This yearlong study explores how digital technologies are used during literacy instruction in the critical year of third grade. We analyzed technology use in 16 classrooms across six geographically and socioeconomically diverse schools. We examined the multiple layers of technology’s influences on teachers’ instructional decision-making and on students’ engagement. Applying Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy alongside the SAMR model, expectations for student technology use varied across settings and resulted in mixed levels of student engagement. Although technology has the potential to transform teaching and learning, it is most often used as a substitution for traditional instructional tools and to support students’ remembering and understanding rather than more complex tasks. Analysis suggests technology tools are not being strategically employed to support the development of 21st century learning skills.

Students with disabilities need high-quality instruction to effectively wield writing as a tool to powerfully shape both academic and economic outcomes. Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) is a powerful intervention demonstrated to improve student growth and writing performance for students with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Moreover, it has been extended to show benefits beyond those populations into general education settings at the secondary level and to also support both reading and content area knowledge acquisition. That said, it’s a complex intervention that requires intensive support through professional development. In this manuscript, we outline how instructional coaches and other teacher leaders can best support teachers in middle and high school settings as they adopt SRSD, an evidence-based writing practice, through a practice-based professional development model. We offer step-by-step directions for planning, implementing, supporting, and evaluating the implementation.