AUTHOR Morocco, Catherine Cobb; And Others TITLE The Impact of Computer-Supported Writing Instruction on the Writing Quality of Learning-Disabled Students.

This report describes a federally funded project to study integration of c. puters into the writing instruction of classroom teachers, and evaluates the impact of a computer-supported writing program on instruction, on the writing process, and on products of normally achieving and learning-disabled (LD) students. The study compared the impact of a computer-supported versus pencil-and-paper writing process program on students ' writing quality and attitudes. The study involved 62 fourth-grade students in treatment classrooms using computers, 16 of whom were LD students, and 65 students in comparison classrooms not using computers, 13 of whom were LD students. Results showed modest support for a computer-supported writing environment. The computer, in combAnation with an instructional approaca that emphasized extensive composing, revising, and individualized help, contributed to gains in writing quality. Experimental students reported a greater enjoyment of writing at the end of the study year than they reported at the beginning. (JDD) ******:************Aft************************************AA**********fili Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *******ft***************************N*****************g****************