Friday, January 30, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.
Scarfe Library Block, Room 278
Title: Component Analysis of Self-Regulated Strategy Development: Effects of Self-Statements on Student Writing
Research Supervisor: Dr. Sterett Mercer (SCPS)
Supervisory Committee: Dr. Nancy Perry (HDLC/SPED)
External Examiner: Dr. Joanna Cannon (SPED)
ABSTRACT
The Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model of writing instruction, which has been successfully used to improve student writing, is a multi-component, instructional model that combines explicit writing task strategy instruction with implicit instruction on self-regulation. One component of self-regulation identified in the model is self-instruction, the use of self-statements by students to regulate their emotions and behavior during the writing process. Recent research is unclear regarding the effectiveness of explicit instruction on self-statement use. The current study used a between groups design across six instructional pairs of students in grades 5 to 7 to determine if self-instruction is a critical component of the SRSD model. Three pairs of students received explicit instruction on the use of self-statements (SRSD+ group), the other three pairs did not (SRSD- group). Between groups differences in change were examined using a mixed effects, repeated measures ANOVA with a random intercept at the pair level. Results indicated that all groups showed significant improvements across most measures over time; however, there were no statistically significant differences in change between the SRSD+ and SRSD- groups. When effect sizes were examined, students in the SRSD- group showed large improvements relative to the SRSD+ group in self-efficacy, and small improvements in writing duration, Correct Writing Sequences (CWS), Percent Correct Writing Sequences (PCWS) and scores from British Columbia Performance Standards in Written Expression (BCPS-W) when compared to the SRSD+ group.