Effects of Direct Instruction and Strategy Modeling on Upper-Primary Students’ Writing Development

Abstract

Strategy-focused instruction is one of the most effective approaches to improve writing skills. It aims to teach developing writers strategies that give them executive control over their writing processes. Programs under this kind of instruction tend to have multiple components that include direct instruction, modeling and scaffolded practice. This multi-component nature has two drawbacks: it makes implementation challenging due to the amount of time and training required to perform each stage, and it is difficult to determine the underlying mechanisms that contribute to its effectiveness. To unpack why strategy-focused instruction is effective, we explored the specific effects of two key components: direct teaching of writing strategies and modeling of strategy use. Six classes (133 students) of upper-primary education were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions, in which students received instruction aimed at developing effective strategies for planning and drafting, or control group with no strategy instruction: Direct Instruction (N = 46), Modeling (N = 45), and Control (N = 42). Writing performance was assessed before the intervention and immediately after the intervention with two tasks, one collaborative and the other one individual to explore whether differential effects resulted from students writing alone or in pairs. Writing performance was assessed through reader-based and text-based measures of text quality. Results at post-test showed similar improvement in both intervention conditions, relatively to controls, in all measures and in both the collaborative and the individual task. No statistically significant differences were observed between experimental conditions. These findings suggest that both components, direct teaching and modeling, are equally effective in improving writing skills in upper primary students, and these effects are present even after a short training.

Effects of teaching planning strategies to first‐grade writers

“…There is evidence from interventions with older children to support both of these positions (Fidalgo et al, 2015;López et al, 2017;Sawyer et al, 1992). Application of the full program implemented in the present study is relatively time-consuming and effortful, and omitting redundant components is desirable.…”

“…We implemented and evaluated a strategy-focused instructional program with mixedability classes of Spanish children in the second trimester of their 1st grade. The intervention was based in Cognitive Self-Regulation Instructiona strategy-focused approach to writing instruction similar to SRSD -that has been demonstrated to have positive and sustained effects in 6 th grade children (Fidalgo, Torrance, & García, 2008;Fidalgo, Torrance, Rijlaarsdam, van den Bergh, & Álvarez, 2015;López, Torrance, Rijlaarsdam, & Fidalgo, 2017;Torrance et al, 2007). Writing performance was evaluated in controlled tasks prior to intervention, immediately following intervention, and at seven weeks.…”

Going beyond children's single‐text comprehension: The role of fundamental and higher‐level skills in 4th graders’ multiple‐document comprehension

“…Differences in both procedures and products obtained while engaging in reading–writing tasks, such syntheses and argumentative texts, have been documented in students at different educational levels (Mateos & Solé, ; Spivey & King, ). Even young students, however, are required to understand and produce different text genres, including continuous and non‐continuous argumentative texts, presented both in print and digitally (MIUR, ; see also Barzilai et al ., ; López, Torrance, Rijlaarsdam, & Fidalgo, ). Therefore, it is likely that students at this educational level possess basic knowledge on how to write an argumentative short essay, if texts appropriate for complexity are presented.…”

Un sistema de tutoría inteligente para la mejora de la competencia escrita del alumnado de primaria

“…Writing instruction in this educational stage should, therefore, focus on self-regulation strategies which allow students to structure and organize their texts (Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994). Several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of strategy-focused writing instruction with upper-elementary students (Fidalgo, Torrance, & García, 2008;Fidalgo, Torrance, Rijlaarsdam, van den Bergh, & Álvarez, 2015;López, Torrance, Rijlaarsdam, & Fidalgo, 2017;Torrance, Fidalgo & García, 2007). These previous empirical evidences provide the background to the Intelligent Tutor System design.…”