Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

Appendix C

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

Practice guide panels are composed of individuals who are nationally recognized experts on the top-

ics about which they are making recommendations. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) expects 

the experts to be involved professionally in a variety of matters that relate to their work as a panel. 

Panel members are asked to disclose these professional activities and institute deliberative processes 

that encourage critical examination of their views as they relate to the content of the practice guide. 

The potential influence of the panel members’ professional activities is further muted by the require-

ment that they ground their recommendations in evidence that is documented in the practice guide. 

In addition, before all practice guides are published, they undergo an independent external peer 

review focusing on whether the evidence related to the recommendations in the guide have been 

presented appropriately.

The professional activities reported by each 

panel member that appear to be most closely 

associated with the panel recommendations 

are noted below.

Steve Graham is an author on three com-

mercial programs: Spell It Write (Zaner-

Bloser); Imagine It (formerly Open Court, for 

McGraw-Hill); and Read 180 (Scholastic). Spell 

It Write is a spelling program (grades K–8), 

but it is no longer actively marketed. The 

portions of Imagine It and Read 180 to which 

he contributed are currently intended for 

grades 1–6. Self-regulated strategy devel-

opment (SRSD) is an approach to writing 

instruction comprised of a set of practices, 

not a branded curriculum that can be pur-

chased. Dr. Graham’s wife, Dr. Karen Harris, 

developed SRSD. Dr. Graham’s work on SRSD 

includes developing strategies and testing 

their effectiveness. The evidence base for 

this practice guide includes studies for which 

SRSD was the primary intervention.

Jill Fitzgerald co-developed and researched 

the effectiveness of materials used in a study 

supporting Recommendation 1.

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