Background. Traditionally writing instruction at the start of school has focused on developing students' ability to spell and handwrite. Teaching children explicit self-regulatory strategies for developing content and structure for their text has proved effective for students in later grades of primary (elementary) education.Aims. The present study aims to determine whether first-grade students benefit from learning higher-level self-regulating strategies for explicit planning of content and structure.Sample. Five mixed-ability Spanish first-grade classes were randomly assigned to either an experimental condition that received strategy-focused instruction (3 classes, N=62), or to a practice-matched control condition (2 classes, N=39).Method. Over 10, 50 minutes sessions, the intervention taught strategies for writing stories.Writing performance was assessed prior to intervention, immediately after intervention and 7 weeks post-intervention, in terms of both text features associated with written narratives and by holistic quality ratings.Results. Students who received the intervention subsequently produced texts with better structure, coherence and quality, and a larger number of features associated with narrative texts.These effects remained at follow-up and were not present in the control condition. Conclusion.Our findings indicate that teaching explicit strategies for planning text content and structure benefits young writers even when spelling and handwriting skills are not yet well established.

for young, struggling writers. In a baseline phase, 8 classes of Spanish children at the start of their first year of primary (elementary) education completed short, probe writing tasks twice-weekly over the first 120 days of their school career. During this period, all students received researcherdeveloped classroom instruction in spelling, handwriting, and text-planning. Students then completed a battery of tests including measures of spelling, handwriting and composition quality. On the basis of writing probe tasks and test scores we identified 12 struggling writers for whose written composition performance was below the 15th percentile, relative to the full sample, whose spelling performance was below 25th percentile, and whose handwriting was poor. For the next 72 days, these students received twice-weekly, parent-delivered training in transcription skills (handwriting and spelling) or transcription skills plus text planning. Researcher-developed classroom instruction and regular probe tasks continued during this phase. All students, in both intervention conditions, showed improvement in handwriting quality relative to Phase 1. 10 students also showed improvement in composition quality, with 8 performing, post intervention, within normal range relative to peers. Our findings demonstrate the value of a Response-to-Intervention approach to identification and remediation for struggling writes in their first school year.

Early failure to learn writing skills might go unnoticed and unremedied unless teachers adopt specific strategies for identifying and supporting students who learn at a slower pace. We implemented a Response to Intervention (RTI) program for teaching narrative writing. Over 18 months from start of primary school, 161 Spanish children received instruction in strategies for planning text and training in handwriting and spelling, and completed very regular narrative writing tasks. Data from these tasks were analysed to identify students at risk of falling behind. These students then completed additional, parent-supervised training tasks. During this training the quality of these students’ texts improved more rapidly than those of their peers. The resulting decrease in difference relative to peers, as measured by both regular narrative tasks and by post and follow-up measures, was sustained after additional training ceased. Interviews and questionnaires found good parent and teacher buy-in, with some caveats. Findings therefore indicate the feasibility and potential value of a RTI approach to teaching writing in single-teacher, full-range, first-grade classes.

Diferentes revisiones empíricas y meta-análisis en el ámbito de la instrucción en escritura han señalado la instrucción en estrategias y el uso de programas informáticos como apoyo instruccional en las tareas de composición escrita como dos formas efectivas para favorecer la adquisición de una competencia escrita en el alumnado (ver Graham & Perin, 2007). En este estudio se presenta el desarrollo de un sistema de tutoría inteligente, denominado CSRI-OL ( C o g nitiv e S elf - R e g ula tio n I n s t r u c tio n O n - Lin e ), que precisamente aúna estas dos dimensiones instruccionales: la instrucción estratégica y autorregulada para la enseñanza de estrategias de planificación, redacción y revisión textual (ver Fidalgo & Torrance, 2018; Fidalgo, Torrance, Rijlaarsdam, van den Bergh, & Álvarez, 2015; Fidalgo, Torrance, & García, 2008; Torrance, Fidalgo, &  García, 2007) y las potencialidades del planteamiento de dicha instrucción en un entorno on-line a través de una aplicación informática (ver para una revisión MacArthur, 2016). El objetivo de este estudio es proporcionar una descripción de las principales características y componentes del Sistema de Tutoría Inteligente CSRI-OL, analizando críticamente tanto las principales dificultades que conlleva la adaptación de un complejo enfoque instruccional multi-componente como es la instrucción estratégica a un entorno virtual, como, las principales potencialidades que abre al campo científico y educativo el desarrollo de sistemas de tutoría inteligente como el que se presenta. Finalmente, se discuten las líneas futuras de investigación a seguir en torno al análisis componencial de la instrucción estratégica en torno a dos dimensiones: qué componentes se enseñan y cómo se enseñan. Nota: Proyecto financiado por el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (EDU2015-67484-P . MINECO/FEDER), concedido a la Dra. Fidalgo.

La evidencia científica sitúa el modelo de Respuesta a la Intervención como el enfoque clave para la prevención y diagnóstico de las Dificultades de Aprendizaje Específicas en Escritura. La formación del psicólogo educativo en torno a la instrucción en competencia escrita y la monitorización del progreso del alumnado resulta fundamental para desarrollar su labor de orientación al profesorado en la aplicación eficiente de dicho modelo. En este estudio se presenta una revisión internacional de las dos dimensiones clave del modelo: las medidas de evaluación de las habilidades escritoras sensibles al cambio y las prácticas instruccionales empíricamente validadas para la mejora de la competencia escrita. A partir de la revisión de 34 artículos, se analizan la idoneidad de las medidas y tareas de evaluación a utilizar y se discuten las prácticas instruccionales eficaces según el proceso cognitivo de la escritura en el que se focalizan: ortografía, caligrafía o procesos cognitivo de orden superior. Palabras clave: Prevención, Dificultades de aprendizaje, Escritura, Respuesta a la intervención, Evaluación de la escritura, Instrucción en escritura.Scientific evidence points to the Response to Intervention Model as a key approach to the identification and prevention of learning disabilities in writing. In order to guide teachers in the successful implementation of this model, educational psychologists need to receive training in writing instruction and how to monitor students' progress. In this study, we present an international literature review on the two key dimensions of the model: writing assessment measures that are sensitive to change and empirically validated instructional practices to improve writing competence. Based on the 33 papers reviewed, we analyze the suitability of assessment measures and tasks and discuss several instructional practices according to their focus in a specific writing cognitive process: spelling, handwriting, and high-level cognitive processes.