The writing processes of three deaf high school students

• Main Author: Carroll, Regina M
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-1988
• Subjects: Language arts; Secondary education; Special education
• ISBN: 9798206664966

Research on composition has changed from studies in which the researcher focused on the written product to studies in which researchers have focused on the writer's processes. This has led to the development of theoretical models of composing processes which can serve as a theoretical basis for development of instructional methods. Research on the writing of deaf subjects, however, has continued to focus largely on written products, leaving questions concerning the applicability of these current theories of writing and instructional methods to deaf populations. The purpose of the researcher was to describe three aspects of the writing process (planning, drafting, and reviewing) and the sense of audience of three profoundly, prelingually deaf high school students within the context of current theories of writing. The subjects participated in four sessions during which they engaged in the following activities: (1) participation in interviews about their writing history and attitudes toward writing, (2) composing a practice assignment, (3) composing two drafts of a piece of transactional writing, and (4) participation in interviews during which retrospective reports of composing activities were gathered. All sessions were videotaped. Writing samples, videotapes of the subjects composing, and videotapes of interviews were analyzed using procedures and taxonomies that were adapted from several systems that have been used to analyze writing processes of normally hearing writers. The results were reported in a case study of each subject. The results of this study demonstrated similarities between the writing processes of these deaf writers and normally hearing writers described in the literature in all aspects of composing that were examined. Any individual differences were described within the framework of current theoretical models of writing processes. The results showed that current theoretical models of writing process and research methodologies for studying writing can be used with both normally hearing and hearing-impaired writers. These results have further implications for teaching writing.