Overview of LASSI
Extensive research, development, and testing led to the creation of this statistically valid and reliable tool for the diagnosis of study skills. The LASSI is a 10-scale, 80-item assessment of students' awareness about and use of learning and study strategies related to skill, will and self-regulation components of strategic learning. The focus is on both covert and overt thoughts, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs that relate to successful learning and that can be altered through educational interventions. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that these factors contribute significantly to success in college and that they can be learned or enhanced through educational interventions such as learning and study skills courses.
The LASSI provides standardized scores (percentile score equivalents) and national norms for ten different scales (there is no total score since this is a diagnostic measure). The LASSI is both diagnostic and prescriptive. It provides students with a diagnosis of their strengths and weaknesses, compared to other college students, in the areas covered by the 10 scales and it is prescriptive in that it provides feedback about areas where students may be weak and need to improve their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and skills.
Authors
The LASSI was developed at the University of Texas at Austin by Claire Ellen Weinstein, Ph.D., Ann C. Schulte, Ph.D., and David R. Palmer, Ph.D.
Skill Component of Strategic Learning
The LASSI scales related to the skill component of strategic learning are: Information Processing, Selecting Main Ideas and Test Strategies. These scales examine students' learning strategies, skills and thought processes related to identifying, acquiring and constructing meaning for important new information, ideas and procedures, and how they prepare for and demonstrate their new knowledge on tests or other evaluative procedures.
The Will Component of Strategic Learning
The LASSI Scales related to the will component of strategic learning are: Attitude, Motivation and Anxiety. These scales measure students' receptivity to learning new information, their attitudes and interest in college, their diligence, self-discipline, and willingness to exert the effort necessary to successfully complete academic requirements, and the degree to which they worry about their academic performance.
The Self-regulation Component of Strategic Learning
The LASSI Scales related to the self-regulation component of strategic learning are: Concentration; Time Management; Self-Testing and Study Aids. These scales measure how students manage, or self-regulate and control, the whole learning process through using their time effectively, focusing their attention and maintaining their concentration over time, checking to see if they have met the learning demands for a class, an assignment or a test, and using study supports such as review sessions, tutors or special features of a textbook.
The LASSI can be used as:
- A basis for improving all student's learning and study strategies;
- A diagnostic measure to help identify areas in which students could benefit most from educational interventions;
- A counseling tool for college orientation programs, developmental education programs, learning assistance programs, and learning centers;
- A pre-post achievement measure for students participating in programs or courses focusing on learning strategies and study skills;
- An evaluation tool to assess the degree of success of intervention programs or courses. The LASSI is easily administered in 30 minutes and is self-scored. Each LASSI packet includes the instrument and score interpretation information.
- A detailed user's manual is available to those administering the inventory. It includes a history of the instrument's development, a complete description of the ten scales included in the LASSI, a section on administration and scoring, results of pilot and field testing, and the process used in scale construction.
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View a list of 2274 institutional users of LASSI.
