiceGive choice– Performance feedbackPerformance feedback– Student-interest driven

materials– Peer learning activities– Self-monitoring– Tie-in with reinforcement

Conclusions

• Performance Feedback Study– ROI

• No Feedback= 0.97• Feedback= 3.81

• Choice Study– ROI

• No Choice= 1.27• Choice= 3.83

Intervention Advantages

• Monitoring • Clearly defined • Already a component of the

classroom activities• Training • Length of time • Class-wide• Increased interest and motivation

Future Directions• Replicate in different settings

– Self contained class in public school– Inclusive

• Evaluate benefits of reinforcement in combination with other interventions

• Evaluate generalization of effects• Application of effective practices

with EBD population – Mason et al., 2010– Little et al., 2010

Contact Information

Carlos J. Panahon, PhDcarlos.panahon@mnsu.edu

Minnesota Sate University, Mankato

Mankato, MN

Alexandra Hilt-Panahon, PhDalexandra.panahon@mnsu.edu

Minnesota State University, Mankato

Mankato, MN

Lauren A. Arbolino, PhDlarbolino@gmail.com

Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Columbus, OH