Does participating in a daily handwriting without tears curriculum for 4-weeks improve a first-grade student’s spelling abilities: Single-subject ABA design

Abstract

ABSTRACT COVID−19 and remote instruction negatively impacted student’s handwriting. This study aimed to determine if the implementation of a rigorous handwriting curriculum has an impact on a first-grade students’ ability to spell. This study used a single-subject, ABA quasi-experimental design. The study was completed by a first-grade teacher, with consultative support from an occupational therapy practitioner. The study was completed in a single first-grade general education classroom. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling and were eligible if they were in the principal researchers first-grade classroom. The total number of participants was 15 first-grade students of which six were boys and nine were girls, ages six to seven. Intervention was implemented in small groups for 20 minutes/day, five days/week, for a total of twenty-sessions. The Primary Spelling Inventory was administered pre- and post-intervention to measure the student’s spelling abilities. Paired sample t-test indicated statistically significant difference between pre- and posttest scores. Participants demonstrated an average improvement of 5.27 words after receiving the intervention, with 14 of 15 students demonstrating an improvement in pre- and post-assessment scores. Implementation of a handwriting curriculum improves a first-grade student’s handwriting skills and positively impacts spelling ability. Evidence supporting systematic approaches to improving handwriting contributes to teachers and occupational therapy practitioner’s professional reasoning when selecting specific intervention tools, in addition to determining appropriate dosage of intervention. Evidence can be utilized by occupational therapy practitioners to support classroom teachers and influence curricular decisions at the administrative level when determining curriculum to address handwriting. Occupational therapy practitioners can highlight the positive impact that mastery with handwriting can have on academic areas such as spelling.