She’s Twelve and She Can’t Write!

:
An Action Research Exploration to
Mediate Special Educational Needs
Pupil to Learn to Write

Moop Echee
&
Sarimah Shaik Abdullah, PhD
School of Education and Modern Languages
Universiti Utara Malaysia
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 Handwriting: Pre-skill
for reading (Batchelder, Unable to write her own
McLaughlin, Weber, name
Derby, & Grow, 2009)

Name writing is the Numerous research-

most basic skill in based intervention
classroom strategies

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 • Good and workable solutions
have not yet been identified for
the current educational setting
Gaps • The solutions not yet been
conducted with Down syndrome
pupil

• Practical intervention strategy

to assist 12-year old Down
syndrome pupil to write letter
Objectives “H” of her name
• Practical materials and
resources

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 • Fine motor movement
• Genetic disorder • Visual motor coordination
• Visual learner • Orthographic coding
• Motor impairments (Datchuk, 2015; Duiser, van
(Glasson, 2007; der Kamp, Ledebt, &
Ricci, 2011; Tsao et Savelsbergh, 2014;
al., 2011) Schwellnus et al., 2012)
Down Handwriting
syndrome

Various
intervention Categories of
techniques special
• Technology-based for educational
handwriting needs (SEN) • Autism
• Modelling acquisition
• Paper-pencil approach • Developmental delay
(Lorah & Parnell, 2014; • Preschool
Moore et al., 2013; • Learning difficulties
Rashidah & Ephraim, 2015)
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Methodology
 Theoretical frameworks
 Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development & scaffolding
 Information processing theory
 Approach: Action research
 Participant: a 12-year old, female, Down syndrome
 Procedures:
 Four-step intervention strategy (Keller, 2004)
 30 minutes/sessions, 3 sessions, 2 cycles
 Data collection: Handwriting samples
 Analysis: Rubric (Moore et al., 2013)
 Ethical considerations: BERA (2011)
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Findings

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 4-step
intervention
strategy

Conclusions
I learnt..
Available As a teacher,
materials about
and learners,
resources about learning