Effects of Asynchronous Audio Feedback on the Story Revision Practices of Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

Young writers, especially students with disabilities, have difficulty writing complete essays, and when asked to revise often make only surface-level changes. Individualized feedback may lead to gains in writing achievement, but finding class time for feedback is difficult. Using a multiple probe across participants design, the effectiveness of asynchronous audio feedback was assessed on the story revision behavior of six 6th grade students with emotional/behavioral disorders in a residential facility in southeastern U.S. Using a self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) instructional framework, the special education teacher modeled the revising process and then transitioned to independent student use. Using Notability, an iPad app, the teacher provided individualized audio feedback simultaneously to multiple students during class. Following intervention, students were more likely to revise, resulting in increased story length and quality. Fidelity of implementation was measured. Social validity was measured qualitatively by documenting spontaneous declarations.