Digital Stories in Writing Instruction for Middle School Students With Autism
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of computer-assisted writing instruction using digital stories for middle school students with autism. Four students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) participated in the study. A single-subject, multiple-baseline research design across students with ABC phases was used to evaluate students’ learning. During the baseline, students were assigned topics for free writing. During the intervention, digital pictures were presented to teach students to develop six compositions following the four stages of writing, including planning, drafting, editing and publishing. Each composition was evaluated by teachers to record total number of written words, correct words, and complete sentences as well as writing quality. Subsequently, the students were assigned to develop their own digital stories for two selected topics to evaluate their skill maintenance. Results showed that the students increased their number of written words and complete sentences when computer-assisted digital stories were applied within writing instruction. It indicates that using technology in writing instruction has potential to support students with autism.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Autism Society of America (2008). About autism. Retrieved from http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_home
Anzalone, M. E. & Williamson, G. G. (2000). Sensory processing and motor performance in autism spectrum disorders. In A. Wetherby & B. M. Prizant (Eds.) Autism spectrum disorders: A transactional development approach (pp. 143-166). Baltimore, MD: Brooks.
Asaro-Saddler, K. & Saddler, B. (2010). Planning instruction and self-regulation training: Effects on writers with autism spectrum disorders. Exceptional Children, 77(1), 107-124.
Baker, S., Gersten, R., & Granham, S. (2003). Teaching expressive writing to students with learning disabilities: Research-based applications and examples. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36, 109-123.
Campbell, J. M. (2004). Statistical comparison of four effect sizes for single-subject designs. Behavior Modification, 28, 234-246.
Center for Disease Control (2010). Autism spectrum disorders resources. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/media/subtopic/asdResources.htm
Gersten, R., & Baker, S. (2001). Teaching expressive writing to students with learning disabilities: A meta-analysis. Elementary School Journal, 101, 251-272.
Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (1989). Improving learning disabled students’ skills at composing essays: Self-regulated strategy training. Exceptional Children, 56, 201-214.
Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). What we know, what we still need to know: Teaching adolescents to write, Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(40), 313-335.
Ganz, J., Earles-Vollrath, T, & Cook, K. (2011), Video Modeling: A visually based intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder, Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(6), 8-19.
Horner, R. H., Carr, E.G., Halle, J., McGee, G., Odom, S., & Wolery, M. (2005). The use of single-subject research to identify evidence-based practice in special education, Exceptional Children, 71(2), 165-179.
Kjelgaard, M., & Tager-Flusberg, H. (2001). An investigation of language impairment in autism: Implications for genetic subgroups, Language Cognition Process, 16(3), 287-308.
Kushiki, A., Chau, T., & Anagnostou, E. (2011). Handwriting difficulties in children with autism Spectrum disorders: A scoping review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 1706-1716.
Jansiewicz, E. M., Goldberg, M. C., Newschaffer, C. J., Denckla, M. B., Landa, R. & Mostofsky, S. H. (2006). Motor signs distinguish children with high functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome from controls, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 613-621.
Lindgren, K. A., Folstein, S. E., Tomblin, J. B., & Tagar-Flusberg, H. (2009). Language and reading abilities of children with autism spectrum disorders and specific language impairment and their first-degree relatives, Autism Research, 2(1), 22-38.
Mechling, L. C., & Savidge, E. J. (2011). Using a personal digital assistant to increase completion of novel tasks and independent transitioning by students with autism spectrum disorder, Journal of Autism Development Disorder, 41, 687-704.
New Jersey Department of Education (2009). Core curriculum content standards. Retrieved from: http://www.state.nj.us/education/cccs
Pennington, R. C., & Delano, M. E. (2012). Writing instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders: A review of literature, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 27(3), 158-167.
Pennington, R. C., Stenhoff, D. M., Gibson, J., & Ballou, K. (2012). Using simultaneous prompting to teach computer-based story writing to a student with autism, Education and Treatment of Children, 35(3), 389-406.
Sadik, A. (2008). Digital storytelling: A meaningful technology-integrated approach for engaged student learning, Education Technology Research Development, 56(4), 487-506.
Santangelo, T., Harris, K., & Graham, S. (2008). Using self-regulated strategy development to support students who have “trubol giting thangs into werds”. Remedial and special education, 78-89.
Scruggs, T., Mastropieri, M., & Casto, G. (1987). The quantitative synthesis of single subject research. Remedial and Special education, 8, 24-33.
Shin, B. J., & Park, H. S. (2008). The effect of digital storytelling on the learner’s fun and comprehension in virtual reality. Journal of the Korean Association of Information Education, 12(4), 417-425.
Simpson, R. L, Myles, B. S., & Ganz, J. B. (2008). Efficacious interventions and treatments for learners with autism spectrum disorders. In R. L. Simpson & B. S. Myles (Eds.) Educating children and youth with autism: Strategies for effective practice (2nd ed., p. 477-512). Austin, TX:PRO-ED.
Sylvester, R., & Greenidge, W. (2009), Digital storytelling: Extending the potential for struggling writers. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 284-295.
Xu, Y., Park, H., & Baek. (2011). A new approach towards digital storytelling: An activity focused on writing self-efficacy in a virtual learning environment. Educational Technology & Society, 14(4), 181-191.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/n
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c)
Online Submission: http://cscanada.org/index.php/sll/submission/wizard
Reminder
How to do online submission to another Journal?
If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:
1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author
Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.
2. Submission
Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.
We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases: caooc@hotmail.com; sll@cscanada.net; sll@cscanada.org
Articles published in Studies in Literature and Language are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).
STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Editorial Office
Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org
E-mail: office@cscanada.net; office@cscanada.org; caooc@hotmail.com
Copyright © 2010 Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture