Self-Regulated Strategy Development
SRSD is designed to address difficulties with writing as well as attitudes, beliefs, and motivation related to the writing process. The SRSD model includes procedures for goal setting, self-monitoring, self-instruction, and selfreinforcement, and can be generalized to other settings and maintained over time once taught to mastery in whole- class, small group, or individual settings (Harris, Graham, Mason, & Friedlander, 2008). The six-stage SRSD model is well-aligned with interventions successful in improving the academic and behavioral skills of students with or at-risk for E/BD, as it incorporates self-monitoring and goal setting, strategies shown to be effective for students with E/BD (McDougall, 1998; Mooney, Ryan, Uhing, Reid, & Epstein, 2005).
Stage 1: Develop background knowledge. Stage 1 of SRSD includes developing preskills/background knowledge needed for the genre of writing being taught. Teachers lead student(s) through reading examples of the genre of writing and teach any related vocabulary (e.g., arguments and counterarguments in persuasive writing). During this stage, the teacher also introduces the skills of goal setting and self-monitoring (Harris et al., 2008).
Stage 2: Discuss it. Stage 2 includes discussing the benefits of being a good writer with particular focus on the genre being taught. The teacher discusses the benefits of using a strategy to have a systematic plan to use when writing. Then the teacher leads the students in examining their current writing performance with regard to the essential elements of the targeted genre of writing. This allows the students to self-monitor their progress over the course of the intervention. During this stage, the teacher introduces the mnemonic strategy to be used and helps students identify opportunities to use the strategy (Harris et al., 2008). These opportunities may include writing for other subject areas (i.e., science and social studies) using expository writing (Mason, Snyder, Sukhram, & Kedem, 2006) or self-advocating using persuasive writing (Cuenca-Sanchez, Mastropieri, Scruggs, & Kidd, 2012).
Stage 3: Model it. During Stage 3, the teacher uses the strategy by modeling self-talk while moving through the writing process. Modeling of self-talk, including self- instructions, self-questioning, and self-reinforcement, serves as a verbal demonstration of the process that skilled writers engage in internally. Selftalk models should address all skills in the writing process including: defining a problem, focusing attention, planning, strategy, and statements. The modeling of these behaviors should be natural and enthusiastic by the teacher. The metascripted SRSD lessons include modeling scripts to assist teachers in addressing all components while still allowing teachers to adapt the presentation to fit their teaching style and the needs of their students (e.g., Harris et al., 2008).
Stage 4: Memorize it. Stage 4 involves memorizing the mnemonic device to guide the student(s) through the entire writing process. Memorization also involves the student gaining a full understanding of the meaning of each step of the mnemonic. There are many mnemonics found in the SRSD literature. An example mnemonic for persuasive writing is STOP and DARE, which stands for Suspend judgment, Take a side, Organize ideas, Plan more as you write and Develop your topic sentence, Add supporting ideas, Reject an argument for the other side, End with a conclusion. An example mnemonic for narrative writing is POW + WWW What2 How2, which stands for Pick my idea, Organize my notes, Write and say more, Who is the main character? When does the story happen? Where does the story happen? What does the main character do? What happens then? How does the story end? How does the main character feel?
An example mnemonic for expository writing is TWA + PLANS, which stands for Think before reading, think While reading, think After reading and Pick goals, List ways to meet goals, And, make Notes, Sequence notes. Teachers may provide additional scaffolded supports and opportunities for practice to students having difficulty memorizing the mnemonic (Harris et al., 2008).
Stage 5: Support it. During Stage 5, teachers support student(s) in their use of the strategy during writing. Teachers support student(s) by providing assistance and reminders. This stage continues until the students are able to apply the strategies independently. During this stage, teachers lead students in generalizing the strategy to other settings and writing tasks to promote its maintained use over time. Stage 5 is essential for struggling writers, and may take longer for students who have weakness in the area of writing (Harris et al., 2008).
Stage 6: Independent performance. During Stage 6, student(s) should be using the strategy fully independently, thus self-regulating their own writing. At this time, student(s) who are engaging in self-talk orally (as observed by the model) are encouraged to self-talk in their heads as they utilize the mnemonic during the writing process. This stage also involves presenting student(s) with opportunities to generalize the strategy learned (e.g., using the mnemonic for writing in social studies) as well as presenting any needed booster sessions to promote maintenance of strategy use (Harris et al., 2008). (Ennis, 2013, pp. 44-48).
