Peer Assisted Writing Strategies (PAWS) for Kindergarten: An Efficacy Study

Purpose We conducted a multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the efficacy of an instructional program, peer assisted writing strategies (PAWS), to improve writing skills in KG students relative to the business as usual (BAU) control condition.Method Twenty-one KG teachers and 400 English-speaking students (198 females; 28.9% White, 34.2% Asian, 14.7% Black) were randomly assigned to PAWS or BAU condition within schools. Average class size was 20 students, with a mean age of 65.73 months. Teachers in the PAWS condition were trained to deliver the instruction three times/week over 26 weeks, while BAU teachers were provided training on general writing strategies. Writing and reading measures were collected from all students before and after the instruction.Results Linear mixed effect models were used to test the causal impact of the instructional outcomes- handwriting, spelling, sentence, and essay writing. Models revealed a significant impact of PAWS on all writing measures with varying effect sizes (g = 0.09to 0.36). Tests of moderation yielded several important findings. PAWS was beneficial in improving spelling for English Language Learners (g = 0.28; 0.34). Female students in PAWS outperformed BAU female students on all spelling measures. White students in PAWS outperformed their BAU counterparts on essay productivity (g = 0.32), and students with low initial letter naming fluency scores in PAWS outperformed those in the BAU condition (g = 0.51) on essay quality.Conclusion PAWS had a positive impact on students’ writing outcomes. Implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.