Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling for the 'Revised Two-Factor Learning Process Questionnaire'

N

32

Validity; Questionnaires; Multidimensional Scaling; Profiles; Psychometrics; Learning Processes; Student Motivation; College Students; Correlation; Academic Achievement; Diagnostic Tests; Educational Diagnosis; Learning Motivation; Learning Strategies

The "Revised Learning Process Questionnaire" has been part of the development of a conceptual understanding of how students learn and what motivates them to engage in particular tasks. We obtained responses from 329 student volunteers at a mid-sized public university in the southeast United States. While looking at the psychometric properties of this questionnaire in a different educational context from which the instrument had been originally validated was one purpose of the study, the main thrust of this research was to use Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) to improve the diagnostic functionality of the instrument as well as further explore the validity of the questionnaire. We found that interpreting the latent structure in terms of the dimensions of Strategy and Motive as opposed to the factors of Deep and Surface approaches to be more appropriate for diagnostic use. We also found that PAMS has the inherent ability to assess an individual's fit within the model, thereby acting as a measure of self-report credibility. Both the Strategy and Motive dimensions were found to have ecological validity through analyzing its relationship to academic performance. Two appendixes present: (1) Revised Learning Process Questionnaire (R-LPQ-2F); and (2) Scales in the Revised Learning Process Questionnaire (R-LPQ-2F). (Contains 7 tables and 4 figures.)

As Provided

28

2012

ED527450