Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018;23(2):10.18666/LDMJ-2018-V23-I2-9008.
doi: 10.18666/LDMJ-2018-V23-I2-9008.

Online Writing Processes in Translating Cognition into Language and Transcribing Written Language by Stylus and Keyboard in Upper Elementary and Middle School Students With Persisting Dysgraphia or Dyslexia

Scott F Beers  1 , Virginia Berninger  2 , Terry Mickail  3 , Robert Abbott  3
Affiliations

Online Writing Processes in Translating Cognition into Language and Transcribing Written Language by Stylus and Keyboard in Upper Elementary and Middle School Students With Persisting Dysgraphia or Dyslexia

Scott F Beers et al. Learn Disabil. 2018.

Abstract

Participants in this study completed an on-line experiment in which they wrote essays by stylus or keyboard. Three translation measures (length of language burst, length of pauses, and rate of pausing) and four transcription measures (total words, total time, words/minute, and percent spelling errors) for composition were analyzed for two research aims. Research Aim 1 addressed whether upper elementary and middle school students with carefully diagnosed transcription disabilities (dysgraphia with impaired handwriting, n=18, or dyslexia with impaired spelling, n=20) showed significant differences from pretest to posttest, across modes of transcription (stylus or keyboard), and between diagnostic groups. Results showed significant (a) change after intervention (18 computerized lessons with learning activities in letter formation/selection, spelling, and composing) in length of pauses, total time, and words per minute; (b) mode effects (fewer words and less time by stylus; fewer pauses per minute by keyboard); and (c) interactions with diagnostic group in response to intervention on some measures. Research Aim 2 addressed whether following intervention each of the diagnostic groups performed comparably to a typical control group (n=15) in the same on-line experiment. Results showed (a) comparable performance of the dysgraphia and control groups on all keyboarding tasks but differences on two stylus measures; and (b) lack of comparable performance of the dyslexia and control groups on two stylus measures (total words and percent spelling errors) and the four keyboarding tasks related to transcription. Implications for assistive technology and writing instruction for dysgraphia and dyslexia are discussed.

Keywords: Language Bursts; On-Line Experiments; Specific Learning Disabilities in Written Language (SLDS-WL); Transcription; Translation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abbott R, Raskind W, Matsushita M, Richards T, Price N, Berninger V. Dysgraphia, dyslexia, and OWL LD during middle childhood and early adolescence: Evidence for genetic effects on hallmark phenotypes. Biomarkers and Genes. 2017;1(1):1–10. doi: 10.15761/BG.1000103. NIHMSID 950942. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alamargot D, Chesnet D, Dansac C, Ros C. Eye and Pen: A new device to study reading during writing. Behavior Research Methods. 2006;38:287–299. - PubMed
    1. Alamargot D, Dansac C, Chesnet D, Fayol M. Parallel processing before and after pauses: a combined analysis of graphomotor and eye movements during procedural text production. In: Rijlaarsdam C, Torrence M, van Waes L, Galbraith D, editors. Writing and Cognition: Research and Applications. Vol. 20. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2007. pp. 13–29. Studies in Writing.
    1. Alves RA, Branco M, Castro SL, Olive T. Effects of handwriting skill, handwriting and dictation modes, and gender of fourth graders on pauses, written language bursts, fluency, and quality. In: Berninger VW, editor. Past, present, and future contributions of cognitive writing research to cognitive psychology. New York, NY: Psychology Press; 2012. pp. 389–402.
    1. Alves RA, Castro SL, de Sousa L, Strömqvist S. Influence of typing skill on pause-execution cycles in written composition. In: Torrance M, Van Waes L, Galbraith D, editors. Writing and cognition: Research and applications. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier; 2007. pp. 55–65.

LinkOut - more resources