| A growing body of research supports the use of self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) to improve the writing skills of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). This single subject multiple baseline, multiple probe design study extends this research base by investigating the effects of peer-revision instruction on the persuasive essay writing of 10 eighth grade students (7 boys, 3 girls) with EBD. The study included: (a) baseline testing, (b) SRSD persuasive writing instruction, (c) SRSD posttesting, (d) revision instruction, (e) revision posttesting, and (f) six- to eight-week maintenance testing. Student performance on persuasive essay writing, on-task behavior, self-efficacy, writing fluency, and a social validity interview were collected.;Writing instruction, which followed the six stages of SRSD, was provided over eight to nine, 50-minute sessions for an average of 412.5 minutes. Revision instruction was provided over 7-10, 50-minute sessions for an average of 450 minutes of instruction. The revision strategy required students to give their partners feedback about four aspects of their essay: (a) What did the author do well? (Compliments were given at the beginning and end of the peer conference.) (b) Does it have all the parts [of a good persuasive essay]? (c) Is it clear? and (d) Is it persuasive?;Results showed that students' writing improved on essay measures of content, quality, and length following the first instructional phase. Percent of nonoverlapping data (PND) with baseline were uniformly high. Revision instruction resulted in a decrease in mechanical errors in students' essays, but did not further improve the content, quality, or length of students' essays. However, PND with baseline were maintained. Additionally, students made more revisions following revision instruction, although these gains were not maintained over time. During all phases of the study, student primarily made surface-level revisions. Students were able to maintain gains in the content, quality, length, and mechanics of their essays over time. They were also able to work effectively together during peer-conferences, as measured by high rates of on-task behavior and their ability to complete nearly all components of the peer-revision conferences. Students did not show improvement in self-efficacy or writing fluency as a result of this study. Lastly, students reported that they found both the SRSD and revision strategies useful and enjoyable. Limitations, educational implications, and directions for future research are discussed. |
