SRSD: Self- Regulated Strategy

Development

RLA 514Spring 2009

Why Use SRSD? Proven successful (research based) for students with ADHD and LD

SRSD has a strong impact on improving writing performance of upper elementary and middle school students

In a study done with younger students: story length grew, wrote more complete stories, increased planning time, quality improved (not as widely studied)

Data (National Assessment of Educational Progress): 3 out of 4: 4th, 8th, 12th grade students demonstrated partial mastery of necessary writing skills and knowledge and 1 in 100 demonstrated advanced writing skills

Research indicates that as students develop effective strategies for planning and revising text and learn to self –regulate their writing, they exhibit more sophisticated writing

Strategy instruction helps students enrich and upgrade their skills as writers by teaching them new or different ways to formulate and structure their writing

Strategy instruction provides the young writer with several different levels of support

Why Teach Strategies to Regulate the Writing Process?Why Teach Strategies to Regulate the Writing Process? They are general strategies that can be applied to a variety of academic

tasks and situations Self- regulation strategies, when combined with other strategies, enable

a student to develop and execute a plan to independently accomplish a desired task

Self-regulation strategies contribute to students’ overall cognitive development

Teaching students to use these skills can increase their level of motivation and engagement with writing

Self-regulation skills provide students with the tools they need to start the composing process

Strategies can be personalized and individualized to meet the needs of every student no matter what grade or level

Why is Strategy Instruction and Self- Regulation a Good Idea?

Teachers can help students increase their confidence and competence in the processes central to effective writing

Teachers provide students with ongoing help in developing more mature and sophisticated strategies for composing

Teachers help students increase their knowledge about writing and the writing process

Advantages1) Students become empowered as they develop strong tools for

writing2) Students personalize these tools and make them their own3) Students learn how to modify the tools to be used across tasks

and settings4) Assists students in developing knowledge about themselves5) Teaching peer collaboration strategies contributes to the

development of a social atmosphere in which students work together

6) Students can be taught strategies to help them with written assignments for any class

7) Students level of motivation and engagement in the writing process increases because students develop more positive attitudes towards writing and themselves

Stages of InstructionStages of InstructionSRSD approach requires the teacher to play an active, facilitative role in the development of writing abilities, through activities such as conferencing, modeling, prompting, and dialoguingThe level of structured guidance is tailored to each student and is gradually decreased as students master the writing processThe six stages provide a general format and you may return to any stage at any time and modify, reorder, or combine at your discretionThe goals of SRSD are:

1. Assist student in mastering the higher level cognitive processes involved in the planning, production, revising, and editing of written language

2. Help students further develop the capability to monitor and manage their own writing

3. Aid students in the development of positive attitudes about writing and themselves as writers

Stage 1: Develop and Activate Background Knowledge

Background knowledge and preskills (vocab, concepts, etc) needed for learning or using the composition or self-regulation strategies are developedBackground knowledge and preskill development activities depend upon the learner and the knowledge and skills to be developedKnowledge and preskills should be developed enough to move on to the next stage

Stage 2: Discuss ItStage 2: Discuss ItTeacher and student collaborate to determine what strategy or set of strategies will be targeted for development or the teacher can select a strategy for instructionThe significance and benefit of the strategies or set of strategies is discussed as well as the goals of the strategy instructionThis stage helps establish motivation as well as enables a student to make a commitment to strategy mastery and to participate as a collaboratorTeacher describes the composing strategy (such as recursive steps in prewriting or revision) explaining each step and any mnemonics involved in its use and also the advantages and benefits of the strategyHow and when to use the strategy is also discussed

Stage 3: Model ItTeacher or peer models the composing strategy and selected types of self-instructions (to be discussed later on) while writing an actual composititionModeling must be natural and enthusiastic and should be matched to a student’s verbal style and languageAfter the modeling is done a discussion should be held about what people say to themselves while they work and what self-instructions the modeler usedEach student should then create their own lists of self-instructionsModeling is such a powerful procedure because the model’s performance can be individualized to meet the needs of a particular student or group of students

Stage 4: Memorize ItStage 4: Memorize It• Students are required to memorize the steps in the composing

strategy and the meaning of any mnemonics used either to represent the strategy steps or some part of the steps

• Very important stage for students who experience learning or writing difficulties

• Once students memorize the strategy can be paraphrased as long as the meaning stays in tact

Stage 5: Support ItTeachers support students’ strategy useAdditional self- regulation procedures such as goal setting, self- monitoring, and self- reinforcement can be discussed, determined, and initiated (more later)Students use the strategy, self instructions, and other self- regulation procedures as they writeTeacher provides as much support and assistance as needed and may write collaboratively with some students Prompts, interaction, and guidance are faded at a pace appropriate to the individual

Stage 6: Independent Performance

Use of self- instructions in your head is emphasizedUse strategies independentlySelf- regulation strategies are continued but can be gradually faded at teacher discretionTeacher and student discuss and evaluate strategy effectiveness and performance

Notes:Stages do not necessarily correspond to individual lessonsTeachers and students should take as many class periods as necessary to complete any given lessonTeachers reported that most students take between 4 and 9 class periods to learn a strategy well enough to use it independently

Characteristics of Effective Strategy Instruction

CollaborationTeacher provides as needed support to students until they are

able to execute, monitor, and modify strategies on their own

IndividualizationStrategies and instruction should be tailored to a students’

capabilitiesStudents need to develop their own self- instructions in their own

wordsStudents need to progress through the stages of strategy

acquisition at their own paceIf a student masters the strategy quicker then their peers,

they can be tutors

Mastery- based InstructionStudents should not proceed from one stage to the next until

they are ready to do soTeachers may return to any stage at any time with the criteria for

progression set higher as the student recycles through the stages

Anticipatory InstructionGeneralization and maintenance of strategies should be planned

for and initiated from the very beginning of instructionThink ahead to avoid or be ready for difficulties as they arise

even if they’re not just the ones you anticipated

Booster sessions are an important form of “relapse prevention” and can consist of the following elements

1. Reviewing or renewing self- regulation procedures such as goal setting or self- monitoring

2. Reviewing the strategies mastered3. Collaborative practicing of strategies mastered4. Collaborative problem solving regarding and

problems the students have experienced with a strategy or adaptations of strategy across the curriculum

5. Discussing successful experiences with strategy6. Any other appropriate activity that is determined

by teacher or students

Enthusiastic Teachers Working Within a Support Network

Enthusiastic, responsive teaching is an integral part of strategy instruction

If many teachers within a school or district implement strategy instruction, the impact on students will be greater

Developmental EnhancementIn order to teach a strategy well, a teacher needs to help

students see the significance of the strategy as well as its strengths and weaknesses

Brainstorming: A Planning Strategy For Generating Writing

MaterialDesigned to help students generate ideas and content to write aboutHave students “brainstorm” ideas in advance of writing*

Listing possible words or ideas to use in a paper provides students with a means for carrying out a self- directed memory search

Make sure the words help to improve the quality of the words they write

It has been well documented that the type and variety of vocab that a student uses in their writing is a powerful indicator of teachers’ evaluations of writing qualityMaking sense and developing a good storyline is emphasized throughoutStudents first learn strategy when “brainstorming” action verbs to use in their story. After they can do this successfully they use it to create adverbs and then adjectives5 steps of the strategy

1. Think of a good story idea2. Write down good words for my story3. Write story more good words?4. using good words and make sure it makes sense5. Read back over story and ask myself- did I write a good

story?6. Fix my story- can I use more good words?

What the Strategy Looks LikeStage 1: Develop Background Knowledge

Charts that provide a definition and examples can be used to introduce students to the types of words they will “brainstorm”

Example Chart- it’s okay to call a verb, adjective, or adverb a simpler name if it helps your students

Stage 2: Discuss ItStudents’ performance on previous stories is examined and depicted on a graph the students keeps in their writing folder

Discuss that their goal is write better stories, why it is important and how using good words improves a story

Discuss the strategy as well as the advantages of the strategy and when and how to use it

Teacher shares how they brainstorm using self- verbalizations (i.e. take my time or let my mind be free)

Students can then share their own ways and then write some down and then practice anytime they are useful

Stage 3: Model ItOnce the teacher models the strategy, students identify things

the teacher said to get started, to write the story, and evaluate the story. Then they write down the things they would like to use to help them write (should be written in their own words)

Stage 4: Memorize itMemorize the steps of the strategy

Stage 5: Support ItGoal- setting, self- assessment, and self- recording are introduced

Students set goals for how many action words they will include in their story about to be composed

After the story is completed, the number of action words is counted and compared to the goal established. Students then record their performance on the graph developed earlier. When goals is met, students are encouraged to set new one(s).

Students continue self- regulation procedures

Stage 6: Independent PerformanceAt first students will need help in setting realistic goals for their papers

TREEMnemonic used for writing opinion essays

Strategy prompts the author to evaluate and reflect on the quality of supporting ideas before they are committed to paper

Note TOPIC sentence

Note REASONS

EXAMINE reasons- will my reader buy this?

Note ENDING

SPACEMnemonic used for story writing

Note SETTING

Note PURPOSE

Note ACTION

Note CONCLUSION

Note EMOTIONS

Basic Three- Step Strategy1) Think- who will read this? Why am I writing this?

2) Plan what to say

3) Write and say more

Step 1: Students consider the purpose for completing the paper and the audience. This helps the student set some general goals for what the paper will accomplish.

Step 2: The student uses a series of genre- specific prompts (TBD) or a structural frame (TREE or SPACE) to generate, organize, and evaluate possible of planning while writing

Step 3: A reminder to the student to use the plans already devised and to continue the process of planning while writing

After learning to use the 3 step strategy students’ papers were longer and they produced more convincing arguments. Students; confidence in their writing skills increased

PLANS: Planning Strategy Involving GoalSetting

PICK goals (one or more)LIST ways to meet goalsAND make NOTESSEQUENCE notesWrite and say moreTest goals

Goal Ideas:General purpose of the paper (write a paper that will be fun to readCompleteness of the paper (write a story that has all the basic partsLength (write a paper with 10 sentences or 5 paragraphs)Specific attributes (write a paper that has 5 reasons to support your opinion)Vocabulary (write a story containing 15 describing words)Sentence variety (write a paper in which ¼ of the sentences are either compound or complex)Mechanics (write a paper with no spelling errors)

• NOTE: Goals that are product based are easier because they can be individualized and it is possible to determine if the goal has been mastered

• Strategy can be used with a variety of writing assignments• Can use PLANS worksheet that has all the steps written out and

students can fill it out *• Can use a pre-made sheet for younger students to pick goals *

Report Writing Strategy1. Brainstorm what you know and what you want to learn2. Organize your information on a web3. Gather new information and revise your web4. Use the web as you write5. Keep planning as you write6. Check the web: did you write what you wanted to?

In the first step students should brainstorm words and phrases, not complete sentencesWhen students web, main ideas should be circled and details are listed next to the corresponding main idea. A question mark is placed next to any item a students wants to learn more about.* Webbing is an active process: students should add, delete, transform, and organize ideas continuouslyAs students gather info they should ask themselves:

What do I want to know?What is the main point of this section?Is this information on my web?

When students are ready to write, numbering the order in which topics are to be presented helps the web become an outline to guide the writing processOne of the hardest things about learning this strategy is that students have a difficult time transforming and organizing the gathered information into main ideas and details

*After learning the strategy, students’ papers were longer, better organized, and more informative

SCAN: A Revising StrategyStudents do very little revising and when they do it is usually just proofreading

1. Read the first draft of your essay2. Find the sentence that tells what you believe- is it clear?3. Add two more reasons why you believe it4. Scan each sentence:

• Does it make SENSE?• Is it CONNECTED to my belief?• Can I ADD more?• NOTE errors

5. Make my changes

What The Strategy Looks LikeWhat The Strategy Looks LikeStage 1: Develop Background Knowledge and Stage 2: Discuss It

Students learn the basic parts of an essay including how to define, identify, and generate each part

Stage 3: Model ItThe process for locating text problems needs to be made clear

Examples that could be used:“As I say this out loud it doesn’t sound right or something is

missing”“The rule for starting a sentence is to use a capital, but this

sentence doesn’t have one”Stage 5: Support It

Teacher needs to give feedback on the quality of the changes made as well as provide suggestive prompts when they are unable to locate a serious text problem or are having difficulty correcting one

After using this strategy, students made anywhere from 2 to 5 times as many revisions. 3 out of 5 of these revisions changed the text in some meaningful way

Peer Revising StrategyTeachers need to be accepting and encouraging of students’ writing effortsTeachers should try to develop a sense of community in their classrooms by promoting student sharing and by facilitating collaboration among studentsPeer response is effective for improving students’ revising skills because it makes the audience an integral part of the processStrategy has 2 parts:

1. ReviseListen to the writer and read alongTell what the paper is about and what you liked bestRead and make notes- Is everything clear? Can any

details be added?Discuss your suggestions with the author

2. ProofreadCheck your paper and correct errorsExchange papers and check for errors in sentences,

capitals, punctuation, spellingDiscuss corrections

Students are asked to make at least 3 suggestions for things the writer could say more about; the suggestions are written directly on the paperStudents are encouraged to make suggestions on how the recommendations can be fixed

Students use the following checklist to help edit the paper (for lower grades, checklist questions can be modified and added to for older students)

• Sentences: read each sentence. Is it complete?• Capitals: Are the first letters of each sentence

capitalized? Are proper nouns capitalized?• Punctuation: Is there punctuation at the end of the

sentence?• Spelling: Circle words you are not sure of. Check

spelling with your word list, spell checker, or dictionary.

When choosing partners students should be compatible and able to work cooperatively without too much off task behaviors. Students should also be reasonably similar in their writing skills.

What The Strategy Looks LikeWhat The Strategy Looks LikeStage 1: Develop Background Knowledge and Stage 2

Discuss ItRole of revision in the writing process needs to be discussedReasons why we revise and edit (make sure it makes sense)

Stage 3 Model It and Stage 5: Support ItHave two writers model the strategy for the whole class or

show students a video that models the strategyTeacher should emphasize that partners’ feedback should be

given in a positive mannerStudents need to practice both rolesStudents may need a lot of guidance at first with the editor

role

C-D-O Revising StrategyCreated to help beginning writers orchestrate the complex processes underlying revisingCOMPARE

• Read the first sentenceDIAGNOSE

• Pick a blue card– This doesn’t sound right– I am getting away from the main point– People may not understand this part– People may not buy this part– This is good

• Tell why you picked the blue cardOPERATE

• Pick a yellow card– Leave this part out– Say more– Say it in a different way– Leave it the same

• Make your change• Go to the next sentence

• Students should eventually be able to revise without the cards.

• Once students reach Independent Performance, they should be able to make revisions that affect the text as a whole

• Students using this strategy are better able to spot problems in their papers, make more revisions, and increase the number of revisions that make a positive change in the text.

Using Teacher Created Strategies

Teachers need to help students adapt and upscale the writing strategies they use so they are responsive to their growth as writers and the changing demands of the curriculum across subjects and gradesStudents need to develop a rich repertoire of strategies on which they can drawTeachers should use the strategies presented as a framework for deciding what planning, revising, and management strategies should be taught to studentsYou can also create your own strategies. Some suggestions are:

1. A strategy should consist of a small number of steps so it can easily be remembered or mastered. A rule of thumb: no more then 3 to 6 steps depending on age and capabilities of students

2. When creating each step, be brief and use the students’ language.

3. Develop a mnemonic for the steps. It can be a word, phrase, or sentence.

4. Design a strategy so that it can be modified to be easier or more challenging.

5. When possible, refine or extend strategies the student already uses.

6. Involve students in the development, piloting, and evaluation of strategies as much as possible.

Self-Speech/Self-Instructions Self- speech develops naturally among children Gradually, a student develops the ability to use

self-speech to plan, direct, and evaluate his or her own activities

Until the age of 6 or 7 most self- speech is out loud after this age, it should decrease and become internal because as their cognitive capabilities increase they realize its not okay to talk to yourself out loud in front of people

Self- instructions is self- speech used to regulate a student’s own behavior they can help:

• A student stop and think

• Help student deal with anxiety or frustration

• Help focus a student’s thinking

Six types of Self- instructions*

Don’t worry about making a statement “fit” a category. Focus more on whether students are profiting from the statements or not.

With younger students don’t worry about labeling them, instead make up your own names like “Things to get me started” or “Things to say while I work”.

Students should develop the types and levels of self- instructions that fit their needs and interests

Modeling of the self- instructions is critical in helping students use them effectively

Once they use them effectively, students can learn how to generalize them to other situations

Students can be taught to use one or more self- instructions alone or in combination

The more severe a writer’s problems are, the more complex instruction becomes

Self- instructions need to be matched to the student’s verbal style and language level

Goal- Setting Supplies a means for making a complex problem like

writing a term paper more manageable and less overwhelming

By defining what the paper will look like or accomplish, writers provide greater structure and focus on what they want to accomplish while at the same time limiting the possible solutions that can be used to complete the exercise.

Why is goal setting effective? Goals enhance human motivation Goals allow an individual to compare their present performance

against the standard embodied in the goal Goal setting provides an incentive to perform and promotes pride

in accomplishment

Properties of Goals Specificity- supply a specific and clear standard of achievement

(results in better performance) Difficulty- goals should be challenging Proximity- goals can be close at hand and completed quickly or

completed farther in the futureHow can teachers foster students’ goal acceptance and

commitment? Being supportive is vital Teachers should listen to students’ opinions about their

goals, encourage questions, and ask students what they plan to do to meet their goals

Goals are more likely to be accepted if they have a high expectation for achieving them and are valuable

SCHEME1. Skill Check

2. Choose Goals

3. Hatch Plans

4. Execute Plans

5. Monitor Plans

6. Edit

1. This step is to complete an inventory of how the student is presently doing to make informed decisions regarding selection of goals

2. Students can choose goal(s) from a list and then discuss with teacher whether it is a good goal(s)

3. The strategies or action plan the student will use to meet each goal are specified

Self- Monitoring/Self- Assessment/Self- RecordingSelf- Monitoring occurs when a student determines whether or not, or how often or for how long, a specific behavior has occurred and the self- records in some way.Self- Assessment involves determining whether or not, how often, or for how long an event or behavior has occurredAt first students and teacher should decide what will be self- assessed and the criteria for acceptable performanceSome writing products that may be self- assessed are:

FluencyNumber of good story partsAmount of time spent writingNumber of elaborations

You can also use a checklist with younger students* Self- recording involves having students record whether or not, how often, or for how long the selected behavior or event occursIndividual graphs or charts are frequently used for self- recording because the present a picture of the students’ performance over time and allow the student to see improvement

Self- monitoring can be taught in 15- 20 minStep 1- determine and define explicitly what the student will self- monitor (should be a behavior or even a student can easily understand)Step 2- information is gathered on the students’ current performance on the behavior or event to be self- assessedStep 3- teacher briefly explains rationale and purpose for self- monitoring and the benefitsStep 4- when the purpose of self- monitoring is clear, the teacher instructs the student in the procedure involved:

What will be self- assessedWhat criteria are desirableHow to count and record the targeted aspect of writingWhen self- monitoring is to occur

After outlining the steps, the teacher models them, verbalizing what is done at each step. Then the students talk the teacher through the steps and then the student models the steps independentlyRemember that self- monitoring is not a learning strategy and that the student must be able to perform the writing process for self- monitoring to workSelf- monitoring should not be combined with rewards because students have a tendency to cheat or inflate their scores

Self- ReinforcementOccurs when a student chooses and administers reinforcers to themselves whenever a criterion for performance has been reached (this often has greater effects then teacher reinforcement

Self reinforcement involves:• Determining the standards for earning a reward

• Selecting the reinforcer to be earned

• Evaluating performance

• Self- administering the reinforcer

Students can gradually assume responsibility for these components depending on their age and capabilities

Teachers need to monitor what students set for standards because some students will make them too easy while other will make them to difficult to reach

Planning for SuccessStrategy instruction must be in line with the student’s chronological age, cognitive capacity, and development

Strategies stated are for fourth grade and above, but some students below fourth grade may be ready to use them especially with modifications

When students believe their difficulties are due to factors beyond their control, they typically make less effort, use less sophisticated strategies then they are capable of, and perform below their capabilites. In order to stop this:

A strategy must be chosen that is powerful and appropriate to the student’s developmental level, needs, and interests

Writing tasks and goals must be appropriate to the student

The teacher needs to help the student gradually develop more positive, adaptive attributions and expectancies

EvaluatingA newly developed strategy needs to be more closely assessed than a strategy that repeatedly has been shown to be effective in the pastStudents should be included as partners in the evaluation process- increases sense of ownership Students should be encouraged to evaluate their own progress during instruction by asking:

– Am I ready to move to the next step?– Think back- what went right today?– Do I need to do anything different?– Do I need to ask the teacher or a friend for help?

Determining what should be assessed is dependent on the particular strategy being taughtTo assess improvement in the quality of a students’ writing, it is helpful to keep a writing file of work done before, during, and after strategy mastery

These types of portfolios are:Biography of work-portray stages and development of a pieceCollection of a variety of works (stories, essays, letters, poems, etc)Collection that facilitates and captures students’ reflections on their own work

By keeping portfolios, students learn to engage in reflective self-evaluation and to see their development as writers as a long term activity

Resources• Chalk, Jill C., Hagan-Burke, Shanna, & Burke, Mack D. (Winter

2005). The effects of self- regulated strategy development on the writing process for high school students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly. 28.1, 75.

• Harris, Karen R. & Graham, Steve. (1996). Making the Writing Process Work: Strategies for Composition and Self- Regulation. Massachusetts: Brookline Books.

• Helsel, Lisa & Greenberg, Daphne. (May 2007). Helping struggling writers succeed: a self-regulated strategy instruction program: the Self- Regulated Strategy Development model can help teachers incorporate self- regulatory training into their writing program. The Reading Teacher. 60.8, 752

• Reid, Robert & Lienemann, Torri Ortiz. (Fall 2006). Self- regulated strategy development for written expression with students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Exceptional Children. 73.1, 53.

• Saddler, Bruce. (Fall 2006). Increasing story writing ability through self- regulated strategy development: effects on young writer with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly. 29.4, 291.

Other Resources• Baker, Scott K, Ketterlin-Gellar, Leanne, Chard, David

J., Apichatabutra, Chanisa, & Doabler, Christian. Teaching writing to at-risk students: the quality of evidence for self-regulated strategy development. Exceptional Children. (Spring 2009). 75.3, 303

• Reid, Robert (2006). Strategy Instruction for Students with Disabilites. Guilford Press

• Wong, Bernice Y.L. (ed). 1992. Contemporary Intervention Research in Learning Disabilities: an International Perspective. Springer

• Mason Linda H., Harris, Karen R. &Graham, Steve. Every child has a story to tell: self- regulated strategy development for story writing. Education and Treatment of Children. (Nov 2002) 25.4, 496.