Writing Better: Effective Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties

Steve Graham, Ph.D., is Professor and the Currey-Ingram Chair in Special Education at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He is the current editor of Exceptional Children and the past editor of Contemporary Educational Psychology. He is the co-author of the Handbook of Learning Disabilities; Making the Writing Process Work: Strategies for Composition and Self-Regulation; Teaching Every Child Every Day: Learning in Diverse Schools and Classrooms; Teaching Every Adolescent Every Day; Spell It-Write (a spelling program for children in grades K through 9); and the upcoming Handbook of Writing Research. Dr. Graham's research has focused mainly on identifying the factors that contribute to the development of writing difficulties; the development and validation of effective procedures for teaching planning, revising, and the mechanics of writings to struggling writers; and the use of technology to enhance writing performance and development.

Karen Harris, Ed.D., is Professor and the Currey-Ingram Chair in Special Education at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. She has taught kindergarten and fourth-grade students, as well as elementary and secondary students with disabilities. She is co-author, with Steve Graham, of the books Making the Writing Process Work: Strategies for Composition and Self-Regulation; Teaching Every Child Every Day: Learning in Diverse Schools and Classrooms; Handbook of Learning Disabilities; and the curriculum Spell It-Write. Dr. Harris is the editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology. Her research is focused on theoretical and intervention issues in the development of academic and self-regulation strategies among students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and other challenges.