The Early Writing Project focuses on professional development (PD) for teachers of students in grades 1-3 receiving special education or Tier 3 intervention in early writing. The PD emphasizes supporting teachers’ instructional decision-making based on data collected using curriculum-based measures (CBM) in writing.
The Early Writing Project PD provides Tools, Learning, and Coaching. Three toolkits include information regarding CBM, writing interventions, and decision-making.
This project was the brainchild of Professors Kristen McMaster (University of Minnesota) and Erica Lembke (University of Missouri). Through their research, they noted a need for early writing interventions and, more importantly, for PD and support for teachers in the area of data-based instruction.
The initial project, entitled Data-Based Instruction: Tools, Learning and Collaborative Support (DBI-TLC), began in 2013 with funding from Institute for Education Sciences (IES) to develop the PD system. IES continues to fund work to examine the efficacy of the PD to improve teacher and student outcomes.