1. Do the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI).
2. Identify how you study best so you can help your Tutees!

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 learners’ 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 learners with a diagnosis of their strengths and weaknesses, compared to other college learners, in the areas covered by the 10 scales and it is prescriptive in that it provides feedback about areas where learners 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.

The 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 learners’ 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 learners’ 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 learners 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 learner’s learning and study strategies;
• A diagnostic measure to help identify areas in which learners 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 learners 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.

How to complete the LASSI

Ask your Learning Centre Coordinator for a copy of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI).

Complete the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), including listing your scores for each scale. Don’t forget to plot your scores.

The next step is to book an appointment with a Learning Strategist to debrief your results and discuss actions that you can take.

Reflective Journal Entry

Your Journal entry for this activity will be to write about what you have discovered about yourself by taking this inventory.

After you have debriefed with a Learning Strategist, please write further about what you are planning to do with this information and how you think it might impact your tutoring.