The Effects of Self-Regulation Strategy Development on Written Expression of Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities

Abstract

This investigation examined the effects of self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) on the written expression of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD). The target students for this study were elementary students who receive special education services under the category of EBD. An AB Multiple Baseline Design (i.e., Baseline, Intervention) across participants was used to document the effectiveness of SRSD through the implementation of a writing strategy: POW + TREE. Dependent variables including numbers of on-task and off-task behaviors, and the quality of written essays based on the number of words, number of transition words, mean holistic scores, and time on task were measured. The outcome results of SRSD on written expression through the POW+TREE writing strategy indicated that performance on writing persuasive essays improved from baseline through the intervention phase. Students were more willing to write after learning the strategy and were on-task more consistently from baseline through intervention phases. Additionally, the improvement was maintained during the immediate maintenance phase. Although students improved in their ability to write a persuasive essay, the overall magnitude of improvement was not substantial. Generalization of the strategy was also assessed in the content areas of social studies and science. Furthermore, all students were interviewed in order to gain their perspectives on strategy instruction.