Electronic Essay Writing with Postsecondary Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Suzanne Woods-Groves, Saeed S. Alqahtani, Kinga Balint-Langel, and Amanda Kern
Abstract: This study examined the efficacy of an electronic essay-writing strategy to improve the expository writing skills of 20 young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities enrolled in a program at an institute of higher education in the midwest. A pretest and posttest experimental design with random assignment to treatment or control group was use to investigate the mnemonic-driven electronic writing strategy. The writing strategy supported students’ construction of essay responses using a computer. Students used the strategy and a computer word program to examine an electronically presented essay test question, plan through the construction of an electronic outline, and create and revise an electronic essay response. Pretest and posttest essay responses were evaluated through proximal and distal rubrics. Results revealed a significant positive effect for the treatment group when compared to the control group for overall essay quality including use of ideas and content, and word choice.