Efficacy of Writers' Workshop for Students With Significant Writing Deficits

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental intervention study was to examine the efficacy of Writers' Workshop (WW) at promoting writing skills and writing self-efficacy in a small group of 4th- and 5th-grade learning disabled students who had significant writing deficits. Various outcomes from students involved in WW (N=17) were compared and contrasted with identical outcomes of students with significant writing deficits who were exposed to a “writing across the curriculum” approach (N=10). All study participants received writing instruction in four general education classrooms at an elementary school in the Midwest; there were no additional pull-out writing services for any student. Although WW students did not score significantly higher on a standardized writing test, students in the WW condition scored significantly higher on direct writing samples. Also, although WW students did not score significantly higher on a standardized, academic self-esteem test, an instrument created to measure self-esteem with respect to writing indicated WW students enjoyed writing more and regarded themselves as stronger writers as compared to non-WW students. This paper concludes by discussing future directions for writing intervention research.