The purpose of this Phase I project is to test the feasibility of using an interactive multimedia format for instructing students with learning disabilities in writing strategies. To evaluate the feasibility of this type of instruction, an instructional program for teaching four punctuation rules and the strategies associated with those rules will be designed and translated into an interactive computerized program. Each segment of the program will focus on one punctuation rule and its associated strategy and will include description, demonstration, practice activities, and feedback. The evaluation will focus on (a) usability of the program, (b) student knowledge of the rules and strategies, (c) student use of the strategies to detect errors in others' writing and in their own writing, (d) instructional time required, and (e) social validity of the medium. A multiple-baseline across-students design will be utilized to determine the effects of the instructional program on student knowledge and performance of the writing strategies.
