Abstract of

Helping Struggling Writers Succeed: A Self-Regulated Strategy Instruction Program

Lisa Helsel

Daphne Greenberg

While writer's workshop provides a nurturing environment for many students, others struggle with the independence it gives. This may be due to the difficulty of coordinating the cognitive and self-regulatory demands of the writing process. Self-regulation refers to thoughts, feelings, and actions that individuals use to attain personal goals. Because of the independent nature of writing, an adequate level of self-regulation is required to move through the process.

Teaching self-regulatory strategies within the context of writing may enable students to develop and execute a plan of action independently, resulting in more independent writing. The Self-Regulated Strategy Development model of instruction is one such strategy. In order to examine its impact, the model was used to teach a summary writing strategy to a struggling sixth grader. Following instruction, the student exhibited more confidence in her writing abilities, a greater belief in the benefits of strategy use, and the ability to tackle the writing task more independently.

Abstract from Helsel, L., & Greenberg, D. (2007, May). Helping Struggling Writers Succeed: A Self-Regulated Strategy Instruction Program. The Reading Teacher, 60(8), 752–760. doi: 10.1598/RT.60.8.5