"Writing is one of the most critical skills children need to acquire in order to be successful in their schoolwork and careers," says Young-Suk Kim, UCI professor of education. "It's also one of the most challenging."

Young-Suk Kim, professor of education, has received a three-year, $1.4 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences to develop a writing program for elementary school students. “Writing is one of the most critical skills children need to acquire in order to be successful in their schoolwork and careers,” Kim said. “It’s also one of the most challenging. Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress have consistently shown that three-fourths of grade school students in the U.S. do not achieve proficiency in writing.” She and co-primary investigator Karen Harris of Arizona State University will expand on an existing writing instruction technique called self-regulated strategy development. “SRSD is an evidence-based approach that has demonstrated strong evidence of meaningful student outcomes but has not included instruction on two key component skills of writing,” Kim said. “This grant will fund the integration of SRSD with instruction in transcription and oral language skills and examine usability, feasibility and efficacy.”