STRATEGY INSTRUCTION IN PLANNING - TEACHING STUDENTS WITH LEARNING AND WRITING DISABILITIES TO COMPOSE PERSUASIVE AND EXPOSITORY ESSAYS

This article summarizes two intervention studies using the Self-Regula ted Strategy Development (SRSD) model of instruction, The major object ive of the studies was to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching stude nts with learning and writing disabilities an approach to planning per suasive essays before and during composing, An in-progress investigati on will also be described, in which the planning strategy has been mod ified to accommodate a change in genre from persuasive to expository w riting, Instructional effects have been investigated using different r esearch designs (multiple-baseline-across-subjects with multiple probe s in baseline and between-group comparisons); in different settings (i ndividual instruction, small groups in resource rooms, and general edu cation classrooms); and with different types of students (fifth throug h eighth graders, including students with and without learning disabil ities). Instructional procedures and methodology from these studies ar e summarized, and the central findings from the first two investigatio ns are presented. Suggestions for future interventions that focus on p lanning strategies are proposed.