Article 12:
Web-based LASSI at Michigan State University's STATE Program
by Timothy L. Goth-Owens, Ph.D.,
Michigan State University

The Stern Tutoring and Alternative Techniques in Education (STATE) is a program available to students with learning disabilities and related problems at Michigan State University (MSU). The program is endowed through the generous gift of Mickey and Debbie Stern, whose personal experiences with a college student with learning disabilities led to their decision to provide funding for a program of comprehensive services available to those with learning disabilities at MSU. The program, provided at no cost to students, has been serving the MSU community since 2005.

The LASSI has been an important component of the STATE for the past two years. Students accepted into the program have ongoing consultation with disability specialists at MSU's Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD). They are assigned to mentors who, while experiencing difficulties similar to those of the students in the STATE program, have achieved high levels of academic success at MSU.  STATE participants receive individualized tutoring in a course deemed to be particularly challenging. Training and resources are available so that students may avail themselves of a wide range of assistive technology available through the RCPD, e.g. the Kurzweil 3000 text-to-speech program.  Finally, all students participate in a semester long, weekly seminar entitled "Constructing Success:  Foundations and Bridges".

Early in the semester students in the seminar complete the LASSI. The results become the cornerstone of the personal action plans for academic success that students develop in conjunction with their peers and the seminar instructor. Many students are dismayed to discover that, relative to the LASSI normative sample, their percentile scores are very low for a wide range of study strategies. Students are counseled to consider these low scores as a positive finding, as they pinpoint very specific strategies that students can now begin to incorporate into their overall approach to academics. The personal action plans are developed with core symptoms of the student’s disabilities, neuropsychological evidence about cognitive strengths and weakness, and LASSI-generated results to inform students in selecting the goals and objectives that will guide their work in the upcoming semester. A major focus of the remaining seminar sessions is in teaching students the actual active engagement and learning strategies assessed with the LASSI.  Peer feedback and support are heavily emphasized in helping students monitor their adherence to their own personal action plans.

Students have been very positive about the role that the LASSI has played in their efforts to reach new levels of academic success. For many students, surprising low scores serve as a "wake-up call". Students report appreciating the level of detail provided about exactly what behavior changes are likely to prove beneficial. Students complete a LASSI post-test as the end of the semester nears. Concrete evidence of changes in actual strategies employed reinforces the work they have done over the semester and helps sustain their motivation for continued efforts to excel.

Contents