Home | Facebook icon 2 Home | Twitter graphic   
 

 

First Author | First Author Tab Inactive Research-Selected Graphic Resources-Deselected Graphic

 


First Author Research

 

Researchers at Central Michigan University, led by Dr. Janet Sturm, analyzed the effectiveness of First Author Writing Software on 44 students with developmental disabilities in five sites. Elementary, middle, and high school classrooms were included in the study. Students in these classrooms ranged from having mild cognitive impairments to  moderate intellectual impairments. Before intervention, baseline writing samples were obtained from each student in the study. Students of similar baseline abilities were randomly assigned to either a paper and pencil group or a First Author group.

These outcomes are impressive—especially considering many of these students were initially considered non-writers!

 First Author | Graph Writing Level First Author | Graph Unique Words
First Author | Graph Total Words
The writing level for students in the First Author group increased by 39% measured on the Developmental Writing Scale. The average student gained 2 ½ levels on the 14-point scale. Change in Developmental Writing Scale level was not evident in the control group.
 With the First Author group, average total words per writing jumped 295% during the intervention period, whereas the total number of words written in the control group only increased by 39%. Average total unique words per writing doubled during the intervention period for the First Author group, whereas the total number of words written in the control group only increased by 23% during the intervention period.