Instruction and Assessment for Struggling Writers

Gary A. Troia, PhD, CCC-SLP, is Associate Professor of Special Education at Michigan State University, where he is also a Principal Investigator with the Literacy Achievement Research Center. He was a faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle before assuming his current position at Michigan State. Prior to receiving his doctorate from the University of Maryland in 2000, he worked for 10 years in the public schools as a special educator and speech-language pathologist, and for 6 years as a university clinical supervisor. Dr. Troia is a consulting editor for several journals, including Exceptional Children, Journal of Learning Disabilities , and Learning Disability Quarterly , and is an associate editor of Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools . He has written over two dozen research papers and book chapters and has given numerous presentations about his work in the areas of phonological processing, writing assessment and instruction, and teacher professional development in literacy.

This is the first book to focus on writing instruction and assessment for students with learning challenges. It is a timely and valuable resource for teachers and researchers. I look forward to using this book as a text in my undergraduate courses and graduate seminars in literacy instruction for students with special needs.--Linda H. Mason, PhD, Department of Educational and School Psychology and Special Education, Pennsylvania State UniversityAn especially practical resource, the book combines accessible summaries of research evidence on a variety of topics in writing with how-to ideas that can be implemented right away by a motivated clinician or teacher. Without giving short shrift to research, the contributors devote ample attention to the instructional needs of struggling writers and those who work with them.--Kenn Apel, PhD, CCC-SLP, Department of Communication Disorders, Florida State University This unique book combines advice on writing instruction and assessment for students with varying learning profiles--those with learning disabilities and language impairments as well as multilingual learners. Chapters present new theories and conceptual frameworks, and recent research. This is an appropriate text for advanced education courses. College and university instructors will have a wide array of chapters to choose from for their teaching.--Susan De La Paz, PhD, Department of Special Education, University of Maryland - A valuable text....The greatest strength of this book is its research base. Extensive reviews of the research in the areas that are addressed are presented along with lengthy lists of references at the end of each chapter. --NASP Communiqué, 4/29/2010ƒƒ Provides a very welcome addition to what is a rather sparse landscape of quality publications on what has often been described as the 'most neglected of the three R's'....Brings together the collected wisdom of an admirable array of writers and researchers from the USA to address various aspects of writing instruction and assessment. Troia's own credentials make him uniquely qualified to edit this valuable reference. --REACH Journal of Special Needs Education in Ireland, 10/24/2010

• Introduction, Gary A. TroiaI. Theoretical Grounding: The Nature of Writing Problems in Struggling Writers 1. Multiple Processes That Matter in Writing Instruction and Assessment, Virginia W. Berninger, Noelia P. Garcia, and Robert D. Abbott 2. Self-Efficacy and Procrastination in the Writing of Students with Learning Disabilities, Robert M. Klassen and Christine WeltonII. Contemporary Classroom Writing Instruction and Struggling Writers 3. The Effects of Writing Workshop Instruction on the Performance and Motivation of Good and Poor Writers, Gary A. Troia, Shin-ju C. Lin, Brandon W. Monroe, and Steven Cohen 4. Connecting Reading and Writing Instruction for Struggling Learners, Timothy Shanahan 5. Informational Writing across the Curriculum, Carol Sue Englert, Cynthia M. Okolo, and Troy V. MariageIII. Teaching Composing to Struggling Writers 6. Teaching Composing to Students with Learning Disabilities: Scientifically Supported Recommendations, Steve Graham, Natalie G. Olinghouse, and Karen R. Harris 7. Written Composition Instruction and Intervention for Students with Language Impairment, Nickola W. Nelson, Froma P. Roth, and Adelia M. Van Meter 8. Teaching Written Expression to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners, Anne W. Graves and Robert Rueda 9. Using Technology to Teach Composing to Struggling Writers, Charles A. MacArthurIV. Teaching Spelling to Struggling Writers 10. Teaching Spelling to Students with Language and Learning Disabilities, Louisa C. Moats 11. Spelling and English Language Learning, Pauline B. Low and Linda S. SiegelV. Assessment of Writing by Struggling Writers 12. Classroom Portfolio Assessment for Writing, Maryl Gearhart 13. Assessment of Student Writing with Curriculum-Based Measurement, Betty J. Benson and Heather M. Campbell 14. Language-Based Assessment of Written Expression, Cheryl M. Scott