Aptitude–Treatment Interactions Revisited: Effect of Metacognitive Intervention on Subtypes of Written Expression in Elementary School Students

The relationship between executive functions and writing in children: a systematic review

Writing is a complex task that is acquired in the early primary school years and continues to develop through adolescence and beyond. Studying the cognitive processes that support writing skills during the acquisition phase may be crucial to support this complex skill especially in less-skilled writers. Executive Functions (EF) could have an important role as they are high cognitive control processes that allow individuals to control and plan thoughts and actions in order to achieve a goal. Given that EF have a crucial development during childhood, when the basic writing skills are acquired, this systematic review aims to investigate the contribution of the main EF components to the writing process in children. Search string focused on three main concepts: executive functions, writing, and children. Twenty-six studies were included following the guidelines of the PRISMA Statement. From the analyzed studies, working memory, in comparison to inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and planning, emerged as the most studied and the most related to writing skills. Nevertheless, the results also support the involvement of all EF basic components in writing, with a role that could vary depending on the considered writing process.0.

Writing motivation and ability profiles and transition during a technology-based writing intervention

Students exhibit heterogeneity in writing motivation and ability. Profiles based on measures of motivation and ability might help to describe this heterogeneity and better understand the effects of interventions aimed at improving students' writing outcomes. We aimed to identify writing motivation and ability profiles in U.S. middle-school students participating in an automated writing evaluation (AWE) intervention using MI Write, and to identify transition paths between profiles as a result of the intervention. We identified profiles and transition paths of 2,487 students using latent profile and latent transition analysis. Four motivation and ability profiles emerged from a latent transition analysis with self-reported writing self-efficacy, attitudes toward writing, and a measure of writing writing: Low, Low/Mid, Mid/High, and High. Most students started the school year in the Low/Mid (38%) and Mid/High (30%) profiles. Only 11% of students started the school year in the High profile. Between 50 and 70% of students maintained the same profile in the Spring. Approximately 30% of students were likely to move one profile higher in the Spring. Fewer than 1% of students exhibited steeper transitions (e.g., from High to Low profile). Random assignment to treatment did not significantly influence transition paths. Likewise, gender, being a member of a priority population, or receiving special education services did not significantly influence transition paths. Results provide a promising profiling strategy focused on students' attitudes, motivations, and ability and show students' likeliness to belong to each profile based on their demographic characteristics. Finally, despite previous research indicating positive effects of AWE on writing motivation, results indicate that simply providing access to AWE in schools serving priority populations is insufficient to produce meaningful changes in students' writing motivation profiles or writing outcomes. Therefore, interventions targeting writing motivation, in conjunction with AWE, could improve results.

The Not-So-Simple View of Writing in Struggling Readers/Writers

Research suggests that executive function, motivation, transcription, and composition processes are implicated in the writing quality and productivity of children with and without learning difficulties. However, numerous components embedded within these constructs create both conceptual and empirical challenges to the study of written expression. These challenges are reflected in the writing research by way of poor delineation of constructs and insufficient distinction among domain general resources (e.g. working memory) versus processes related to the academic domain of writing (e.g. pre-planning), as well as among lower- (e.g. handwriting) and higher-order (e.g. editing) writing-specific processes. The current study utilizes the Not-so-Simple View of Writing (NSVW) as an organizing framework for examining the relations among multiple components, correlates, and attributes of writing in a sample of struggling readers/writers (n = 402) in grades 3-5. Data were collected on measures of (a) handwriting, spelling, planning, revision, and editing, derived from the Test of Oral Written Language (TOWL-4), (b) executive function derived from the NIH Examiner, and (c) motivation/self-efficacy derived from the Student Contextual Learning Scale. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test direct and indirect relations in the NSVW model. Results showed generally moderate correlations among observed/latent variables and found support for relations among writing-specific processes. Domain-general resources (executive function and motivation/self-efficacy) were related to spelling directly and indirectly to writing. Domain-specific processes (handwriting, spelling, planning, editing, and revision) were related to writing. The results have implications for explicit instruction of writing processes and for future research on empirical models.

Program for the Neuropsychological Stimulation of Cognition in Students: Impact, Effectiveness, and Transfer Effects on Student Cognitive Performance

Despite the crucial role played by the executive functions (EF) to cognitive, emotional, and social development of children before and during school years, little attention has been given to construct and analyze the efficacy of programs that intend to develop them. The program of neuropsychological stimulation of cognition in students: emphasis on EF, or PENcE (an acronym from its original name in Portuguese, Programa de Estimulação Neuropsicológica da Cognição em Escolares: ênfase nas Funções Executivas), is an early and preventive intervention program for school-aged children, and implemented at school three times a week for 5 months. The PENcE was structured in four modules, each focusing on a different executive component: organization and planning, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. The objectives of this study were to verify the effectiveness of the PENcE among elementary school children and to investigate whether there are transfer effects to other executive, cognitive, and academic abilities. The sample consisted of 113 children attending 3rd or 4th grade at two public elementary schools. Eight classes participated in the study, divided into two groups: an experimental group (EG) (four classes; n = 64), which received the intervention, and a control group (CG) (four classes; n = 49), which continued their regular school activities. The EF and academic skills of both participant groups were evaluated before and after the intervention. The EG showed significantly greater improvements in inhibitory control, working memory, and abstract planning relative to the CG, with a small to medium effect size. There were transfer effects to other cognitive and academic abilities. These findings suggest the PENcE may be a useful method of improving EF and could benefit both school-aged children and education professionals.

An Analysis of First-Grade Writing Profiles and Their Relationship to Compositional Quality

To help all students meet the writing expectations of the Common Core State Standards, researchers need a deeper understanding of the characteristics of struggling writers. The purpose of this study was to explore the writing profiles of students including those who have or are at risk for writing disabilities. First-grade students ( N = 391) were assessed at the end of the school year using three writing assessments (spelling, sentence writing fluency, writing achievement). The researchers used latent profile analysis to identify students as fitting into one of five profiles (At Risk, Low Fluency, Low Writing, Average, and Above Average). Students also wrote narrative and descriptive texts that were scored multiple ways. The researchers used confirmatory factor analysis to identify four common factors: quality/length, spelling, mechanics, and syntax. Students in the At Risk profile wrote narratives and descriptions that scored lower on all aspects of writing when compared to students in the Average and Above Average profiles. These findings provide further evidence of the distinct difference among writers as early as first grade, and they offer insight into the characteristics of at-risk writers. The implications of these findings for instruction and assessment and directions for future research are described.

Critical Issues in the Understanding of Young Elementary School Students at Risk for Problems in Written Expression: Introduction to the Special Series

In this introduction to the special series "Critical Issues in the Understanding of Young Elementary School Students at Risk for Problems in Written Expression," we consider some of the contextual factors that have changed since a similar special issue was published in the Journal of Learning Disabilities in 2002. We also explore how the five articles included in this special series address the following important themes: early writing development, identification of students with writing difficulties, and effective interventions for struggling writers. In conclusion, we envision future directions to advance the field.

How executive functions predict development in syntactic complexity of narrative writing in the upper elementary grades

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of transcription skills, oral language skills, and executive functions to growth in narrative writing between fourth and sixth grade. While text length and story content of narratives did not increase with age, syntactic complexity of narratives showed a clear developmental progression. Results from path analyses revealed that later syntactic complexity of narrative writing was, in addition to initial syntactic complexity, predicted by oral grammar, inhibition, and planning. These results are discussed in light of the changes that characterize writing development in the upper elementary grades. More specifically, this study emphasizes the relevance of syntactic complexity as a developmental marker as well as the importance of executive functions for later writing development.

A written language intervention for at-risk second grade students: a randomized controlled trial of the process assessment of the learner lesson plans in a tier 2 response-to-intervention (RtI) model

In a randomized controlled trial, 205 students were followed from grades 1 to 3 with a focus on changes in their writing trajectories following an evidence-based intervention during the spring of second grade. Students were identified as being at-risk (n=138), and then randomized into treatment (n=68) versus business-as-usual conditions (n=70). A typical group also was included (n=67). The writing intervention comprised Lesson Sets 4 and 7 from the Process Assessment of the Learner (PAL), and was conducted via small groups (three to six students) twice a week for 12 weeks in accordance with a response-to-intervention Tier 2 model. The primary outcome was the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II Written Expression Scale. Results indicated modest support for the PAL lesson plans, with an accelerated rate of growth in writing skills following treatment. There were no significant moderator effects, although there was evidence that the most globally impaired students demonstrated a more rapid rate of growth following treatment. These findings suggest the need for ongoing examination of evidence-based treatments in writing for young elementary students.

Schreibstrategieinstruktion bei Viertklässlern mit und ohne Problemverhalten: Effekte von Selbstüberwachung und operanter Verstärkung auf Schreibleistung und Arbeitsverhalten

Zusammenfassung: In einer Studie zur unterrichtsintegrierten Förderung des Aufsatzschreibens untersuchten wir bei 117 Viertklässlern die Effekte von Prozeduren der Selbstüberwachung des Strategieeinsatzes und der operanten Belohnung des Arbeitsverhaltens auf die Leistung beim Schreiben von Erzählungen. Sechs Klassen wurden per Zufall einer von drei Bedingungen zugewiesen: Strategieinstruktion plus Selbstüberwachung und operante Verstärkung; Strategieinstruktion plus Selbstüberwachung; und Strategieinstruktion allein. In fünf 90-minütigen Sitzungen wurde allen Schülern ein Set genre-spezifischer Strategien zum Schreiben guter Geschichten vermittelt. Sowohl Prozeduren der Selbstüberwachung als auch der Zusatz von operanten Belohnungen verstärkten die Wirkung des Strategietrainings. Schüler mit Problemverhalten profitierten am meisten von dem vollständigen Interventionsprogramm (Strategieinstruktion plus Selbstüberwachung und operante Verstärkung). Diese Leistungseffekte wurden durch das beobachtete Arbeitsverhalten während der Intervention statistisch vermittelt.

Increasing viscosity and inertia using a robotically controlled pen improves handwriting in children

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mechanical properties of the pen on quality of handwriting in children. A total of 22 school-aged children, aged 8 to 14 years, wrote in cursive using a pen attached to a robot. The robot was programmed to increase the effective weight (inertia) and viscosity of the pen. Speed, frequency, variability, and quality of the 2 handwriting samples were compared. Increased inertia and viscosity improved handwriting quality in 85% of children (P < or = .05). Handwriting quality did not correlate with changes in speed, suggesting that improvement was not due to reduced speed. Measures of movement variability remained unchanged, suggesting improvement was not due to mechanical smoothing of pen movement by the robot. Because improvement was not explained by reduced speed or mechanical smoothing, we conclude that children alter handwriting movements in response to pen mechanics. Altered movement could be caused by changes in sensory feedback.

Executive Functions after Age 5: Changes and Correlates

Research and theorizing on executive function (EF) in childhood has been disproportionately focused on preschool age children. This review paper outlines the importance of examining EF throughout childhood, and even across the lifespan. First, examining EF in older children can address the question of whether EF is a unitary construct. The relations among the EF components, particularly as they are recruited for complex tasks, appear to change over the course of development. Second, much of the development of EF, especially working memory, shifting, and planning, occurs after age 5. Third, important applications of EF research concern the role of school-age children's EF in various aspects of school performance, as well as social functioning and emotional control. Future research needs to examine a more complete developmental span, from early childhood through late adulthood, in order to address developmental issues adequately.

Writing problems in developmental dyslexia: under-recognized and under-treated

The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as unexpected problems of neurobiological origin in accuracy and rate of oral reading of single real words, single pseudowords, or text or of written spelling. However, prior research has focused more on the reading than the spelling problems of students with dyslexia. A test battery was administered to 122 children who met inclusion criteria for dyslexia and qualified their families for participation in a family genetics study that has been ongoing for over a decade. Their parents completed the same test battery. Although a past structural equation modeling study of typically developing children identified a significant path from handwriting to composition quality, the current structural equation modeling study identified a significant path from spelling to composition for children and their parents with dyslexia. Grapho-motor planning did not contribute uniquely to their composition, showing that writing is not just a motor skill. Students with dyslexia do have a problem in automatic letter writing and naming, which was related to impaired inhibition and verbal fluency, and may explain their spelling problems. Results are discussed in reference to the importance of providing explicit instruction in the phonological, orthographic, and morphological processes of spelling and in composition to students with dyslexia and not only offering accommodation for their writing problems.

Förderung selbstregulierten Schreibens bei Viertklässlern

In einer Stichprobe von 119 Viertklässlern untersuchten wir die Effekte eines unterrichtsintegrierten Trainings zur Förderung selbstregulierten Schreibens auf strategie- und leistungsbezogene Maße der Aufsatzqualität sowie subjektive Indikatoren der Schreibkompetenz. Dazu kontrastierten wir Schüler, mit denen Schreibstrategien in Verbindung mit selbstregulatorischen Prozeduren (Selbstregulatorisches Aufsatztraining) eingeübt wurden, mit Schülern, denen dieselben Strategien ohne selbstregulatorische Prozeduren vermittelt wurden (Aufsatztraining). In beiden Bedingungen erstreckte sich das Training über 5 Wochen (1 Doppelstunde pro Woche), in denen mit allen Schülern der Einsatz von Strategien zum Planen und Schreiben narrativer Texte (Bildergeschichten) in Kleingruppen eingeübt wurde. Zum Posttest und zum Follow-up (6 Wochen nach Abschluss des Trainings) übertrafen Schüler des Selbstregulatorischen Aufsatztrainings ihre Mitschüler, die das Aufsatztraining durchlaufen hatten, in (a) strategienahen Aufsatzvariablen (Inhalt, Wortschatz, Kohärenz), (b) einem holistischen Maß der Aufsatzqualität und (c) schreibbezogenen Maßen der Selbstwirksamkeit und der Fähigkeitsselbsteinschätzung. Bei einer untrainierten Transferaufgabe (Erlebniserzählung) zeigten die Schüler des Selbstregulatorischen Aufsatztrainings gleichfalls überlegene Leistungen.

Subtypes of Written Expression in Elementary School Children: A Linguistic-Based Model

The purpose of this study was to provide a reliable and valid classification scheme for written expression that captured the linguistic variability present in a typical elementary school sample. This empirically derived classification model was based on the following linguistic-based writing skills: (a) understandability of discourse, (b) grammar, (c) semantics, (d) spelling, and (e) reading comprehension. The sample included 257 fourth-grade (n = 142) and fifth-grade (n = 115) students (46.3% boys, 79.4% White, age range = 8;3-11;7 years; M = 10.10). All of the students were receiving their writing instruction in the regular education setting, with approximately one third receiving some type of educational assistance. The sample fell in the middle socioeconomic stratum. Cluster analytic techniques derived different possible solutions. Results of a series of internal validity studies provided strong evidence that the six-cluster solution was both stable and interpretable, with subtypes reflecting normal as well as writing disability variants. Further, the writing disability subtypes ranged from global impairment to more specific linguistic impediments. Based on their characteristics, the clusters were named (a) Average Writers (n = 102), (b) Low Semantics (n = 31), (c) Low Grammar (n = 18), (d) Expert Writers (n = 33), (e) Low Spelling-Reading (n = 13), and (f) Poor Text Quality (n = 60). Subtypes differed on the percentages of children in selected subtypes manifesting specific writing deficits as well as on selected aspects of measures of metacognition, self-efficacy, and self-regulation of the writing process. Results provide researchers with a foundation to further investigate the underlying neurolinguistic and neurocognitive processes that may strengthen or undermine students' ability to produce a quality written product and to design and implement intervention techniques to address the various subtype patterns inherent in a regular elementary school classroom.