Research Questions

This study addresses two principle questions:

1. Given regular opportunities for keyboarding practice, at what rate do elementary school-aged students acquire keyboarding skills?

2. Do elementary school-aged students with identified learning disabilities acquire keyboarding skills at the same rate as their non-disabled peers?

In addition to the two main questions, additional data will be gathered from a subset of the sample to address a third question:

3. Are there readily identifiable subgroups within the population of students with identified learning disabilities who experience particular difficulties in the acquisition of keyboarding skills?

This third question is included to provide validation of the major findings, to connect the findings more firmly to writing and writing instruction in elementary schools, and to suggest directions for future research.