2022 Conference | Handwriting Collaborative

Young-Suk Grace Kim, PhD.

Effective, Evidence-based Writing Instruction for Elementary Grade Students

We present a theory- and evidence-based multi-component writing intervention, called Self-Regulated Strategy Development Plus (SRSD+). SRSD+ integrates evidence-based writing instruction, SRSD (Graham, Harris, & McKeown, 2013; Harris & Graham, 2017), with explicit and structured instruction on oral language and transcription skills (thus called plus). SRSD instruction includes explicit, interactive learning of strategies for genre-general and genre-specific writing (including discourse knowledge and academic language), strategies for self-regulating strategy use and writing behavior throughout the writing process (e.g., goal setting, self-assessment, self-instructions, and self-reinforcement), and development of engagement and self-efficacy for writing. SRSD+ expands SRSD in novel and important ways by incorporating key component skills of writing, transcription (spelling and handwriting) and oral language skills (e.g., vocabulary and sentence proficiency). We present SRSD+ instruction, and evidence from a small-scale randomized controlled trial with students in Grades 1 and 2.

Karin H. James, PhD.

The Role of Handwriting in Shaping Early Neural Systems in Literacy

Handwriting is a complex visual-motor skill that affects early reading development. A large body of work has demonstrated that a widespread neural system comprising ventral-temporal, parietal, and frontal motor regions supports handwriting in adults, yet there is little work that has investigated the neural systems that support handwriting in young children who are still learning to read. In our research program we seek to understand the neural substrates that support – and are affected by - handwriting through early development. We use functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and a novel MRI-compatible writing tablet that allows us to measure brain activation in young children during handwriting and visual letter perception. Across several studies we show that a) the developing brain is changed by handwriting experience in important ways that are not seen with typing or tracing; b) preschool children are especially sensitive - both neurally and behaviorally - to the variability in letter forms that results from writing by hand and c) that neural substrates that support handwriting change with experience and literacy skill. This body of work supports the idea that writing by hand is important for shaping brain systems that are important in literacy.

Virginia Wise Berninger, PhD.

Levels of Language: Application to Diagnosis, Instruction, and Functional Writing Systems

Research will be presented showing that specific writing disabilities involve impairments in different levels of language: Dysgraphia (impaired subword handwriting), Dyslexia (impaired word spelling), or Oral and Written Language Learning Disability/OWL LD (Impaired morpho-syntax). Research will also be presented showing that, for students with or at risk for specific writing disabilities, instruction aimed at all relevant levels of language close in time is effective. For students with Dysgraphia or at risk for Dysgraphia, effective instruction includes subword handwritingàword spellingàtext composing. For students with Dyslexia or at risk for Dyslexia, effective instruction includes subword phonological and orthographic awareness and subword phonological-orthographic connectionsàword-specific spellingsàtext composing. For students with OWL LD or at risk for OWL LD, effective instruction includes subword morphological, phonological, and orthographic awarenessà morphophonemic-orthographic spelling correspondences and spelling function and structure wordsà syntactic construction and discourse organization. Finally, results of brain imaging studies showing connectivity across cascading levels of language of increasing size will be presented. Compared to typical controls, students with Dysgraphia were under-connected and those with Dyslexia were over-connected. All students showed brain response to multi-leveled writing instruction.

Stephen T. Peverly, PhD.

The Cognitive Correlates of Note-Taking and Test-taking

Note-taking is a pervasive and important academic activity. Among college students, research suggests (a) almost all take notes (94 – 98%) and, (b) taking and studying notes is related to good test performance (d = .75). We know very little, however, about the cognitive processes related to the quantity and quality of notes taken or the relationship of these processes and notes to good test performance. In a series of studies on lecture and text note-taking, we investigated the relationship of recording speed (e.g., handwriting speed), attention, language understanding, working memory, and other skills, to notes and test performance among college, high school and middle school students (some studies included comparisons of students with and without disabilities). Our work indicates, with some caveats, that quantity and quality of notes are related primarily to recording speed, language understanding and sustained attention. Further, notes significantly predict students’ performance on tests that measure memory for what they have heard or read but they are not significantly related to tests that measure inferences. Only measures of language understanding and background knowledge were significantly related to tests that measure inferences.

Barbara Arfé, PhD.

Bilingual Spelling Instruction for ELLs:Testing Language-specific Effects in Response to the Mind’s Ear and Eye Training in Italian and English

Worldwide, primary school children are faced with the task of learning two or more spelling systems simultaneously, one of which is often English, an outlier orthography. Literacy researchers and teachers alike are aware of the need of scientific evidence that could inform this bilingual spelling instruction. However, so far rare or none are the experimental studies that have tested the effects of bilingual spelling interventions. In the present talk I will discuss the findings of a published RCT (randomized controlled trial) that examined the language-specific effects of a spelling intervention (the “mind’s ear and eye training”, by Berninger et al., 1998) delivered to 6- to 9-year-old Italian children simultaneously in Italian (their L1, a very shallow/superficial orthography) and English (their additional language, AL, a deep/opaque orthography). There is a lively debate among researchers as to whether acquiring word reading and spelling skills in a native language (L1) and in an additional orthography (L2 or a foreign language) requires the development of same or different (i.e., language-specific) language-learning abilities. The findings of our study suggest that bilingual spelling acquisition rely on general language-learning skills that do not vary across alphabetic orthographies and that, consequently, the same instructional spelling strategies can be effective for learning to spell in L1 and in the AL, independently of the differences between these orthographies. However, some language-specific effects of spelling instruction also emerged from this study, and will be discussed in light of the characteristics of the instructional context in which the study was run.

R. Malatesha Joshi, PhD.

Spelling Development the Science Behind It

Spelling is a window on what a person knows about words and learning about words and about the language will improve spelling as well as reading and writing skills. In this presentation, we demonstrate the regularity of English spelling based upon the phonological, orthographic, and morphological principles and how spelling can be taught in an explicit, systematic, and direct manner. I will also review some of our research on spelling acquisition in different dialects and languages.

Marcia K. Henry, PhD.

Morphemes Matter

English consists of over one million individual words. While knowing phonics alone helps decode and spell words of one syllable, most words are polysyllabic and contain syllables and/or morphemes (the meaning units in words). Morphemes differ depending on word origin and provide strategies for many facets of reading and writing, including spelling, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and composition. Anglo-Saxon bases and affixes, along with Latin roots and their affixes and Greek combining forms will be discussed. Instructional strategies and activities for individual and small group tutoring as well as classroom instruction will be presented.

Rebecca Treiman, PhD.

Learning to Write Words

Spelling is an important aspect of literacy development, but researchers and educators typically pay less attention to spelling than to reading. The goal of this presentation is to show that there is a science of spelling development and to present some of the main findings. I review studies looking at populations ranging from toddlers to adults, examining how different aspects of spelling skill develop. The focus is on English, but studies of other languages are considered as well. I also discuss implications for instruction, both for typically developing children and children who experience problems in learning to read and spell.

Lorraine Hammond, PhD.

How to Teach Vocabulary and Sentence Writing Explicitly

Bulbous, heinous, colossal…do you use these words in your writing? Students in remote schools in the Kimberley of Western Australia not only understand and spell these ‘Tier Two’ words (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2013) but regularly use them in their daily writing. Writing is an essential skill for academic success and a crucial part of communication and critical thinking yet is considered one of the most difficult academic areas to teach. This is because it involves the integration of many different precursor skills and knowledge that many pre and in-service teachers report feeling ill-prepared to teach (Clary & Mueller, 2021; Graham, 2021). To improve the written expression of mostly Aboriginal students, who often speak English as a second language, teachers include short and explicit writing lessons that integrate vocabulary, spelling and sentence level writing. This short daily instruction teaches the subskills to enable students to produce longer texts. The instructional approach, which is based on the principles of explicit instruction lesson design and delivery, has yielded significant improvements in students’ writing and far greater engagement and enjoyment of writing. The term ‘explicit instruction’ refers to a systematic method of teaching with emphasis on proceeding in small steps, checking for students understanding and achieving active and successful participation by all students (Rosenshine, 1987, 2012). This session will outline the daily instructional sequence developed for primary/elementary students and show video examples of how vocabulary and sentence structure is taught.

Narmene Hamsho, PhD.

Crumpled Paper: The Contribution of Behavior to Writing Performance

Charles MacArthur, PhD.

Knowledge, Strategies, and Meta Cognition in Learning to Write

Research on strategy instruction in writing has demonstrated strong positive effects on writing quality from elementary school to secondary education to college, especially for students with disabilities and other struggling writers. In this presentation, I focus on what is needed for effective instruction in writing strategies beyond foundational skills and content knowledge. First, writers need discourse knowledge, that is, knowledge about genres and what forms of writing are useful for varied purposes, audiences, and topics. Writing is a means of social communication, and genres are forms developed to meet communicative purposes. Second, writers need cognitive strategies for planning, drafting, and evaluating/revising, as well as strategies for critical reading and integration of sources. Finally, students need metacognitive strategies to manage the complexities of writing, to self-evaluate their work, and to reflect on learning and set new goals for learning. The presentation will include practical examples from my work and that of others.

Gert Rijlaarsdam, PhD.

Creative Writing: from Process Analyses to Testing Course

In this presentation we will share the results of two studies on creative writing, nowadays a neglected element in the language curriculum in The Netherlands. The first study is on the differences and commonalties of writing creative and argumentative texts. Data were the writing processes of about 20 students (age 15-17) who wrote four argumentative and four creative text. We related the process features to text quality and students' creativity scores. Dominant findings were the indirect and direct effects of affective variables and fluency of writing. In the second study we tested the effect of a creative writing course (six weeks) on writing processes and text quality of creative and argumentative tasks. We found positive effects on creative texts, and transfer effects on argumentative writing.  Ten Peze, A., Janssen, T., Rijlaarsdam, G., & van Weijen, D. (2021). Writing creative and argumentative texts: What's the difference? Exploring how task type affects students' writing behaviour and performance. L1-Educational Studie in Language and Literature, 21, 1-38. https://doi.org/10.17239/L1ESLL-2021.21.01.11)  (Ten Peze, A., Janssen, T., Rijlaarsdam, G., & van Weijen, D. (submitted). Effects of a course in creative writing on text quality and writing processes.)

Thierry Olive, PhD.

Regulating the Writing Processes: From Working Memory Demands to Writing Strategies

Writing involves multiple writing processes than can be grouped in four cognitive components: planning processes that operate at a semantic level, formulation processes that produce language, execution/motor processes for tracing the text, and finally evaluation processes for assessing adequation of the text being produced with the writer’s communicative goals. How do writers regulate the numerous writing processes when they compose a text? Which are the constraints that affect these writing strategies?  Before describing these strategies, it is important to underline that writing take places in a cognitive system that has limited processing capacity, which constrains how writers engage the different writing processes (Kellogg, 1996; Kellogg et al., 2013, McCutchen, 1996; Olive, 2021, in press). In that frame, one major constraint for writing processes is the limited capacity of working memory. Therefore, I will begin by presenting the relationship between writing processes and working memory. Writing research has indeed confirmed that most of the writing processes function under the supervision of working memory: all executive and non-executive (verbal and visual spatial) components of working memory are involved when composing a text. Research on executive control suggests that the three core executive functions are also involved (Olive, 2021).  In the second part of my talk, I will describe the dynamics of the writing strategies, with a particular focus on coordination of low- and high-level processes. Writing strategies can be understood at least from a chronological perspective that focus on how writing processes follow each other (e.g., Breetvelt et al., 1994, 1996; Kellogg, 1987, 1988; Levy & Ransdell, 1994; Olive et al., 2001). They can also be described in coordination terms, namely by describing how they are simultaneously (or concurrently) used. Efficient concurrent coordination of low- and high-level writing processes is indeed central to producing good-quality texts (Berninger, 1999). I will therefore describe how high-level processes (planning, formulating and evaluation processes) are coordinated with execution processes (Olive, 2014). I will particularly show that changing demands of execution processes change such coordination: coordination of the writing processes is flexible and can shift from sequential to concurrent activation to adapt to cognitive constraints.

Julie Dockrell, PhD.

Capturing the Challenges in Assessing Writing

The aim of this session is to present a critical overview of the tools which can capture writing across the elementary school years and consider recommendations for research and practice considered. The assessment of children’s writing raises technical and practical challenges. Various approaches to evaluation of written composition have been used by researchers and teachers, including holistic scoring, analytic scoring, quantitative scoring, and curriculum-based measurement measures. These various evaluation approaches differ in purposes and in the underlying assumptions about the dimensionality of written composition.  Indeed, the number of dimensions which are thought to underpin written text production have also been a matter of debate. Earlier studies of composition identified two dimensions in written texts: quality and productivity. Productivity was typically evaluated by the numbers of words or different words produced. Arguably assessments of pupil’s written text should capture these dimensions without placing undue demands on staff training and time, but much depends on the child’s age and their competency in producing written text. Young children or struggling writers, for example, often produce too little text to reliably capture different dimensions.

Sonia Cabell, PhD.

Language and Literacy Growth in PK Predicts Beginning Writing

The roots of beginning writing ability can be traced to the preschool years, as children start to develop essential oral language and early literacy skills that lay a foundation for later literacy success. Indeed, studies indicate that language and literacy skills acquired during preschool are significantly predictive of writing ability a few years later. Yet, prediction from a single point in time represents only a snapshot of early performance and cannot fully describe dynamic aspects of early development that might affect children’s later writing achievement. Examination of growth trajectories may more accurately capture the nature of children’s skill development over time. Specifically, the rate of growth of early skills (i.e., amount of change in a given period of time) may have a meaningful influence on children’s later writing ability, particularly growth during the early childhood period when skills are generally more malleable. This study examined the extent to which children’s development and growth in oral language and literacy skills during the early childhood period predicted writing ability in the primary grades. Participants were 313 children who were tested on a battery of oral language and literacy measures at four time points, beginning during preschool (M age = 4.2 years) and spaced approximately 6 months apart over 1.5 years. Results demonstrated that both children’s early skill levels and rates of growth in oral language and decoding skills predicted later spelling and written composition when children were in kindergarten or first grade. Findings suggest that in addition to having a stronger starting point (i.e., higher initial skill level), the more quickly children can further develop these skills, the more they are able to use them to write productively.

Janet Sturm, PhD.

Developmental Writing Scale: Inform Instruction and Measure Outcomes for Students With Complex Learning Needs

There is growing appreciation of the need for quality literacy instruction for students with complex learning needs (CLN). At last educators are seeking academic measures to drive and align instruction with standards and measure progress. Across the age-span students with significant disabilities often present as beginning writers and demonstrate a mismatch between performance and grade level standards. Educators need solid knowledge of the connections among standards, curricula, and student abilities, and needs. The purpose of this presentation will be to show the uses and power of the Developmental Writing Scale (DWS) in highlighting gains and driving instruction for individuals with significant disabilities. Participants will see how this data enables changes in mindset that written language is an important form of communication for ALL individuals.

Alicia M. Meng, PhD.

Data-Based Individualization and Student Early Writing Achievement

Student outcome data for Years 1 and 2 of The Early Writing Project (EWP), a three-year IES funded project, will be presented. Data will include pre- and post- test outcome measures. These outcome measures will show how the implementation of data-based individualization (DBI) improved student outcomes on early writing skills. The data will be analyzed to better understand how the implementation of DBI-EWP affects certain subgroups of students’ early writing skills.

Nickola Nelson, PhD.

Writing Lab Approach to Language Instruction and Intervention

School-age children and adolescents need to develop their language and communication skills, both to support academic learning and prepare them for the rest of their lives. Students with language and literacy disorders, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and oral-written developmental language disorders need intensified instruction, but also to experience the joy of communicating through writing and influencing their peers. This presentation provides an overview of essential components of a K-12 classroom and curriculum-based approach in which speech-language pathologists and other language/literacy specialists collaborate with teachers to help all students improve their language, reading, and communication skills through writing. Components include using language level analysis to assess written language samples, providing writing process opportunities integrated with digital literacy instruction, targeting individualized needs with group and personal minilessons and scaffolding, and building a sense of audience and community effort. Case examples will illustrate turning points and broader outcomes at several grade levels.

Catherine McBride, PhD.

The Benefits of Copying

School-age children and adolescents need to develop their language and communication skills, both to support academic learning and prepare them for the rest of their lives. Students with language and literacy disorders, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and oral-written developmental language disorders need intensified instruction, but also to experience the joy of communicating through writing and influencing their peers. This presentation provides an overview of essential components of a K-12 classroom and curriculum-based approach in which speech-language pathologists and other language/literacy specialists collaborate with teachers to help all students improve their language, reading, and communication skills through writing. Components include using language level analysis to assess written language samples, providing writing process opportunities integrated with digital literacy instruction, targeting individualized needs with group and personal minilessons and scaffolding, and building a sense of audience and community effort. Case examples will illustrate turning points and broader outcomes at several grade levels.

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Young-Suk Grace Kim, PhD.

Effective, Evidence-based Writing Instruction for Elementary Grade Students

We present a theory- and evidence-based multi-component writing intervention, called Self-Regulated Strategy Development Plus (SRSD+). SRSD+ integrates evidence-based writing instruction, SRSD (Graham, Harris, & McKeown, 2013; Harris & Graham, 2017), with explicit and structured instruction on oral language and transcription skills (thus called plus). SRSD instruction includes explicit, interactive learning of strategies for genre-general and genre-specific writing (including discourse knowledge and academic language), strategies for self-regulating strategy use and writing behavior throughout the writing process (e.g., goal setting, self-assessment, self-instructions, and self-reinforcement), and development of engagement and self-efficacy for writing. SRSD+ expands SRSD in novel and important ways by incorporating key component skills of writing, transcription (spelling and handwriting) and oral language skills (e.g., vocabulary and sentence proficiency). We present SRSD+ instruction, and evidence from a small-scale randomized controlled trial with students in Grades 1 and 2.

Elaine R. Silliman, PhD. & Ruth H. Bahr, PhD.

Leveraging Strengths in the Academic Writing of Students With LD, Part 1

Writing consists of multiple language levels (MLL) that require integrated strengths in translation (coherence) and transcription (cohesion) for meaningful text production (Crossley & McNamara, 2016). However, ability at one level, whether word, sentence, or text, does not predict ability at any other language level because of individual variability (Berninger, 2009). As such, students will present with diverse strengths and difficulties with translation and transcription depending on a variety of ever-present wildcards, such as task, topic, motivation, audience, working memory, etc. (Wilson et al., 2017). A reality is that the writing task also may obstruct a student’s access to their repertoire of discourse and linguistic choices, differentially impacting the generation of a more coherent and cohesive text. The result is that, often, the focus of writing problems becomes the gaps within and between levels of language (Tolchinsky, 2016) rather than discovering strengths, which may not be readily visible in a student’s academic writing. The presentation’s intent is to reframe the gap perspective by focusing on strengths that middle school students with persisting learning disabilities (LD) employ in orchestrating language at the subword (spelling), word (vocabulary complexity), syntactic, and text levels for the purpose of composing an academic text.  Using case illustrations throughout, presenters will describe the MLL as critical components of coherence (the global level) and cohesion (the local level), as these aspects continuously intermingle in producing written texts. A total of 19 students (mean age, 12.8 years) with LD, who met rigorous research criteria and had persistent writing problems despite ongoing intervention, participated. They each produced a written text in response to a prompt about how astronauts wrote while exploring outer space. All texts were analyzed at the global (textual) and local (syntactic, word, and subword) levels. Global analysis focused on clause package complexity (Katzenberger, 2004). The local level analyses included syntactic dependencies (Davidi & Berman, 2014), elaborated noun phrases, less frequent words, and spelling accuracy (Bahr et al., 2020). A combination of quantitative and qualitative measures (Dockrell et al., 2018) was applied to yield MLL patterns for the individual students. Results indicated four patterns: High Global-High Local; High Global-Low Local; Low Global-High Local; and Low Global-Low Local. Spelling appeared to be independent relative to its association with other MLLs. Discussion of these patterns will reveal student-specific strengths that can be developed in classroom instruction for incorporating multiple purposes and multiple audiences into diverse academic writing activities (Dockrell et al., 2018). The fundamental instructional goal is to reframe the focus from gaps to leveraging students’ MLL strengths.

Maria Brea Spahn, PhD. & Robin Danzak, PhD.

Leveraging Strengths in the Academic Writing of Students With LD, Part 2

Writing consists of multiple language levels (MLL) that require integrated strengths in translation (coherence) and transcription (cohesion) for meaningful text production (Crossley & McNamara, 2016). However, ability at one level, whether word, sentence, or text, does not predict ability at any other language level because of individual variability (Berninger, 2009). As such, students will present with diverse strengths and difficulties with translation and transcription depending on a variety of ever-present wildcards, such as task, topic, motivation, audience, working memory, etc. (Wilson et al., 2017). A reality is that the writing task also may obstruct a student’s access to their repertoire of discourse and linguistic choices, differentially impacting the generation of a more coherent and cohesive text. The result is that, often, the focus of writing problems becomes the gaps within and between levels of language (Tolchinsky, 2016) rather than discovering strengths, which may not be readily visible in a student’s academic writing. The presentation’s intent is to reframe the gap perspective by focusing on strengths that middle school students with persisting learning disabilities (LD) employ in orchestrating language at the subword (spelling), word (vocabulary complexity), syntactic, and text levels for the purpose of composing an academic text.  Using case illustrations throughout, presenters will describe the MLL as critical components of coherence (the global level) and cohesion (the local level), as these aspects continuously intermingle in producing written texts. A total of 19 students (mean age, 12.8 years) with LD, who met rigorous research criteria and had persistent writing problems despite ongoing intervention, participated. They each produced a written text in response to a prompt about how astronauts wrote while exploring outer space. All texts were analyzed at the global (textual) and local (syntactic, word, and subword) levels. Global analysis focused on clause package complexity (Katzenberger, 2004). The local level analyses included syntactic dependencies (Davidi & Berman, 2014), elaborated noun phrases, less frequent words, and spelling accuracy (Bahr et al., 2020). A combination of quantitative and qualitative measures (Dockrell et al., 2018) was applied to yield MLL patterns for the individual students. Results indicated four patterns: High Global-High Local; High Global-Low Local; Low Global-High Local; and Low Global-Low Local. Spelling appeared to be independent relative to its association with other MLLs. Discussion of these patterns will reveal student-specific strengths that can be developed in classroom instruction for incorporating multiple purposes and multiple audiences into diverse academic writing activities (Dockrell et al., 2018). The fundamental instructional goal is to reframe the focus from gaps to leveraging students’ MLL strengths.

Anna Barnett, PhD.

Handwriting and Typing in Students With Handwriting Difficulties

Difficulties in producing legible handwriting at sufficient speed can hamper progress and lead to under achievement. In UK schools, when difficulties are significant, students may be granted accommodations in normal class work and written examinations, such as allowing typing and use of a word processor. However, little is known about how teachers assess and support handwriting and typing in secondary school. Furthermore, there is a lack of research to support decision-making in relation to whether to, how to and/or when to recommend typing as an accommodation. We have surveyed school teachers and school Occupational Therapists to gain their views on current policy and practice in this area, to help inform future decision-making. We also asked students themselves about their experiences of handwriting and typing in school. Findings from our surveys will be reported to indicate the current status of handwriting and typing in secondary schools in England. The frequency and range of responses on aspects of school policy and practice will help to identify future training and support needs for students and teachers. Recommendations for improving aspects of the teaching and assessment for handwriting and typing will be suggested, with a focus on how best to make decisions about the implementation of writing accommodations for those with writing difficulties.

Luuk Van Waes, PhD.

Observing Writing Processes and Typing Transcription Skills Using Keystroke Logging

Context: As typing has replaced handwriting as the preferred method of text production beyond the early grades, keystroke logging has become one of the major observation tools used in writing process research. It allows for fine-grained data collection without intruding into the writers' activities or influencing the writing dynamics.  Aim: In this presentation, I briefly describe the basics of keystroke logging, and introduce Inputlog to you (see: https://www.inputlog.net for more information). More specifically, I will illustrate some components of this keystroke logging program and show how you can use them in your research and also in your classroom.  Topics: 1. How do you monitor different aspects of typing skills? Inputlog enables you to observe digital writing processes by capturing all writing activities on a computer (keyboard and mouse). It also contains a so-called copy task. This module consists of a carefully designed collection of short copy typing tasks shedding a light on different perspectives of students' typing and transcription skills. For instance, it provides information on the number of characters typed per minute in lexical and non-lexical tasks. The copy task is currently available in twelve languages.  2. How do you provide your students with process feedback in the classroom? Providing feedback on students' writing process is very important. However, this is often hard to accomplish. Inputlog allows you to generate a user-friendly process report that provides different perspectives on students' writing processes, e.g., their pausing behavior, fluency, or use of external sources. We briefly describe the program's report function.

Michael Matta, PhD.

WriteAlizer: A Free Automated Tool for Evaluating Writing in School

The writeAlizer R package (Mercer, 2020) has been developed to feasibly score timed writing samples composed by elementary students. It is intended to provide educators with valid and accurate scores for decisions about student risk status, monitor progress, and receive feedback on the effectiveness of classroom instruction. The presentation will review the existing literature on writeAlizer and include practical demonstrations on how to generate automated scores using free online resources.

Scott Beers, PhD.

Spelling Errors and Writing Fluency for Students with Dyslexia

Students with dyslexia often experience difficulties with spelling, associated with decreased writing fluency, more spelling errors, and poorer texts overall when compared with typically developingpeers. Although it is clear that spelling difficulties affect writing fluency, less is known about the extent of these effects and why they occur. This presentation will share eye movement data of adolescent students with and without dyslexia collected while writing narrative texts, looking specifically at eye fixations upon spelling errors.

Michael Dunn, PhD.

Writing Interventions with Technology Tools

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (2017) results indicate that as many as 75% of students in public schools cannot write at a basic level. The statistics are even worse for students with disabilities and from diverse backgrounds. There are strategies that can help students improve their writing skills (e.g., Graham et al., 2012) such as mnemonic strategy instruction, step-by-step modeling by the teacher to help students apply strategies (e.g., self-regulated strategy development [SRSD]), as well as technology tools. These practices have been central components of Dr. Michael Dunn’s writing research as he works with elementary students and lower division (first/second-year university) STEM students who have a learning disability and/or experience challenges with writing. This session will review the challenges with writing that participants have expressed and the types of intervention components that Dr. Dunn has developed which has provided for students’ improvement.

Rui Alves, PhD.

Handwriting as a Lever of Literacy Development

Several strands of research are showing that handwriting can act as a lever of literacy development. Handwriting promotes many emergent literacy skills, including phonological awareness, vocabulary, concepts about print, and letter knowledge (Hall et al., 2015). Particularly relevant is the strong empirical evidence showing that handwriting as compared to typing enhances letter learning (James, 2017; Longcamp et al., 2005; Seyll, 2020; Wiley & Rapp, 2021) and likely favors early reading attainments. While early on handwriting is quite attentionally demanding and effortful, it is widely noticed that with proper practice handwriting becomes automatic. This fact offers a model for the efficient functioning of the mind. Research onto the so called “bursts of written language” (Alves & Limpo, 2015; Hayes & Chenoweth, 2001) showed their reliance on handwriting automaticity and has established burst length as a prime index of the automaticity with which written language is produced. Handwriting does not only promote easiness of written language production, but it also improves text quality (Berninger et al., 1992, 1994, 1996). Furthermore, success in handwriting can have strong motivational consequences (Alves & Limpo, 2015). It can thus act as a scaffolding to support the children facing the too many and hard challenges of literate development. Lastly and most critical, handwriting has a distinctive and expressive function of each one’s individuality and thus can single out the uniqueness of each developmental path towards becoming literate. In the presentation, these paths will be framed within a thresholds literacy model (Alves, 2019) and handwriting portrayed has an invaluable tool that teachers can use to foster the literate capabilities of their students.

Bev Wolf, ED.

An Introduction to Handwriting: Using the Slingerland Adaptation for Classroom Use of the Orton-Gillingham Approach

Still vital after all these years… Beth Slingerland began her work with Anna Gillingham in 1937. She quickly realized that this structured tutorial approach could be used with classroom groups of children and provide the skills to prevent failure. The approach is now used in General Education classrooms, in screened classrooms, in special education and resource rooms and in second language classrooms.  The Slingerland Adaptation of the Orton Gillingham Approach provides tools for instruction for written language skills for all children within the classroom. The daily format for instruction provides guidance in reading, writing, and spelling. Steps For Structuring All Learning This explicit Instruction, Designed to bring relevant levels of language to conscious levels and free up cognitive resources in working memory Is not rote. It allows flexible response to student needs. Each lesson includes: Teaching: demonstration, and explanation Guided performance by the child while verbalizing each step Child performs, then the class performs, while teacher circulates or guides if help is needed firmly establishing understanding of concept. Independent work to be checked later Goal – child uses skill when needed  Discussion of the Handwriting Lesson Manuscript or cursive writing is taught depending upon age of the group and school policy. Each lesson includes teaching, practice, and review so that each letter can be recalled as a single unit. Materials, writing tools Paper position Posture Tripod Pencil Grip The handwriting format includes the following and leads to writing phrases, sentences, and paragraphs under teacher guidance. Teaching New Letters and practicing letters already taught with relative letter size relationship, alignment and connections Reviewing Letters

Radana Lencova, PhD.

Comenia Script: Handwriting Isn’t Just for Children

The author, Radana Lencová, will introduce us to the background of the creation of a new school handwriting model: Comenia Script®, which is currently taught in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This modern handwriting design is based on the principles of simplicity and readability. The author will present the characteristics and basic elements of this writing method, including the teaching materials that she created.  The presentation will include actual examples of handwriting by the children who participated in the experimental trials of Comenia Script® that were conducted by the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Education (2010-2012), along with other handwriting examples related to the topic of contemporary handwriting.

Barbara Getty, MAT | Inga Dubay, B.A. | Jonathan Dubay, DMA

From Clinic to Classroom: Lessons in Legibility

From 2000 to 2012, handwriting experts Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay presented 170 seminars to over 4,500 medical professionals, helping improve patient safety with better handwriting. Following their seminars, callbacks to MDs due to illegible prescriptions fell by 65%.  The documented success of Getty and Dubay’s handwriting seminars for patient safety could inform methodologies for elementary schools that adopt handwriting instruction as an integral part of their language arts program.

Izetta Thomas, M.ED

It’s Fine With Me! Fine Motor Activities at Home

The purpose of this session is to move from research into practice at home. Fine motor activities for early learners don't require fancy curriculum or tools. Attending this session will show you that all you need is a little time, a few items from around the house and some creativity!  The following objectives will be covered: Attendees will learn and begin to develop activities to increase hand & finger dexterity and strength in children ages 3-6 years old. Attendees will gain knowledge to support families with fine motor development through everyday home activities.

Asha Asher, FAOTA

Clinical Reasoning: A Critical Tool to Examine Data from a Traditional Handwriting Evaluation

Early Childhood Behavior Specialist Coordinator for Columbus City Schools (OH) The purpose of this session is to move from research into practice at home. Fine motor activities for early learners don't require fancy curriculum or tools. Attending this session will show you that all you need is a little time, a few items from around the house and some creativity!  The following objectives will be covered: Attendees will learn and begin to develop activities to increase hand & finger dexterity and strength in children ages 3-6 years old. Attendees will gain knowledge to support families with fine motor development through everyday home activities.

2022

The International Conference on the Science of Written Expression

Meet our Speakers

Young-Suk Grace Kim, PhD.

Effective, Evidence-based Writing Instruction for Elementary Grade Students

Karin H. James, PhD.

The Role of Handwriting in Shaping Early Neural Systems in Literacy

Virginia Wise Berninger, PhD.

Levels of Language: Application to Diagnosis, Instruction, and Functional Writing Systems

Stephen T. Peverly, PhD.

The Cognitive Correlates of Note-Taking and Test-taking

Barbara Arfé, PhD.

Bilingual Spelling Instruction for ELLs:Testing Language-specific Effects in Response to the Mind’s Ear and Eye Training in Italian and English

R. Malatesha Joshi, PhD.

Spelling Development the Science Behind It

Marcia K. Henry, PhD.

Morphemes Matter

Rebecca Treiman, PhD.

Learning to Write Words

Lorraine Hammond, PhD.

How to Teach Vocabulary and Sentence Writing Explicitly

Narmene Hamsho, PhD.

Crumpled Paper: The Contribution of Behavior to Writing Performance

Join our Community!

The International Conference on the
Science of Written Expression