david r. palmer, ph.d. - h&h · pdf fileclaire e. weinstein, ph.d. ... military), it can...

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Claire E. Weinstein, Ph.D.Department of Educational Psychology,University of Texas at Austin

David R. Palmer, Ph.D.Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Stephanie B. CorlissAlicia D. BethYoonjung ChoStephan J. BeraCynthia KingAngela L. Vaughan

Department of Educational Psychology

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All rights reserved. It is a violation of the lawto copy any or all of this publication withoutwritten permission of the publisher. Do notreproduce this publication in any way usingany media including computer memory deviceswithout written permission of the publisher.

Copyright ©2006

Claire E. Weinstein, Ph.D.David R. Palmer, Ph.D.

H&H Publishing Company, Inc.(800) 366-4079 (727) 442-7760FAX (727) 442-2195E-Mail [email protected] www.hhpublishing.com

It is impossible to thank the large number of individuals who have contributed to thedevelopment of the LASSI for Learning Online over the years. Many generations ofgraduate students, numerous colleagues, and other friends have generously givenof their time, talents, and skills. We also want to thank our unconditional supportteam for the family of LASSI assessments and products: “Mama” and “Papa”Weinstein, Leona Sheryl Weinstein, Dr. Linda Hargrove, and Chandler HargrovePalmer. Finally, we want to thank our incredible publisher and editorial team: Dr.Robert Hackworth, Michael Ealy, Priscilla Trimmier and Karen Hackworth. To allof you we are eternally grateful and appreciative of your efforts.

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The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory,2nd Edition (LASSI) (2004) is a 10-scale, 80-itemself-report inventory that assesses students’awareness about and use of learning and studystrategies in 10 different areas related to strate-gic and self-regulated learning: anxiety, atti-tude, concentration, information processing, mo-tivation, selecting main ideas, self testing, studyaids, test strategies, and time management. It iswidely used in educational and training settingsin the United States, as well as in other coun-tries, to assess students’ use of effective strate-gic and self-regulated learning and study meth-ods in face-to-face learning contexts. However,despite the enormous success and effectivenessof the LASSI, it is not completely appropriatefor use in online learning contexts due to someof their unique instructional characteristics andlearning demands. For this reason the LASSIfor Learning Online was developed. It uses thesame theoretical framework of the Model of Stra-tegic Learning and includes the same 10 scalesas the LASSI with the addition of a new scale,Communication, because of the unique commu-nication demands and opportunities in onlinelearning environments. In addition, althoughsome of the items on the LASSI for LearningOnline are the same as those on the LASSI (inparticular, the Anxiety Scale items), most of theitems have been created for this measure oradapted from LASSI items to more accuratelyreflect studying and learning in online learningcontexts.

For many reasons, online learning is increasingat an exponential rate in higher education, con-tinuing education, and training settings in theUnited States. We have much to be excited aboutas online learning spreads to all levels and typesof higher education. For example, over time

online instruction is more cost-effective, it ismore easily accessible to learners for whom tra-ditional education often has been inaccessible(e.g., older or working students and those in themilitary), it can provide high quality instructionin a broader range of areas than can be coveredby “in-house” faculty, it is self-paced and theinstruction in online environments is easily up-dated. However, despite the promises of thisincreasingly sophisticated instructional mediumand the exciting educational possibilities it of-fers, there are many challenges inherent in onlineinstruction from a student’s perspective. Onlinelearning offers the learner tremendous controlof both the instructional resources and the tech-nical tools provided in these learning environ-ments. In the hands of students who know howto use these tools and are prepared to take re-sponsibility for using these tools to enhance theirlearning, they can indeed be powerful tools.However, in the hands of students who may notbe skilled strategic and self-regulated learners,such as students who have problems with man-aging time, meeting commitments, maintainingmotivation, and knowing how to use learningstrategies effectively and efficiently, online learn-ing can offer many challenges.

The first step in helping students to thrive inonline instructional contexts is to determine theirawareness about and use of effective learningand study strategies and skills for online learn-ing. The Learning and Study Strategies Inven-tory for Learning Online (LASSI for LearningOnline) was developed to meet this growingneed to assess students’ ability to learn onlineso that steps can be taken to help them be betterprepared to succeed in these rich instructionalenvironments.

INTRODUCTION: THE LASSI AND LEARNING INONLINE ENVIRONMENTS

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WHAT IS THE LASSI FOR LEARNINGONLINE AND WHAT DOES IT

MEASURE?

The LASSI for Learning Online is an 11-scale,88-item self-report assessment of students’awareness about and use of learning and studystrategies related to skill (e.g., selecting mainideas and using cognitive learning strategies),will (e.g., maintaining motivation and havingrealistic goals), and self-regulation (e.g., timemanagement and using a systematic approachto studying) components of strategic learning inonline educational settings. In addition, a newscale has been added that does not appear onother versions of the LASSI. This new scale, theCommunication Scale, was added because of theunique ways students, proctors, instructors ortutors interact with one another in online envi-ronments. Because it is important that studentsunderstand and use these communication meth-ods and tools to be successful, their attitudesand feelings about communicating online arealso important contributors to their success.

The focus of the LASSI for Learning Online ison both covert and overt thoughts, behaviors,attitudes, motivations and beliefs that relate toand underlie successful learning in post-second-ary online educational and training settings andthat can be altered through educational inter-ventions. Research has repeatedly demonstratedthat these factors contribute significantly to suc-cess in college and that they can be learned orenhanced through educational interventionssuch as learning strategies and study skillscourses.

The LASSI for Learning Online is both diagnos-tic and prescriptive. It provides standardizedscores (percentile score equivalents) and nationalnorms for eleven different scales (there is nototal score reported because this is a diagnosticinstrument). It provides students with a diag-nosis of their strengths and weaknesses, com-pared to other college students taking online

courses, in the areas covered by the eleven scales.It is prescriptive in that it provides feedbackabout areas where students may be weak andneed to improve their knowledge, strategies,skills, attitudes, motivations and beliefs.

HOW CAN THE LASSI FOR LEARNINGONLINE BE USED?

The LASSI for Learning Online is designed foruse as:

(1) A self-evaluation measure to help stu-dents develop greater awareness of their learn-ing and studying strengths and weaknesses inonline settings;

(2) A diagnostic measure to help identify areasin which students could benefit most fromeducational interventions designed to helpthem be more successful in online settings;

(3) A basis for planning individual prescrip-tions for both remediation and enrichment;

(4) A means for instructors to use to examineindividual students’ scores and class trends tohelp them decide where to place the greatestemphasis for assignments, projects, individuallogs, journals, portfolios and other class activi-ties that could help students become morestrategic learners when using online instruc-tional materials;

(5) A pre-post measure to assess progress forstudents participating in programs or coursesfocusing on learning strategies and study skillsin online settings;

(6) An evaluation tool to assess the degree ofsuccess of intervention courses or programs;and

(7) An advising/counseling tool for collegeorientation programs, advisors, developmentaleducation programs, learning assistance pro-grams, and learning centers.

PART 1: OVERVIEW OF THE LASSI FOR LEARNING ONLINE

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INTRODUCTION TO THE LASSI FORLEARNING ONLINE SCALES

There are eight items on each of the eleven scales.These eleven scales are: Anxiety, Attitude, Com-munication, Concentration, Information Process-ing, Motivation, Selecting Main Ideas, Self Test-ing, Study Aids, Test Strategies, and Time Man-agement.

Each of these scales is primarily related to oneof the three components of strategic learning:skill, will and self-regulation. The conceptualframework of the Model of Strategic Learningunderlies each of these components and theirassociated scale categories so there is some over-lap and interaction among and within the com-ponents and the individual scales included ineach one. However, strategic learners need toknow about each of these categories and how touse the information and skills in each categoryfor their own individual advantage. They alsoneed to know how to pick and choose amongthe various elements in each category to helpthem reach specific learning goals and objectives.It is the interactions among elements from allthree component areas that are crucial to suc-cessful strategic learning, transfer of learning,and ultimately, students’ academic success, re-tention, and graduation.

Skill Component of Strategic Learning

The LASSI for Learning Online scales related tothe skill component of strategic learning are: In-formation Processing, Selecting Main Ideas,and Test Strategies. These scales examine stu-dents’ learning strategies, skills and thought pro-cess that are critical for successful learning andperformance in online learning contexts. Theyinclude identifying, acquiring and constructingmeaning for important new information, ideasand procedures, and how students prepare forand demonstrate their new knowledge on testsor other evaluative procedures.

The Information Processing Scale (INP) assesseshow well students’ can use imagery, verbalelaboration, organization strategies, and reason-ing skills as strategies to help learn new infor-

mation and skills and to build bridges betweenwhat they already know and what they are try-ing to learn and remember. This is especiallyimportant in an online learning environment asstudents are often required to draw connectionsbetween new material and prior knowledge withless help from an instructor than might be avail-able in a traditional, classroom-based, course.

Do students try to relate what they arestudying in their online courses to theirexisting knowledge or past experiences?

Do they try applying what they are study-ing in their online courses to new tasks ortheir everyday life?

The Selecting Main Ideas Scale (SMI) assesseshow well students can identify important infor-mation for further study from less important in-formation and supporting details in their onlinecourses. This is particularly necessary in anonline learning environment where students of-ten work independently.

Can they pick out the important informa-tion while studying online course material?

Can students distinguish between moreimportant and less important information inonline course materials?

The Test Strategies Scale (TST) assesses stu-dents’ use of both test preparation and test-tak-ing strategies in their online courses. Effectivetest performance depends on the strategies usedto prepare for and take a test or other form ofassessment. This is important in online courses,where testing and assessment situations may bedifferent and perhaps unfamiliar from those intraditional classroom environments.

Do students understand how to adapt theirstudying to prepare for a test in an onlinecourse?

Do they save time after completing a test inan online course to go back and check theiranswers?

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The Will Component ofStrategic Learning

The LASSI for Learning Online scales related tothe will component of strategic learning are:Anxiety, Attitude, Communication and Moti-vation. These scales measure the degree towhich students worry about their academic per-formance, their receptivity to learning new in-formation, their attitudes and interest in college,their attitudes about communicating with oth-ers in online settings, their diligence, self-disci-pline, and their willingness to exert the effortnecessary to successfully complete academic re-quirements in online settings.

The Anxiety Scale (ANX) measures students’apprehension and anxiety about approachingacademic tasks in online courses. If studentsare anxious about an academic task or learningsituation their attention will be diverted fromthe learning opportunity and instead will turninward to self-concerns, self-criticism or irratio-nal fears. In online settings, students may alsoexhibit anxiety toward computers in general orcomputer-based learning activities.

Do students worry that they will flunk theironline courses?

Do they feel panicky when they take an im-portant test or other assessment online?

The Attitude Scale (ATT) assesses students’ gen-eral attitudes towards school, online learning,and performing tasks necessary to be successfulin online courses and for achieving academicsuccess. Because students’ attitudes impact theirefforts devoted to self-directed studying andlearning, having positive attitudes is particularlyimportant in online environments.

Do students have a positive attitude aboutcompleting online lessons?

In general, do they like using a computer tolearn new things?

The Communication Scale (COM) assesses stu-dents’ attitudes towards communicating onlineand using different types of online communica-

tion tools. Often students are not able to meet orcommunicate with their classmates or instruc-tors face-to-face in online courses; therefore, theirattitude towards and their use of these onlinecommunication tools could be an important fac-tor in successfully meeting their course objec-tives.

Do students participate in bulletin board dis-cussions in their online courses?

Do they find it easy to share their ideas withothers online?

The Motivation Scale (MOT) assesses students’diligence, self-discipline, and their willingnessto accept responsibility and exert the effort nec-essary to successfully complete academic require-ments in online courses.

Do students have enough self-discipline tocomplete the work in online courses?

Are they motivated to complete the workeven if they are having difficulty in an onlinecourse?

The Self-Regulation Component ofStrategic Learning

The LASSI for Learning Online scales related tothe self-regulation component of strategic learn-ing are: Concentration, Self Testing, StudyAids, and Time Management. These scales mea-sure how students manage, or self-regulate andcontrol, the whole learning process through us-ing their time effectively and efficiently, focus-ing their attention, maintaining their concentra-tion over time, checking to see if they have metthe learning demands for a class, an assignmentor a test, and using study supports such as re-view sessions, online tutors or special help fea-tures of online instructional materials.

The Concentration Scale (CON) assesses stu-dents’ abilities to focus and maintain their at-tention on instructional activities and tasks re-lated to their online courses. Given the limita-tions on human capacities to process informa-tion, if students in online courses become dis-tracted (by their friends, jobs, families, or even

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the graphics or pictures on a webpage), theywill be less able to self-regulate and focus on thelearning tasks.

Do students find it easy to pay attentionduring online lessons?

Do they find it difficult to maintain theirconcentration over time while doing theironline coursework?

The Self Testing Scale (SFT) assesses students’awareness of the importance of self-testing andreviewing, and the degree to which they usethese methods in their online courses. Self test-ing and reviewing are critical for meaningfullearning. Its importance is highlighted in onlinelearning situations because students often workindependently. In this type of environment, stu-dents must guide much of their own understand-ing of the material and resolve many of theirown misconceptions.

Do the students test themselves to be surethey have learned the online course materialthey have been studying?

When reviewing their online course mate-rial do they try to identify potential testquestions?

The Study Aids Scale (STA) assesses students’use of support techniques, materials or onlineresources to help them acquire and rememberwhat they are trying to learn. To be more suc-cessful, students must know how to use thestudy aids offered in their online courses aswell as how to create their own study aids.

Do students complete practice exercisesduring online instructional sessions?

Do they create or use graphic organiza-tional aids for learning online coursematerial?

The Time Management Scale (TMT) assessesstudents’ use of time management principlesfor academic tasks. Managing time effectivelyis an important support strategy for learning inany environment but it is especially importantfor online learning because students are likelyto engage in self-paced study.

Are students well organized in their onlinecourses?

Do they anticipate scheduling problems forcompleting the work in their onlinecourses?

PART 2: ADMINISTRATION AND SCORING

The LASSI for Learning Online is administeredonline and takes approximately 12-18 minutesto complete. It is designed to simplify adminis-tration and scoring as much as possible withoutlosing power or diagnostic information. To helpachieve this goal, it uses a self-report format anddoes not require any special administration pro-cedures. Additionally, administering the LASSIfor Learning Online does not require any spe-cially trained personnel. The directions are in-cluded at the beginning of each individual ad-ministration. Scoring is completed online andscoring reports are computer-generated.

The LASSI for Learning Online yields 11 indi-vidual scale scores, one for each of the 11 scales.No total score is computed since this is a diag-

nostic instrument. These scale scores can thenbe compared numerically or graphically to thenational norms provided, or to local norms orcut-off scores developed by an institution or pro-gram. The data provided with the LASSI forLearning Online includes percentile scoreequivalents. Based on a student’s scale scores,either in relation to the national norms includedwith the instrument or to a percentile cut-offscore (75% being a common cut-off used onmany campuses), prescriptions can then bemade. For example, if a student scores poorlyon the Test Strategies Scale, he or she should beadvised to concentrate at least part of their ef-forts on learning more about how to prepare forand take tests. A poor score on the AnxietyScale indicates a difficulty with focusing atten-

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tion on task-relevant thoughts and behaviorsrather than on fears and concerns about failureand incompetence. Students who do poorly onthis scale would need to learn more about deal-ing with irrational thoughts and negative self-talk. They would have to learn how to copewith anxiety-arousing stimuli and take more re-sponsibility for the direction of their own think-ing processes.

Each LASSI for Learning Online administrationcontains the following parts: An introduction tothe inventory; an explanation of how to com-plete it; the inventory items; a summary of thestudents responses coded by scale; scoring sum-mary sheets; and, some information about inter-preting individual scale scores. These scores arekeyed to the appropriate scale using a 3-lettercode (e.g., SMI represents the Selecting MainIdeas Scale).

For each of the 88 items on the LASSI for Learn-ing Online, students are requested to mark theletter that corresponds to how well the state-ment describes them. For example, marking theletter a for an item would indicate that the state-ment is not at all typical of the student, whilemarking the letter e would indicate that the state-ment was very much typical of the student. Stu-dents are also cautioned to respond accordingto how well the statements reflect their behav-iors or thinking processes and not how they thinkthey should respond or how others would re-spond.

To get a better overall view of their performance,students’ scale scores are printed on a graphthat uses the national norms for each scale. Thegraph depicts raw scores that were transformedinto percentiles so that relative performance indifferent areas can be assessed. In addition, byusing the graph students can also see how theiranswers compare to the answers of the normgroup. The graph is also marked off at the 75thand 50th percentiles to facilitate advising andcounseling. Students who score above the 75thpercentile often do not need to work on the strat-egies or skills for that scale. Students who scorebetween the 75th and the 50th percentile on anyscale should consider improving the relevantlearning and study strategies and skills to opti-mize their academic performance in onlinecourses. Students who score below the 50th per-centile usually need to improve their relevantknowledge and skills in that scale area to in-crease their chances of succeeding in a post-sec-ondary online setting. It should also be notedthat these cut-offs could be modified dependingon the local setting or the development of localnorms. A copy of the national norms used tocreate the graph can be found in Appendix D ofthis user’s manual. The data in Appendix Drepresent the percent of students in the normgroup that fall at or below a given raw score foreach scale.

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ANXIETY (ANX)

Current conceptions of anxiety emphasize theinteractive effects of students’ own thought pro-cesses, beliefs, and emotions and how they af-fect academic performance in their onlinecourses. Cognitive worry, a major componentof anxiety, is manifested in fearful concerns andnegative self-referent statements. These nega-tive thoughts, beliefs, and feelings about one’sabilities, intelligence, future, interactions withothers, or likelihood of success, divert a student’sattention away from the task at hand, such asstudying for an online course or taking a test.This is especially important for online learning,where students may also exhibit anxiety towardscomputers in general or computer-based learn-ing activities. If students worry that they willnot have time to finish an assignment for theironline course, then they could be making mat-ters worse by taking even more time away fromthe task to worry about their performance. Thistype of self-defeating behavior often sabotages astudent’s efforts. If students are tense, anxious,or fearful about studying or their performancein online learning situations, this will divert theirattention away from the academic task and in-ward to self-criticism or irrational fears.

Students’ scores on this scale assess how tenseor concerned they are when approaching onlineacademic tasks and courses. This is also theonly totally reversed scale on the LASSI so stu-dents who score low on this measure (indicat-ing high anxiety) need to learn techniques forcoping with anxiety and reducing worry so thatthey can focus on the task at hand and not theiranxiety. Many very capable students are oftenincapable of demonstrating their true level ofknowledge and skill because they are paralyzedor distracted by debilitating anxiety. In fact,helping some students learn how to reduce theiranxiety is sufficient for helping them to improve

their performance in their online courses. Oncethese attentional blocks are removed, many stu-dents show significant increases in performance.

Coefficient Alpha = 0.85

Sample items:

Even when I am well prepared for a test in myonline courses, I feel very anxious.

I become very tense when I study for onlinecourses.

ATTITUDE (ATT)

Students’ general attitudes toward their coursesand succeeding in school have a great impact ontheir diligence when studying, particularly inonline courses where they are likely to engagein more self-directed study. If the relationshipsamong school and life goals (academic, personal,social and work-related goals) are not clear forstudents it can be difficult to maintain a mind-set that promotes good work habits, concentra-tion, and attention to online courses and courserelated tasks.

Students’ scores on this scale assess their gen-eral attitudes and approach for performing thetasks necessary to be successful in online courses.Students who score low on this scale need towork on high-level goal setting and reassess howschool and their online courses fit into their fu-ture. If their online courses are not seen as rel-evant to students’ life goals and attitudes, thenit will be difficult, if not impossible, to generatethe levels of motivation, attention, and activeinformation processing needed to help take re-sponsibility for one’s own learning and for help-ing to manage one’s own study activities.


PART 3: DESCRIPTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL LASSI FORLEARNING ONLINE SCALES

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Sample items:

I dislike most of the work in my online courses.

I am able to learn effectively from online courses.

COMMUNICATION (COM)

Effective communication is essential to the learn-ing process, especially in online courses wherethere is little, if any, face-to-face contact betweenthe instructor and students. Communicatingwith the instructor and other students in anonline course can be an important resource forstudents. For example, if a student becomesconfused when studying online course material,discussing the problem with the instructor orother students may be the best way to solve theproblem. Students need to feel comfortable con-tacting these people even though they may havenever interacted with them face-to- face. In ad-dition, in many online courses, students are re-quired to communicate online with the instruc-tor and other students.

Students’ scores on this scale assess their atti-tudes and preferences towards communicatingonline and their use of online communicationtools. Students who score low on this measuremay need to develop more positive attitudes to-ward communicating online and they may needto learn more about how to communicate effec-tively and clearly online. Becoming involved inonline discussions or chat sessions, using email,and posting questions on bulletin boards, canhelp students establish a sense of classroom com-munity that can help them as they study fortheir online courses.


Sample Items:

I like to use e-mail to communicate with otherstudents in my online courses.

I need to meet face-to-face with other studentsin my online courses rather than communicat-ing with them online.

CONCENTRATION (CON)

Concentration helps students to focus and main-tain their attention on school-related activities,such as studying and working on online courseassignments, rather than on distracting thoughts,emotions, feelings, or social situations. Peoplehave a limited capacity to process what is goingon around them and in their own thoughts; ifthey are distracted, there will be less capacity tofocus on the task at hand. For students thismeans that distractions, or anything else thatinterferes with concentration, will divert atten-tion away from tasks related to their onlinecourses.

Students’ scores on this scale assess how wellthey are able to concentrate and direct their at-tention to school activities and tasks related totheir online courses. Students who score highon this measure are effective at focusing theirattention and maintaining a high level of con-centration. Students who score low on this mea-sure are less successful at focusing their atten-tion on the task at hand by eliminating interfer-ing thoughts, emotions, feelings, and situations.They need to learn techniques to enhance con-centration and to set priorities so that they canattend to their online courses as well as to theirother responsibilities. Learning techniques forfocusing attention and maintaining concentra-tion help students implement effective learningstrategies and can make learning and studyingboth more effective and more efficient.


Sample items:

My mind wanders when I study online coursematerials.

I find it easy to pay attention during online les-sons.

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INFORMATION PROCESSING (INP)

Meaningful learning is enhanced by the activeuse of rehearsal, elaboration and organizationstrategies. These strategies help to build bridgesbetween what a student already knows or hasexperienced and what he or she is trying to learnand remember. Using what we already know,that is, our prior knowledge, experiences, atti-tudes, beliefs, and reasoning skills to help makemeaning out of new information is critical tosuccess in educational and training settings. Thisis especially important in an online learning en-vironment, where students are likely to be re-quired to make connections between new mate-rial and prior knowledge on their own, withless help from an instructor than what might beavailable in a traditional, classroom-basedcourse. The difference between an expert and anovice is not just the amount of knowledge theypossess but also, and perhaps even more impor-tant, the way that knowledge is acquired andorganized. It is the difference between storingone thousand folders by throwing them in themiddle of a room versus storing them by somemeaningful organization scheme in filing cabi-nets.

Students’ scores on this scale assess how wellthey can create visual and verbal elaborationsand organization schemes to foster understand-ing and recall of the information they are learn-ing in their online courses. Students who scorelow on this measure need to learn methods thatthey can use to help add meaning and organiza-tion to what they are trying to learn. Thesemethods range from simple paraphrasing andsummarizing to creating analogies, applying orusing new information and skills, creating orga-nizational schemes and outlining, and using syn-thesis, inferential, and analytic reasoning skills.A student who does not have a repertoire ofthese strategies and skills will find it difficult toincorporate new knowledge and understandingin such a way that acquisition and recall will beeffective, often despite a large amount of timespent studying. The effectiveness and efficiencyof learning in online courses can be facilitatedby the use of information processing strategies.


Sample items:

I make connections among the different ideas ortopics I am studying in my online courses.

I try to apply what I am learning to my every-day life.

MOTIVATION (MOT)

The Attitude Scale measures students’ generalattitudes for succeeding in online courses. Al-though general attitudes are important, so is astudent’s motivation to perform the specific tasksrelated to achievement. The degree to whichstudents are motivated and accept responsibil-ity for studying and for their performance isreflected in the everyday behaviors they exhibitrelated to their online courses and the academictasks related to these courses. These behaviorsinclude reading the assigned material, prepar-ing for class or online lessons, finishing assign-ments on time, and being diligent in studying,even if the topic is not particularly interesting tothem (or even trying to figure out ways to makeit more interesting).

Students’ scores on this scale assess the degreeto which they accept responsibility for perform-ing specific tasks related to overall college suc-cess and success in online courses. Studentswho score low on this measure need to work ongoal setting, perhaps at the more global levelsassessed on the Attitude Scale, but certainly atthe more specific level of individual tasks andassignments. Accepting more responsibility forstudying and achievement outcomes requiresthat students learn to attribute much of whathappens to them in their online courses to theirown efforts rather than to outside causes suchas luck or poor teachers, or to uncontrollableforces, such as innate (verses acquired) ability.Accepting more responsibility and attributingsuccess to one’s efforts results in more effectivestudying and academic performance.

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Sample items:

I have enough self-discipline to complete thework in online courses.

Even if I do not like an assignment in an onlinecourse, I am able to get myself to work on it.

SELECTING MAIN IDEAS (SMI)

Effective and efficient studying requires that stu-dents select important material for in-depth at-tention. Most online lessons, discussions, supple-mentary textbooks and other materials containredundant information, extra examples, andmany supporting details to help explain what isbeing taught or presented. A major task in onlinecourses involves separating the important fromthe unimportant, or even simply didactic, infor-mation that does not have to be remembered. Ifstudents cannot select the critical information,then the learning task becomes complicated bythe huge amount of material they are trying toacquire. Lacking this skill also increases the like-lihood that students will not have enough timeto study everything that must be covered.

Students’ scores on this scale assess their skillsat selecting important information to concentrateon for further study in their online courses. Stu-dents who score low on this measure need tolearn more about how to identify important in-formation in an online course so that they canfocus their attention and information process-ing strategies on appropriate material.


Sample items:

In an online course, it is easy for me to decidewhat I need to include in my notes.

When studying online course material, I seemto get lost in the details and miss the importantinformation.

SELF TESTING (SFT)

Reviewing and testing one’s level of understand-ing are important for knowledge acquisition andcomprehension monitoring. These strategiesboth support and contribute to meaningful learn-ing and effective performance. Without them,learning could be incomplete or errors mightpersist undetected. Reviewing and self testingalso contribute to knowledge consolidation andintegration across topics. Using mental reviews,going over notes and course materials, thinkingof potential questions to guide reading or helpprepare for an exam are all important methodsfor checking understanding, consolidating newknowledge, integrating related information (bothfrom what is being learned and from what isalready known), and deciding if additionalstudying is needed. Self testing can be extremelyimportant in an online learning environmentwhere students are likely to be working inde-pendently much, if not all, of the time; it is up tothe students to check for misconceptions andunderstanding of the material.

Students’ scores on this scale assess their aware-ness of the importance of self testing and re-viewing and the degree to which they use thesemethods in their online courses. Students whoscore low on this measure need to learn moreabout the importance of self testing as well asspecific methods for reviewing material in theironline courses and monitoring their comprehen-sion. These methods include structured reviewsof individual study segments; asking questionsbefore, during, and after reading, studying, orcompleting an online lesson; trying to use newinformation in novel ways; trying to apply aprinciple or method; and using a systematic ap-proach to studying and learning online.


Sample items:

I stop periodically while completing an onlinelesson and mentally go over and review whatwas presented.

I try to identify potential test questions whenreviewing my online course material.

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STUDY AIDS (STA)

Students need to know how to create their ownstudy aids and how to use those created by oth-ers. This is especially critical in online learningenvironments where students are likely to beworking independently. For example, onlinecourse or textbook authors (or publishers) willoften use headings, special type, white space,special markings, summaries, and statements ofobjectives to help students learn from their ma-terials. Many also provide links to additionalwebsites or supplemental materials to help stu-dents learn the material. However, unless stu-dents know how to recognize and use these hintsand aids, they will not benefit from them. It isalso important for students to know how to gen-erate their own study aids using methods suchas creating diagrams, summarizing text, creat-ing charts or topic summary sheets, and tryingto explain the material to another student. Thereare other supplementary activities that also sup-port and enhance meaningful learning such asattending group review sessions, participatingin online discussions, contacting the instructor,searching for related material on the Web, form-ing study groups, or comparing notes with otherstudents to check for accuracy or completeness.

Students’ scores on this scale assess their abilityto use or create study aids that support and in-crease meaningful learning and retention. Stu-dents who score low on this scale may need tolearn more about the types of study aids pro-vided in educational materials for their onlinecourses and how to create their own study aids.Using and creating study aids improves boththe effectiveness and efficiency of online learn-ing.


Sample items:

I try to find a study partner or study group formy online courses.

I use the titles and headings in my online les-sons as a guide to study the material.

TEST STRATEGIES (TST)

Effective test performance depends on bothpreparation strategies and test taking strategies.A student needs to know how to prepare for thetype of performance that will be required andhow to maximize that performance. This is es-pecially important in online courses where test-ing situations may be different than those thestudent has experienced before in traditionalclassroom-based environments. Test prepara-tion includes knowing about the type of testsand assessments students will be taking. Forexample, is it going to be a short-answer or amultiple-choice exam? Will performance requiresimple recall or will concepts, principles, andideas need to be applied? Test preparation alsoincludes knowing about methods for studyingand learning the material in a way that will fa-cilitate remembering the material and using it ata later time. Test taking strategies include know-ing about the characteristics of tests and testitems, and how to create an effective test takingplan.

Students’ scores on this scale assess their use oftest preparation and test taking strategies inonline courses. Students who score low on thismeasure may need to learn more about how toprepare for tests, how to create a plan of attackfor taking a test, the characteristics of differenttypes of tests and test items, and how to reasonthrough to an answer. Often, students’ perfor-mance on a test is not an accurate indicator ofwhat they have learned. Knowing about testpreparation and test taking strategies and howto use them in their online courses helps stu-dents target their study activities, set up usefulstudy goals, implement an effective study plan,and demonstrate their knowledge and skill ac-quisition so it can be accurately evaluated.


Sample items:

When I prepare for a test in an online course, Ihave trouble figuring out what to do to learnthe material.

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When taking a test, I am unable to summarizewhat I have studied in an online lesson.

TIME MANAGEMENT (TMT)

Managing time effectively is an important self-regulation strategy for learning in any environ-ment. However, time management is critical foronline learning because students are likely toengage in self-paced study. Most students havevarious demands on their time; only by creatingrealistic schedules and using them can they setpriorities and try to fit in everything they wantto do. Creating and using schedules also en-courages students to take more responsibilityfor their own behavior. It requires some knowl-edge about themselves as students and learnersin online educational settings. What are theirbest and worst times of day to study for theironline courses? Which subjects are easier orharder for them? What are their preferences forlearning methods? This type of knowledge andself-awareness helps students create workableschedules, and perhaps even more important, ithelps students to create the motivation to usethem.

Students’ scores on this scale indicate the de-gree to which they create and use schedules tomanage their time. Students who score low onthis scale may need to learn about how to createa useful schedule and how to deal with distrac-tions, competing goals, and procrastination. Ac-cepting more responsibility for studying andachievement outcomes requires that students setrealistic academic goals and create plans thatwill facilitate goal achievement. Effective timemanagement enhances these activities.

Coefficient Alpha =0.86

Sample items:

I put off studying for online courses more than Ishould.

I spread out my study times for my onlinecourses so I do not have to “cram” for a test.

PART 4: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LASSI FOR ONLINELEARNING

The developmental work that led to the creationof the LASSI for Learning Online began in Janu-ary 2001 as part of the Cognitive Learning Strat-egies Project at the University of Texas at Aus-tin. The LASSI for Learning Online was devel-oped to:

1. Create a LASSI for use with the increasingnumbers of learners in online settings. To thisend, new field test items were created (50 items),including items for the new CommunicationScale, and existing items from the LASSI, 2nd

Edition, were modified for online settings (55items) or used for the new measure with noneor only minor changes (21 items); primarily forthe Anxiety Scale.

2. Incorporate current research findings on therole of strategic learning factors in technology-rich and online learning environments. For ex-ample, a greater emphasis was placed on therole of students’ increased need for self-regula-tion in these environments.

3. Incorporate changes in educational practiceand instruction in higher education. For example,all scales were updated to reflect strategic learn-ing factors in typical online learning environ-ments.

4. Broaden the scope of the scales to increasethe degree to which they appropriately samplethe underlying domains, given the online learn-ing context. For example, the Study Aids Scale

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samples more broadly from the domain of spe-cific tasks required of learners in online learningsettings.

5. Establish sound psychometric properties. Forexample, the lowest Coefficient Alpha for anyscale on the LASSI for Learning Online is now0.69, and all but two scales are above 0.83.

6. Create national norms generated from abroad-based sample of online learners (N = 679).(Note: This sample will be expanded over timeand the norming process will continue.)

EARLY DEVELOPMENTALACTIVITIES

The initial task in this project consisted of a re-view of relevant research, learning assistance ma-terials, and websites with regard to students’learning in online settings. In addition, a seriesof interviews was conducted with professionalsin developmental education, educational psy-chology, and instructional technology that hadeither worked with or conducted research aboutstudents in online learning settings in highereducation, broadly defined. The data from theliterature review and interviews helped us toidentify criteria both for the modification of theLASSI, 2nd Edition, and for the development ofnew items for the LASSI for Learning Online.Finally, feedback was solicited from educationalpsychometricians with expertise in diagnostic/prescriptive assessments.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN ITEM POOL

Using the data gathered during the early devel-opmental activities, as well as a number of pilottests, a final item pool was created. These itemsincluded those that were created specifically forthe LASSI for Learning Online (50 items) which

included items for the new CommunicationScale), existing items from the LASSI, 2nd Edi-tion which were modified for online settings (55items), and items from the LASSI 2nd Editionused for the new measure with no or only mi-nor changes (21 items) primarily used for theAnxiety Scale). A team of developmental educa-tors, instructors, educational psychologists, in-structional technologists, and psychometriciansexamined this initial pool of 126 items. As aresult of their input, a number of modificationswere made: the wording of some of the itemswas changed, a number of items were removed,and new items were created to replace some ofthe discarded ones. After a series of reviews, theitems were randomly sorted to create a field testversion of the instrument.

FIELD TESTING AND NORMDEVELOPMENT

The final field testing and norming version ofthe LASSI for Learning Online contained extraitems for each scale (only 88 of the 111 itemsfield tested were needed for the final instrument).The field test/norming version was administeredto 679 students from 2 prototypical higher edu-cation institutions. Balancing both conceptualand psychometric analyses, eleven scales of eightitems each were developed using those itemsthat best represented the breadth and depth ofthe conception underlying each scale and thatprovided the strongest psychometric propertiesfor the scale. Summaries of the item statistics foreach of the LASSI for Learning Online scalescan be found in Appendix A (Tables 1-25). Ap-pendix B contains a summary of the individualscale statistics (mean, standard deviation, andCoefficient Alpha) and Appendix C contains theinter-scale correlations for all scales. AppendixD contains a listing of the norms for the LASSIfor Learning Online Scales.

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Table 1LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsSample Size by Type of Institution

Number of Number of Schools Students

University 4 335Community College 1 109State College 2 59

Total 7 503

Table 2LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsGPA by Gender

GPA Male Female Total

Below 2.5 26 21 472.5 - 3.0 63 88 1513.0 - 3.5 52 85 1373.5 - 4.0 43 87 130

Total 184 281 465

Table 3LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsEthnicity by Gender

Ethnicity Male Female Total

White, non-Hispanic 108 187 295African-American 6 23 29Hispanic 108 59 112Asian or Pacific Islander 11 9 20Other 7 13 20

Grand Total 240 291 476

Appendix A: Descriptions of the Field Test and Norming Sample (Tables 1-25)

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Table 4LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsAge by Gender

Age Male Female Total

17-18 19 29 4819-20 101 134 23521-22 24 37 6123-24 17 20 3725 or older 35 85 120

Total 196 305 501

Table 5LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsEthnicity by Age

Ethnicity 17-18 19-20 21-22 23-24 25 or older Total

White, non-Hispanic 22 127 32 19 95 295African-American 6 18 3 1 1 29Hispanic 15 55 19 12 11 112Asian or Pacific Islander 1 14 3 2 0 20Other 1 8 2 0 9 20

Total 45 222 59 34 116 476

Table 6LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsEthnicity by GPA

Ethnicity Below 2.5 2.5 - 3.0 3.0 - 3.5 3.5 - 4.0 Total

White, non-Hispanic 25 73 96 93 287African-American 3 13 4 4 24Hispanic 17 50 18 13 98Asian or Pacific Islander 1 3 3 13 20Other 0 6 8 3 17

Total 46 145 129 126 446

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Table 7LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsGPA by Age

GPA 17-18 19-20 21-22 23-24 25 or older Total

Below 2.5 5 27 8 3 4 472.5 - 3.0 14 74 27 12 24 1513.0 - 3.5 13 59 12 13 40 1373.5 - 4.0 10 57 11 5 47 130

Grand Total 42 217 58 33 115 465

Table 8LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsEthnicity by GPA — Males

Ethnicity Below 2.5 2.5 - 3.0 3.0 - 3.5 3.5 - 4.0 Total


Total 25 60 49 43 177

Table 9LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsEthnicity by GPA — Females

GPA Below 2.5 2.5 - 3.0 3.0 - 3.5 3.5 - 4.0 Total


Total 21 85 80 83 269

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Table 10LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsAge by GPA — Males

Age Below 2.5 2.5 - 3.0 3.0 - 3.5 3.5 - 4.0 Total

17-18 4 5 5 4 1819-20 14 34 25 23 9621-22 6 7 7 3 2323-24 1 6 6 1 1425 or older 1 11 9 12 33

Total 26 63 52 43 184

Table 11LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsAge by GPA — Females

Age Below 2.5 2.5 - 3.0 3.0 - 3.5 3.5 - 4.0 Total

17-18 1 9 8 6 2419-20 13 40 34 34 12121-22 2 20 5 8 3523-24 2 6 7 4 1925 or older 3 13 31 35 82

Total 21 88 85 87 281

Table 12LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsEthnicity by Age — Males


White, non-Hispanic 9 55 12 6 26 108African-American 0 6 0 0 0 6Hispanic 9 24 8 8 4 53Asian or Pacific Islander 0 8 2 1 0 11Other 0 2 1 0 4 7

Total 19 101 24 17 35 196

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Table 13LASSI for Learning Online Norming-Sample DemographicsEthnicity by Age — Females


White, non-Hispanic 13 72 20 13 69 187

African-American 6 12 3 1 1 23

Hispanic 6 31 11 4 7 59

Asian or Pacific Islander 1 6 1 1 0 9

Other 1 6 1 0 5 13

Total 27 127 36 19 82 291

Table 14Item Statistics for the Anxiety Scale

CoefficientItem-Total r Alpha

Standard Excluding ExcludingItem Number Item Mean Deviation Item-Total r This Item This Item

10 2.771 1.250 0.669 0.549 0.83118 2.801 1.312 0.754 0.651 0.81831 3.356 1.185 0.725 0.626 0.82242 3.944 1.336 0.658 0.525 0.83447 3.636 1.096 0.655 0.549 0.83167 3.598 1.163 0.741 0.648 0.81970 2.847 1.282 0.622 0.487 0.83976 3.672 1.303 0.730 0.621 0.822

Table 15Item Statistics for the Attitude Scale



14 3.754 1.251 0.690 0.559 0.80626 3.650 1.190 0.724 0.611 0.79835 3.541 1.130 0.806 0.725 0.78340 4.131 1.031 0.642 0.527 0.81053 3.765 1.185 0.824 0.745 0.77957 3.022 1.271 0.632 0.482 0.81861 3.622 1.106 0.705 0.596 0.80164 4.135 1.032 0.335 0.176 0.850

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Table 16Item Statistics for the Communication Scale



1 2.706 27.682 0.340 0.175 0.6974 3.765 28.498 0.322 0.299 0.69916 2.197 27.389 0.460 0.306 0.67039 2.626 27.295 0.435 0.230 0.67444 3.127 26.283 0.450 0.325 0.67173 3.002 26.450 0.501 0.315 0.66081 3.581 30.125 0.279 0.173 0.70584 2.563 27.873 0.425 0.306 0.677

Table 17Item Statistics for the Concentration Scale



2 3.942 0.999 0.579 0.450 0.8577 3.686 1.163 0.735 0.623 0.83921 3.296 1.089 0.700 0.586 0.84334 3.453 1.119 0.759 0.659 0.83449 3.734 0.915 0.709 0.619 0.84056 3.706 1.026 0.692 0.584 0.84359 3.348 1.062 0.788 0.704 0.82971 3.253 0.991 0.701 0.600 0.841

Table 18Item Statistics for the Information Processing Scale



9 3.843 0.978 0.545 0.411 0.85513 3.682 1.031 0.602 0.470 0.84920 3.306 1.135 0.734 0.623 0.83138 3.274 1.020 0.719 0.617 0.83255 3.093 1.016 0.653 0.535 0.84158 3.523 1.039 0.781 0.695 0.82278 3.177 1.116 0.785 0.692 0.82286 3.404 0.993 0.780 0.699 0.822

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Table 19Item Statistics for the Motivation Scale



11 3.708 1.068 0.705 0.602 0.86419 3.302 1.117 0.544 0.399 0.88628 3.952 0.946 0.809 0.746 0.85132 3.948 1.055 0.778 0.697 0.85441 3.791 1.167 0.799 0.714 0.85246 3.759 1.093 0.803 0.725 0.85165 3.789 1.065 0.721 0.622 0.86280 3.992 1.031 0.711 0.613 0.863

Table 20Item Statistics for the Selecting Main Ideas Scale



6 3.447 1.008 0.672 0.553 0.83512 3.708 1.102 0.654 0.515 0.84122 3.708 0.970 0.719 0.617 0.82730 3.388 1.029 0.696 0.579 0.83263 3.241 1.006 0.660 0.538 0.83768 3.420 0.962 0.747 0.653 0.82372 3.587 0.921 0.742 0.652 0.82479 3.604 0.960 0.705 0.601 0.829

Table 21Item Statistics for the Self Testing Scale



8 2.795 1.129 0.705 0.586 0.81017 2.978 1.076 0.671 0.550 0.81523 3.262 0.957 0.629 0.514 0.82036 2.952 1.083 0.761 0.665 0.80045 2.229 1.117 0.633 0.497 0.82252 3.036 1.071 0.720 0.613 0.80775 3.153 1.076 0.629 0.497 0.82287 2.783 1.146 0.687 0.561 0.814

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Table 22Item Statistics for the Study Aids Scale



3 2.988 1.368 0.534 0.313 0.67824 2.537 1.274 0.581 0.388 0.65827 3.431 1.174 0.563 0.384 0.65933 3.561 1.090 0.562 0.398 0.65643 2.251 1.232 0.500 0.298 0.67950 2.915 1.182 0.622 0.456 0.64266 2.648 1.171 0.595 0.424 0.65082 3.362 1.020 0.553 0.399 0.657

Table 23Item Statistics for the Test Strategies Scale



5 3.871 1.077 0.476 0.277 0.72015 3.831 1.077 0.598 0.425 0.68925 3.670 0.979 0.610 0.458 0.68354 3.604 1.043 0.640 0.484 0.67662 3.600 0.983 0.652 0.509 0.67269 3.817 1.187 0.456 0.231 0.73474 3.581 1.010 0.694 0.559 0.66185 3.587 0.966 0.559 0.398 0.694

Table 24Item Statistics for the Time Management Scale



29 3.726 1.142 0.689 0.579 0.84937 3.064 1.206 0.749 0.649 0.84148 3.857 1.106 0.612 0.489 0.85951 3.370 1.168 0.722 0.619 0.84560 3.014 1.121 0.724 0.626 0.84477 3.523 1.109 0.656 0.543 0.85383 3.322 1.152 0.754 0.661 0.84088 3.088 1.199 0.793 0.708 0.834

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Table 25Scale Statistics for the Final Version of Each Scale

Scale Standard CoefficientScale Name Mean Deviation Alpha

Anxiety 26.63 6.89 .85Attitude 29.62 6.20 .83Concentration 28.42 5.94 .86Communication 23.56 5.89 .71Information Processing 27.30 5.85 .85Motivation 30.24 6.26 .88Selecting Main Ideas 28.10 5.55 .85Self Testing 23.19 5.89 .83Study Aids 23.69 5.36 .69Test Strategies 29.56 4.85 .72Time Management 26.96 6.57 .86

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© 2006 H&H Publishing Company, Inc.

This User’s Manual includes a history of the instrument’s development,

a complete description of the eleven scales, a section on administration

and scoring, results of pilot and field testing, scale statistics, norms, and

the processes used in scale construction. In addition, it contains informa-

tion to help create individual prescriptions for enhancing students’ skills.

Ordering Information

Complete information on ordering LASSI FORLEARNING ONLINE is available from:

H&H Publishing Company, Inc.

1231 Kapp Drive

Clearwater, FL 33765-2116

(800) 366-4079 (727) 442-7760

FAX (727) 442-2195

E-Mail [email protected]

Web www.hhpublishing.com

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