Can Students with Emotional and/or Behavioral Disabilities Improve on Planning and Writing in the Content Areas of Civics and Mathematics?

Abstract

Eight eighth-grade students identified as having emotional and/or behavioral disabilities participated in a multiple-baseline design study to assess the effects of teaching persuasive writing and applying writing in the civics content area. After baseline data were collected, two intervention phases were implemented. An instructional phase on teaching self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) with the mnemonic ''POW-TREE'' was implemented, followed by postintervention testing, then a second intervention phase using civics content was implemented, followed by posttesting. Following a 4-week delay, maintenance and generalization probes were administered. Students were also assessed on their strategy knowledge, social validity, and time spent on planning and writing. Findings revealed that all students improved substantially on all essay measures, including essay length, essay quality, and number of essay parts, sentences, and paragraphs. Strategy data revealed that all students learned the strategy, enjoyed using it, and reported understanding the benefits of continued strategy use. Findings are discussed with respect to educational implications and future research.

Civics Education for Students With Learning Disabilities and Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

“…These approaches may prove useful in improving students’ civics knowledge and citizenship skills. One study used the SRSD model to improve the persuasive writing of students with EBD in the area of civics and mathematics (Hauth et al, 2013). Results were positive, but the primary focus was on the quantity of student writing rather than the quality of reasoning skills.…”

Improving Persuasive Science Writing for Secondary Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Educated in Residential Treatment Facilities

“…The SRSD model has been used in various school settings to target the writing skills of secondary students with EBD in civics and mathematics (Hauth, Mastropieri, Scruggs, & Regan, 2013), social studies (Ennis, 2016), and English (Ennis et al, 2015). However, a study focused on writing in science class for secondary students with EBD has yet to be conducted.…”

Academic and Behavioral Interventions for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD): A Systematic Review

“…All of the six studies indicate strong positive findings towards writing performances of students with EBD and their decreasing problem behaviors in the classroom. For instance, using topic sentence, reason, explanation, and ending (TREE) graphic organizers, picking an idea or opinion, organize and generate notes and ideas for each part of the TREE, and write and say more (POW+TREE), Hauth, Mastropieri, Scruggs, and Regan (2013) reported that students essays were much longer than pre intervention essays. These essays included more parts and the overall quality was much higher when compared to the baselines.…”