2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Accurate assessment of ABET Student Outcome 7, ‘Independent Learner skills,' presents a challenge due to its underlying psychological nature. In this study, the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) is used as a comprehensive tool for accurately quantifying this essential competency. LASSI is a well-researched and robust instrument whose ten scales (Anxiety, Attitude, Concentration, Information Processing, Motivation, Selecting Main Ideas, Self testing, Testing Strategies, Time Management, and Using Academic Resources) are proven to correlate strongly with independent learning and academic success.
By implementing this approach (since the Fall of 2020,) the department successfully measured the degree of each relevant LASSI scale in students twice in the program: Once in the beginning, for the freshmen in the Introduction to Mechanical Engineering course, and the second time in Senior Design course near the end of the four-year program. A comparison between the two provides the department with a measure for the efficacy of its delivery of Student Outcome 7.
The exposure to LASSI in the freshman year provides the students (and the department) with an image of their current level of skills compared with a national norm. It also teaches the students, indirectly, about the various learning skills that contribute to their academic success. This exposure, in combination with LASSI’s individually tailored suggestions for improvement, acts as an effective intervention, while the department can add to it by providing targeted training and seminars for specific scales.
This research highlights the efficacy of LASSI as a reliable and valid tool for measuring the crucial ABET Student Outcome 7 and provides guidance on designing interventions for enhancement of independent learner skills during the program.