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$1.8 Million Grant to Improve Writing Skills in Students with Behavior Disorders

By Katlyn McGraw (March 2007)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Assistant professor Linda Mason and associate professor Rick Kubina have been awarded a $1.8 million grant to study the writing skills of students with behavior disorders, through a partnership with local school teachers and the support of other researchers.

The grant, which was awarded by the United States Department of Education, will provide funding for the project from June 1, 2007 to May 31, 2011. During this time, teachers in the State College Area, Altoona Area, Eastern Lancaster, and Fairfax (Va.) County school districts will use the “Self-Regulated Strategy Development” instructional writing approach.

Students and teachers will work in groups with their research mentored reading or writing teacher for varying time periods. Instruction will occur during 20–25 thirty-minute sessions plus 18 ten-minute sessions. Pre- and post-evaluations will also be completed, bringing the total intervention time to approximately four months per group. Additionally, assessments will be conducted with students in the following months and year where possible to determine the students’ maintenance of learning the writing strategies.

According to the original grant proposal, the purpose of this project is to “investigate the effectiveness of writing strategy and fluency instruction on the written expression and writing fluency performance of 7th and 8th grade students with behavior disorders in general education and alternative settings who are struggling with writing.”

Additionally, the purpose is to improve student on-task behavior, as well as student attitudes and teacher perspectives about writing instruction. The project will also reduce absence from instruction (absences, tardiness, time-outs, disciplinary referrals) and negative teacher and student statements in regard to the learning process.

Expected results include advancement of knowledge in effective instruction for students with behavior disorders, improvements in student writing, improvement in teacher delivery of writing instruction, more positive student behavior, and improved teacher beliefs in teaching this special population of students.

Mason is the project's primary researcher. Co-researchers include Kubina as well as partners at several other universities.

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The Penn State College of Education serves approximately 2,800 undergraduate and 1,200 graduate students each year. The College prepares administrators, counselors, psychologists and researchers, as well as K-12 teachers in 21 different specialty areas. All of the College of Education graduate programs, that are ranked by the U.S. News & World Report, appear at least in the top 15, with six programs in the top ten.The College's Higher Education Administration program is ranked 1st and the Workforce Education and Development program is ranked 2nd. The College is known nationally for its education research and outreach, housing such centers as the Center for the Study of Higher Education, the Center for Science and the Schools, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, and the Regional Education Laboratory--Mid-Atlantic.

For more information on Penn State’s College of Education, contact EdRelations@psu.edu, call 814-863-1192, or visit www.ed.psu.edu.