Philippine Normal University

The National Center for Teacher Education

Taft Avenue, Manila
College of Teacher Education
Faculty of Education
VILLEGAS, JONNALIE B.
PROFED10 Introduction to Special Education

III-20 BMSEE
READINGS

Article Title: EmPOWERing Children with Learning Disabilities: A Practitioner-Based

Reflection
Author: Richard J. Cass
Bibliography: Cass, R. J. (2010)EmPOWERing Children with Learning Disabilities: A
Practitioner-Based Reflection Journal of Education (Volume 191 No.1) (pg.
59-66)

I. SUMMARY

The expressive writing needs of students have become a critical and life-influencing
problem. Unfortunately, many teachers are at a loss as to how to instruct children,
particularly those with identified learning disabilities (LD), in a manner that can assist
them to produce higher quality writing.

Children with learning disabilities produce writing samples that are more poorly
organized, of shorter length, and insufficient content. When compared to typically
developing peers, students with LD often demonstrate deficiencies in their ability to plan,
organize, and revise written texts.

According to Gerstero and Baker (2001), a comprehensive writing program should

include: explicit teaching of the steps of the writing process, emphasis on the critical
features of various text genres, and the implementation of a structured feedback program
informing students on the quality of their writing.

Dela Paz (2007) recommends that teachers must incorporate several important
instructional elements as the design writing programs. The elements include:
committing the time to present intense and explicit instruction emphasizing principles of

Direct Instruction (DI) and teaching self-regulatory procedures (planning, selfevaluating, and revising).

Metacognition is defined as ones knowledge concerning ones own cognitive processes

and products or anything related to them. And as a whole, students with learning
disabilities exhibit significant difficulty with the metacognitive processes underlying
proficient writing.

The EmPOWER writing strategy is an example of a highly effective instructional

program designed for educators committed to providing a high-quality writing curriculum
especially for students with learning disabilities. The EmPOWER writing program is a
valuable resource for teaching children how to engage in the task of writing an expository
paragraph or essay. It can help teachers meet the needs of struggling writers.

II. MY PERSONAL REFLECTION

a. Knowledge Learned
Before reading this article, I never thought about how students with learning
disabilities learn how to express themselves through effective writing. Then, I learned
that these kinds of students are needed to have a special instruction which will help them
on how to write effectively like any other normal students. Also, after reading the article,
I learned that being a teacher for this kind of students is a really big responsibility
because they are challenged on how to deliver a high-quality instruction that is
appropriate for the learning of these special students.
b. Skills Gained
I can say that being aware on the said topic was somewhat a skill that I obtained. I
became aware to the other side of the coin, particularly on being mindful for the other
things. And I can say that the awareness to the greater picture is a valuable skill because it
teaches me on how to be thoughtful to the things that I should be aware of. Also, reading
this kind of articles help me to improve my reading comprehension and increase my
awareness to the society.
c. Attitude/Values Enhanced
I come up to the realization that considering something that is new to my schema
or point of view is also important. It is because giving significance to the things that I still
dont know will be very good in obtaining new knowledge. And obtaining additional
knowledge will be very helpful for me as a tool to become an effective teacher and
educator someday.

III. IMPLICATIONS TO TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS

The article indicates that best practices in writing instruction must be served and
implemented not only to general-based education classrooms but also to special education
classrooms. Every teacher must have a deep understanding on every instruction that he/she will
deliver to his/her students. Students especially those who have learning with disabilities needs to
have a special instruction as well as treatment from their teachers because it will be a big help for
them to learn easier and effectively. But not only students should make big part in making effort
to learn something, it is also the duty and responsibility of the teacher to make an effort to master
and understand his/her lessons thats why it is called as teaching-learning process.