Teresa Limpo | Universidade do Porto (original) (raw)

Papers by Teresa Limpo

Research paper thumbnail of Implicit Theories of Writing and Their Impact on Students' Response to a SRSD Intervention

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Planning or Sentence-Combining Strategies: Effective SRSD Interventions at Different Levels of Written Composition

This study tested the effectiveness of two strategy-focused interventions aimed at promoting fift... more This study tested the effectiveness of two strategy-focused interventions aimed at promoting fifth and sixth graders’ opinion essay writing. Over 12 weekly 90-min lessons, two groups of 48 and 39 students received, respectively, planning and sentence-combining instruction, which followed the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model. These intervention groups were compared with a practice control group of 39 students receiving standard writing instruction. The following main findings were notewor- thy: (a) planning and sentence-combining instruction enhanced planning and sentence-construction skills, respectively; (b) both interventions increased opinion essay quality and text length; (c) planning instruction enhanced not only discourse-level writing but also some sentence- and word-level aspects of composition; (d) sentence-combining instruction enhanced not only sentence- and word-level writing but also some discourse-level aspects of composition; (e) after instruction, there was a correlation between self-efficacy and writing quality in both intervention groups; and (f) planning, but not sen- tence-combining, instructional effects generalized to summary writing.

Research paper thumbnail of Children’s High-Level Writing Skills: Development of Planning and Revising and their Contribution to Writing Quality

Background. It is well established that the activity of producing a text is a complex one involvi... more Background. It is well established that the activity of producing a text is a complex one involving three main cognitive processes: Planning, translating, and revising. Although these processes are crucial in skilled writing, beginning and developing writers seem to struggle with them, mainly with planning and revising.
Aims. To trace the development of the high-level writing processes of planning and revising, from Grades 4 to 9, and to examine whether these skills predict writing quality in younger and older students (Grades 4–6 vs. 7–9), after controlling for gender, school achievement, age, handwriting fluency, spelling, and text structure.
Sample. Participants were 381 students from Grades 4 to 9 (age 9–15).
Method. Students were asked to plan and write a story and to revise another story by
detecting and correcting mechanical and substantive errors.
Results. From Grades 4 to 9, we found a growing trend in students’ ability to plan and revise despite the observed decreases and stationary periods from Grades 4 to 5 and 6 to 7. Moreover, whereas younger students’ planning and revising skills made no contribution to the quality of their writing, in older students, these high-level skills contributed to writing quality above and beyond control predictors.
Conclusion. The findings of this study seem to indicate that besides the increase in planning and revising, these skills are not fully operational in school-age children. Indeed, given the contribution of these high-level skills to older students’ writing, supplementary instruction and practice should be provided from early on.

Research paper thumbnail of Modeling Writing Development: Contribution of Transcription and Self-Regulation to Portuguese Students’ Text Generation Quality

Writing is a complex activity that requires transcription and self-regulation. We used multiple-g... more Writing is a complex activity that requires transcription and self-regulation. We used multiple-group structural equation modeling to test the contribution of transcription (handwriting and spelling), planning, revision, and self-efficacy to writing quality at 2 developmental points (Grades 4–6 vs. 7–9). In Grades 4–6, the model explained 76% of the variance in writing quality, and transcription contributed directly to text generation. This finding suggests that, for younger students, handwriting and spelling were the strongest constraints to text generation. In Grades 7–9, the model explained 82% of the variance in writing quality. Although transcription did not contribute directly to text generation, it contributed indirectly through planning and self-efficacy. The progressive automatization of transcription throughout school years may contribute to the acquisition and development of self-regulatory skills, which, in turn, positively influence the quality of text generation. Explicit instruction and practice in handwriting, spelling, planning, and revising along with nurturing of realistic self-efficacy beliefs may facilitate writing development beyond primary years of schooling.

Research paper thumbnail of Implicit Theories of Writing and Their Impact on Students' Response to a SRSD Intervention

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Planning or Sentence-Combining Strategies: Effective SRSD Interventions at Different Levels of Written Composition

This study tested the effectiveness of two strategy-focused interventions aimed at promoting fift... more This study tested the effectiveness of two strategy-focused interventions aimed at promoting fifth and sixth graders’ opinion essay writing. Over 12 weekly 90-min lessons, two groups of 48 and 39 students received, respectively, planning and sentence-combining instruction, which followed the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model. These intervention groups were compared with a practice control group of 39 students receiving standard writing instruction. The following main findings were notewor- thy: (a) planning and sentence-combining instruction enhanced planning and sentence-construction skills, respectively; (b) both interventions increased opinion essay quality and text length; (c) planning instruction enhanced not only discourse-level writing but also some sentence- and word-level aspects of composition; (d) sentence-combining instruction enhanced not only sentence- and word-level writing but also some discourse-level aspects of composition; (e) after instruction, there was a correlation between self-efficacy and writing quality in both intervention groups; and (f) planning, but not sen- tence-combining, instructional effects generalized to summary writing.

Research paper thumbnail of Children’s High-Level Writing Skills: Development of Planning and Revising and their Contribution to Writing Quality

Background. It is well established that the activity of producing a text is a complex one involvi... more Background. It is well established that the activity of producing a text is a complex one involving three main cognitive processes: Planning, translating, and revising. Although these processes are crucial in skilled writing, beginning and developing writers seem to struggle with them, mainly with planning and revising.
Aims. To trace the development of the high-level writing processes of planning and revising, from Grades 4 to 9, and to examine whether these skills predict writing quality in younger and older students (Grades 4–6 vs. 7–9), after controlling for gender, school achievement, age, handwriting fluency, spelling, and text structure.
Sample. Participants were 381 students from Grades 4 to 9 (age 9–15).
Method. Students were asked to plan and write a story and to revise another story by
detecting and correcting mechanical and substantive errors.
Results. From Grades 4 to 9, we found a growing trend in students’ ability to plan and revise despite the observed decreases and stationary periods from Grades 4 to 5 and 6 to 7. Moreover, whereas younger students’ planning and revising skills made no contribution to the quality of their writing, in older students, these high-level skills contributed to writing quality above and beyond control predictors.
Conclusion. The findings of this study seem to indicate that besides the increase in planning and revising, these skills are not fully operational in school-age children. Indeed, given the contribution of these high-level skills to older students’ writing, supplementary instruction and practice should be provided from early on.

Research paper thumbnail of Modeling Writing Development: Contribution of Transcription and Self-Regulation to Portuguese Students’ Text Generation Quality

Writing is a complex activity that requires transcription and self-regulation. We used multiple-g... more Writing is a complex activity that requires transcription and self-regulation. We used multiple-group structural equation modeling to test the contribution of transcription (handwriting and spelling), planning, revision, and self-efficacy to writing quality at 2 developmental points (Grades 4–6 vs. 7–9). In Grades 4–6, the model explained 76% of the variance in writing quality, and transcription contributed directly to text generation. This finding suggests that, for younger students, handwriting and spelling were the strongest constraints to text generation. In Grades 7–9, the model explained 82% of the variance in writing quality. Although transcription did not contribute directly to text generation, it contributed indirectly through planning and self-efficacy. The progressive automatization of transcription throughout school years may contribute to the acquisition and development of self-regulatory skills, which, in turn, positively influence the quality of text generation. Explicit instruction and practice in handwriting, spelling, planning, and revising along with nurturing of realistic self-efficacy beliefs may facilitate writing development beyond primary years of schooling.