Aritcle 2. Sally Gornick, Project START, Essex Community College, Baltimore, Maryland
Aritcle 3. Chemeketa Community College, Lucy MacDonald, Learning Assistance, Salem, Oregon
About seven years ago, the learning skills counselors at the University of Western Ontario reviewed a number of learning skills assessment tools. The result was a decision to use the LASSI. Since that time the LASSI has been used in four ways.
First, the LASSI has been used in multi-week workshops such as Time Management and Learning Strategies for Economics 020. The LASSI enables students to receive individualized information within the group format of the workshop. A further benefit is that the group results provide direction. For example, if the LASSI results suggest that a majority of students in the Economics workshop have low percentile rankings on the scale Selecting Main Ideas, this skill can be reinforced in subsequent weeks using the course material.
The second counseling application is in a presentation called "Self Assessment with the LASSI." Prior to the presentation, students receive only the LASSI items, not the scoring information. The completed inventory is returned to our office at least two days prior to the presentation to allow time for scoring, and results are provided in the presentation.
The third use is in individual counseling. Students may self select for this or the counselor may initiate this course of action if, for example, the student is not doing well academically, and it is hard to determine why; the student may insist that he/she really knows the information thoroughly and employs all the best learning strategies both inside and outside of exams. The LASSI often provides direction by identifying problem areas.
The final application is as a component of a one-day workshop for senior high school students who are planning to attend university. The LASSI encourages students to think about the multidimensional nature of learning and to realize that they have control over some factors which contribute to academic success. Also, the students love doing the inventory. In evaluations, positive comments are the norm. Some students find it helpful because it confirms what they already know: "The LASSI evaluation was neat and was totally correct"; "I think it accurately reflected my study habits and came in handy when deciding how to improve them." For others it provides new ideas: "I think it helped me focus on things that I had never thought about before. It accurately reflected areas that needed work." There were also indications that the LASSI is a motivator: "The LASSI test showed me that I have to get my butt in gear if I want to succeed"; "The LASSI forced me to confront my shortcomings and address them."
Overall, the LASSI is a welcome addition to the tools of learning skills practitioners. While it is not a substitute for the counseling relationship, when used within this context, it provides a useful snapshot of a student's approach to learning which can guide effective interventions.
When I came to Project START, A TRIO Student Support Service program, the LASSI had already been selected as the academic assessment inventory. I was unfamiliar with the instrument. In an effort to learn about it, I took it myself. I immediately liked the ease of administrating and scoring the inventory. Once I began using it and interpreting the results to students, I appreciated further the ease with which I could go back and look at the individual answers to each scale and discuss the answers with students. For example, I have been able to show students just what it means to concentrate by going over the questions used to assess their concentration level.
My students like this instrument as much as I do. Although it is mandatory that they take the LASSI, I have never had a student tell me that they wished I hadn't given them the information contained in their LASSI report. All students, whether the results yield areas of strength or areas of need, find the information helpful. Furthermore, I have had a number of students ask to take a retest as they prepare to graduate. Several students were able to see in print what they knew to be true: that their scores had increased as a result of attending the program's workshops and counseling sessions.
At present time, I am thinking about how I can use a test and post-test setting to document the positive affect students receive from our program. I am on the LASSI LISTSERV and have received the names and addresses of other users who have already done research in this area.
Finally, besides identifying areas of study skill strengths and needs, the inventory facilitates discussion of other issues interrelated to academic success. For instance, the time management scale may lead to a discussion about procrastination and a student's fear of not being able to produce a perfect product. As a result, the students and I are often able to identify blocks to success that might have taken many counseling sessions to uncover. I can unreservedly recommend the LASSI to anyone looking for a good academic skills assessment tool.
Education Reform is in full swing in Oregon. Its impact on community colleges dealing with adults is great. In an effort to provide the same playing field for entrance into community college programs, the community colleges are developing "The Bridge." This program looks at underprepared students and provides integrated success development within the context of their chosen programs.
The LASSI plays a major role in initial assessment. It may also help in defining the needs profile of the students in the different bridge strands. Last year three strands were implemented: Business and Management, Health Services and Industrial, and Engineering Systems. The LASSI was given at the end of the 3rd week (of an 11 week term) to help students identify their current level of learning effectiveness.
The results helped to focus the curriculum to each area. Students in Business and Management reported that their strengths were in attitude and interest. Although we don't yet have a baseline for developmental students, the sense of the faculty in these programs is that students do not see this as a strength. They are usually wandering and wondering what they will do. The Bridge and LASSI have provided a focus and the students are committed to gaining the skills necessary to enter the program. On the other hand, the Industrial and Engineering students saw their strengths as concentration and attention to academic task. Are these the task-oriented students? Did they discount attitude and interest and go right to the job at hand? Both groups saw their strengths in light of the curriculum which they chose. They were already past the stage of "make up your mind about what you want to do!"
As weaknesses, both the Health and the Industrial Engineering students identified information processing and reasoning as a major problem. By using the LASSI and identifying this early in the term, the faculty could address this problem directly and help the students work to gain skills in their areas as they applied to their curriculum. On the other hand, the Business and Management students identified anxiety and worry about school performance as their weakness. This is an entirely different problem and needs a different approach from the skills of information processing and reasoning. Students here were given a chance to meet all the teachers in the curriculum and other successful students. The whole curriculum was laid out for them as well as the steps that they will need to successfully complete the program. The Bridge program, using the LASSI for assessment, provided a safe environment for students to practice the business skills that they will need in the program. Now students can build on a successful experience.
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