Self-regulated learning/Learning and Study Skills Inventory (LASSI)

Introduction

The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory or LASSI is a self-reporting questionnaire developed by Weinstein et al. that “that ask students to respond to Likert-type items concerning their level of cognitive strategy use and their regulation of cognition.” (Pintrich et al., 2000)

The construction of the scale is well described in Weinstein 1988

The first "final" LASSI scale

The final scale, published in the initial publication includes 90 items regrouped into 10 different scales:

Scale	No. of items	Alpha
Anxiety	10	.82
Attitude	4	.60
Concentration	8	.82
Information processing	17	.88
Motivation	14	.87
Scheduling	5	.69
Selecting main ideas	4	.61
Self-testing	5	.64
Study aids	8	.69
Test strategies	13	.83

The following quotation reproduces the items from Appendix BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF LASSI SCALES AND SAMPLE ITEMS (p.36)

Anxiety Sample items

1. Worrying about doing poorly interferes with my concentration on tests.

2. When I begin an examination, feel pretty confident that I will do well.

3. Even when I'm well prepared for a test, I feel very anxious.

Attitude sample items

1. Success in school is very important to me.

2. I feel confused and undecided as to what my educational goals should be.

3. In my opinion, what is taught in my courses is not worth learning.

Concentration sample items

1. I often find that I have been reading, but don't know what it was about.

2. I concentrate fully when studying.

3. I find that during lectures I think of other things and dont really listen to what is being said.

Information processing sample items

1. I try to find relationships between what I am learning and what I already know.

2. When I study, I try to somehow organize the material in my mind.

3. When having difficulty recalling something, I make an effort to recall something else that might be related to it.

Motivation sample items

1. I read the textbooks assigned for my classes.

2. I hurry my assignments, trying to get them out of the way rather than doing a good job.

3. I seem to be able to find all kinds of excuses for not studying.

Scheduling sample items

1. I only study when there is the pressure of a test.

2. I make good use of daytime study hours between classes.

3. At the beginning of a study period I organize my work so that I will use the time most effectively.

Selecting the main idea sample items

1. My underlining is helpful when I review text material.

2. I have difficulty identifying the important points in my reading.

3. Often when studying, I seem to get lost in details and "can't see the forest for the trees."

Self-testing sample items

1. I stop periodically while reading and mentally go over or review what was said.

2. I go over homework assignments when reviewing class materials.

3. I seldom review except just before tests.

Study aids sample items

1. I do not work through practice exercises and sample problems.

2. When they are available, I attend group review sessions.

3. I make simple charts, diagrams, or tables to summarize material in my courses.

Test strategies sample items

1. I think through the meaning of test questions before I begin to answer them.

2. I have difficulty adapting my studying to different types of courses.

3. When I take a test, I realize I have studied the wrong material.

LASSI, 2nd edition

LASSI, version 2 was created around 2002 and is sold as commercial tool with 80 items is being used by various academic institutions to help students assess their study skills (e.g. here).

In the manual (2nd edition) , the test is described as follows: “The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (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, motivations and beliefs that relate to successful learning in post-secondary educational and training settings and that can be altered through educational interventions.”

LASSI 3rd edition

In the third edition manual describes the LASSI as follows: “The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) is a 10-scale, 60-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 covert and overt thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, motivations and beliefs that relate to successful learning in postsecondary educational and training settings. Furthermore, these thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, motivations and beliefs can be altered through educational interventions.”

The major changes for the 3rd edition are described as follows in the manual: “[..] we reduced the number of items from 80 to 60. Now each scale is comprised of 6 items as opposed to 8 items. Completing the LASSI, 3rd Edition, will take approximately 9-11 minutes. This change was largely in response to users’ comments and requests. [..] e removed the somewhat dated Study Aids Scale and replaced it with a new scale called Using Academic Resources (UAR), which fits with current conceptions and research in self-regulated learning and student learning assistance.”

Links

• https://u.osu.edu/osunlassi/what-is-the-lassi/the-10-scales-of-the-lassi/

• http://www.kaskaskia.edu/TRiO/Pdf/LASSI_Workshop_Handout.pdf