Routine Actions and Writing Instruction

All students occasionally make errors in actions that they produce automatically. But many students with learning disabilities have particular difficulty in monitoring their routine actions and catching and correcting their mistakes. Because these actions do not take much conscious effort, students may be more likely to leave out or mix up steps, perseverate on an action, or give incorrect responses, without being aware of their errors. Competent writers are able to generate grammatically correct sentences and transform them into written language on an automatic level (MacArthur, 1996). Students with written language disorders may lack automaticity in the mechanics of written production (including letter formation and spelling problems), in sentence formulation, or other aspects of writing demanding rapid execution of patterned activity. The need to consciously attend to skills that should be automatic limits a student's ability to engage in the higher-order cognitive activities needed for effective writing (MacArthur, 1998; Martin & Manno, 1995).

Guided practice and relevant feedback, both key parts of apprenticeship learning, figure importantly in routinizing the motor and strategic actions necessary for writing. Though traditional methods such as worksheets and customized approaches such as allowing students to "bypass" the routine (e.g., dictating to a teacher instead of handwriting) can be implemented off the computer, technology tools offer more flexible, powerful means both to scaffold (or support) weak areas and to learn the necessary routines. The best of these tools can be customized, making them important parts of a universally designed environment.