Strategies for tutoring written expression in students with ADHD and learning difficulties

200 Pages·2017·11.13 MB·English

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Theses : Honours Theses
1999
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Josephine Bishop
Edith Cowan University
Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons
Part of the Special Education and Teaching Commons
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Bishop, J. (1999). Strategies for tutoring written expression in students with ADHD and learning
difficulties. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/482
This Thesis is posted at Research Online.
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/482
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STRATEGIES FOR TUTORING
WRITTEN EXPRESSION
IN STUDENTS WITH ADHD AND LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
by Josephine Bishop ( B. Ed. hons. one year conversion)
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the
Requirements for the Award of
Bachelor of Education with Honours (Special Needs Education).
At the Faculty of Community Services, Education, and Social Sciences,
Edith Cowan University, Churchlands Campus.
·t.··'
Date of submission: June 30, 1999.
(ii)
Abstract
ADHD and learning difficulties are associated with limitations in working
memory capacity which may disrupt performance of writing skills. This thesis
investigated teaching strategies to improve story-writing skills in five students with
ADHD and learning difficulties in writing. The strategies were based on the view that
these students would write more effectively if the task imposed fewer constraints on
working memory capacity (the ability to store information while performing a task).
Students were taught to write stories under time constraints using the PW2R
approach of five minutes to plan, five to draft and five to review. Students planned
orally during the first few weeks, then learned to plan by writing their ideas into a web
diagram. Students fina1ly learned to plan by using teacher-prescribed headings denoting
conventional story structure. The 12 story elements were written into a "wheel" shaped
diagram, forming the prompt for students' ideas on the set topic.
Specific gains were linked to the introduction of two spatial planning strategies.
Four students wrote longer stories containing more ideas when using the self-generated
web strategy, and four students wrote stories containing more story elements using the
wheel strategy which incorporated story elements. Two students maintained gains
regardless of strategy use, and two maintained gains only when using the written
planning strategy. It appears that individual differences should be taken into account in
instruction and task design, and that task modification can help to improve the quantity
and quality of writing.
Results showed that students improved written expression skills after less than
15 hours of instruction, distributed across a 20-week period. Overall progress may be
linked to teaching factors held constant, such as simplifying the writing task into
component sub-tasks, individualising instruction and providing graduated prompts,
facilitating accurate, guided and independent practice, and providing specific feedback.
(iii)
Declaration
I certify that this project does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief:
(i) incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a
degree or diploma in any institution of higher education.
(ii) contain any material previously published or written by another person except
where due reference is made in the text; or
(iii) contain any defamatory material.

Signature
/
Date ,/q / 99
I I
(iv)
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Amanda, for her patience and guidance during the course of this
research, Wendy and the LADS volunteers, for their advice and enthusiasm, and the
eight teachers and their students who completed the story topic survey. Finally, the
support and efforts of the participants, their parents and their teachers were very
much appreciated.
(v)
Table of Contents
(ii)
Abstract
(iii)
Declaration
(iv)
Acknowledgements
(vii)
List of Tables
(viii)
List of Figures
Chapter One. Introduction 1
Chapter Two. Literature Review 17
Chapter Three. Method 54
Chapter Four. Results 81
Chapter Five. Discussion 106
References 143
(vi)
Appendices
Appendix A. DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD ..... 156
Appendix B. Barkley's Model ofDisinhibition. ........... ·················· 158
Appendix C. Propositions ......................................... .. ................. 160
Appendix D. Sample Correspondence. ....................... . .. ................. 163
Appendix E. Sample Lesson Sheets. ........................... .. ................ .167
Appendix F. Individual Results. ................................ . .................. 171
Appendix G. Survey Results. ....................... , ........... . . .................. 177
Appendix H. Story Samples. ..................................... .. .................1 81
Appendix I. Overview of Strategy Trends. .................... 186
(vii)
List of Tables
Table 1 Correlations between working memory & written expression 29
Table 2 Individual TOWL subtest profiles
55
Table 3 Weekly schedule for Phases A to D 59
Table 4 Productivity in stories written by Sebastian 82
Table 5 Content ratings in stories written by Sebastian 83
Table 6 Productivity in stories written by Fred 86
Table 7 Content ratings in stories written by Fred 87
Table 8 Productivity in stories written by Philbert 90
Table 9 Content ratings in stories written by Philbert 91
Table 10 Productivity in stories written by Theodore 94
Table 11 Content ratings in stories written by Theodore 95
Table 12 Productivity in stories written by Otto 99
Table 13 Content ratings in stories written by Otto 100