A Tablet-Based Curriculum-Based Measurement Protocol for Kindergarten Writing

Writing is one of the most complex academic skills to learn, given the degree of cognitive processing involved. Transcription skills, e.g. handwriting, fluency, and spelling, self-regulatory functions, e.g.

attention, goal setting, revision, etcetera, and working memory, work together for text generation. Text generation involves both idea generation and the transformation of ideas into linguistic propositions, which are closely related to all language skills. Overall, transcription skills and oral language skills are both recognized as strong predictors of writing development in early childhood.

Because of the complexity of writing, some students experience difficulties to master this ability. Writing disabilities negatively impact self-efficacy and academic motivation. In addition, these issues may persist into adulthood, impairing future workplace experiences or even emotional well-being.

To overcome this problem, it's important to have early assessment protocols in place to detect students at risk of writing disabilities before the problem develops. Extensive research has shown that early detection leads to a better prognosis. In a response to intervention model, curriculum-based measurements, CBM, are often used for universal screening and progress monitoring because they are quick, practical, reliable, valid, accurate, and sensitive to the time of measurement.

The CBM process involves evaluation at three distinct points during the course, normally in autumn, winter, and spring. This process allows us to identify students at risk, decide whether the intervention should be modified, or if the progress is acceptable. However, there is limited scientific literature on early detection tools for writing processes when compared to other academic areas, such as reading or mathematics.

Considering the long-term consequences of writing disabilities, the importance of early detection, the benefits of curriculum-based measurements, and the lack of available materials intended for writing, we have designed T-IPAE-K for kindergarten students. This digital CBM in writing aims to provide a quick and accurate detection of those students who show any problem in the development of writing, as well as monitoring their progress during the course. T-IPAE-K is structured in three parts:Form A, which are the measurements taken at the beginning of the course.

Form B, in the middle of the course. And form C, corresponding to the end of the course. In each form, there were five different tasks:One, copying alphabet letters.

Two, expressive vocabulary. Three, name writing. Four, phonological awareness.

And five, oral narrative. Task items or prompts vary according to each form. Each task starts with a presentation through a pedagogical agent.

This character explains the task and provides a model of how it should be done, and then offers examples for you to do it yourself, where you will be provided with corresponding feedback. When modeling and examples of each task are completed, a screen with a green tick and a cross will appear. The agent will ask the students if they have understood what to do.

This will help us to make sure that they have been able to understand the task procedure. If they answer yes, the execution of the task will begin. If they answer no, the instructions will be repeated once more.

If they answer that they did not understand the procedure a second time, the task is finished. Initiate the process by creating the student profile. Enter essential details, like student code, date of birth, application date, school name, etcetera.

Click Save to finalize the new student profile, and update information later in the Modify section if necessary. Before starting tasks, check everything is working. Click Examiner, then Check Peripherals to confirm touch screen, keyboard, voice key, and recorder functionality.

Save the configuration by clicking OK.To access the task, click on Evaluation, and then select Copying Alphabet Letters. Let the pedagogical agent provide instructions and model the task. I have been told that you have learned to write letters very well.

In this game, I'm going to ask you to copy the letters that will appear on the screen. Try not to go outside the marked lines. Try to do it as fast as you can, and try not to make mistakes.

If you can't write a letter, don't worry, continue with the next letter. Now let's do an example. Look how I do it.

The letter L has appeared on the screen, and now I copy this letter L underneath. Did you notice how to do it? Now it's your turn.

Look at the following letters and copy them below.Great. For corrections, open Correct in the main menu, select Copying Alphabet Letters, and record both correct and incorrect letters. Use the external keyboard to identify errors, like alignment, inversions, or strokes.

Note the student's pencil grip. After correction, click Save. To access the task, click on Evaluation, and then select Expressive Vocabulary.

Ensure that the pedagogical agent provides instructions for the student, followed by the modeling. In this task, we are going to play with drawings. The game consists of telling me the name of the picture that appears.

See how I do it with this drawing.Chair. I say chair because that is the name of the drawing. Now it's your turn.

What is the name of this drawing? Apple.You did it very well. Now that you have understood it, let's continue playing.

Look at the next drawing. What is its name? Ship.Great.To access the task, click on Evaluation, and then select Name Writing.

Let the pedagogical agent offer the student the instruction and modeling part. I have been told that you know how to write many names. In this game, I'm going to ask you to write your name.

You have to write it on the line that will appear on the screen. Try to do it as fast as you can, trying not to make a mistake. Let's see an example.

I'm going to write my name. Now it's your turn. Let's start.

What is your name? Write it down.Great. Now I am going to ask you to write the names of your friends.

First, you have to think about which names you want to write, and once you have thought about it, write them on the lines that will appear on the screen. Try to do it as fast as you can, trying not to make mistakes. Let's see an example.

I am going to think of a name. I have thought of the name of my friend Kevin, and now I am going to write it. Did you notice how to do it?

Now it's your turn. Have you thought of the names of the friends you want to write down? Write them down.

For corrections, open Correct in the main menu, select Names Writing, and enter the total number of correct letters and correctly spelled names for both parts using the external keyboard. Record the student's input for part two in the gray box, and note the pencil grip. Click Save when correction is complete.

To access the task, click on Evaluation, and then select Phonological Awareness. Allow the pedagogical agent to provide the student with instructions and task modeling. In this game, you'll hear a series of words.

The game consists of saying out loud, only the first sound of the word you hear. Watch how I do it with this word. The first word is snake.

S.As the word snake starts with the sound S, I just said out loud that sound. Let's do it with another example.Ladder. L.As the word ladder starts with the sound L, I just said out loud that sound.

Now it's your turn. What is the first sound in the word mirror? M.Great.Let's move on to the next example.Ferret.F.Great.

To access the task, click on Evaluation, and then select Oral Narrative. Have the pedagogical agent offer instructions to the student. In this game, you are going to tell me a story, but not just any story.

Imagine that one day you wake up and you can fly, think of all the things you could do. The story begins like this:One day, I wake up and I can fly. Okay, before we start, let's think a bit about what you're going to tell me.

Now you have some time to imagine a story that begins like this:One day, I wake up and I can fly. Think of all the things you could do. Now, when I say go ahead, you start telling me the story.

Remember that the story begins like this:One day, I wake up and I can fly. When you finish telling me the story, press the end button on the screen. Let's start on three.

One, two, three. Go ahead. For corrections, open Correct in the main menu, select Oral Narrative, and review stories using the media player tool.

Use the external keyboard to note total number of words, unique words, word sequences, and T-units. Click Save when correction is complete. The results of the factor analysis indicate that the internal structure of the CBM T-IPAE-K across all its forms exhibits a bi-factorial structure.

The first factor corresponds to transcription skills, and the second factor relates to narrative competence. The model fit indices for this structure achieved optimal scores, with the omega reliability coefficient at 0.78 for form A and exceeding 0.80 for forms B and C.In terms of diagnostic accuracy, form A yielded an area under the curve of 71.18, with a sensitivity of 70.47, and a specificity of 58.69. Form B exhibited an area under the curve of 75.43, a sensitivity of 71.02, and a specificity of 70.21.

Meanwhile, form C demonstrated an area under the curve of 80.03, along with a sensitivity of 75.70, and a specificity of 72.34. These findings suggest that the diagnostic accuracy of the CBM improves over the course of the academic year. The results suggest that T-IPAE-K is a valid, reliable, and accurate CBM to detect at-risk students with the possibility of presenting writing disabilities.

With classroom tools that assist us in knowing the status of every student and monitoring their progress, we are able to develop prevention protocols in order to achieve a better prognosis through early intervention, ensuring that students receive the supports they need. Moreover, educators can make informed decisions based on objective data, allowing for tailored instructional strategies and personalized support to improve each student's learning potential.