SCHOOL MOTIVATION AND

LEARNING STRATEGIES INVENTORY

(SMALSI)
Lexi Mitchell, Graduate Assistant, EWU McNair Scholars Program
and School Psychology Graduate Student
Dr. Susan Ruby, Director, EWU School Psychology Program
 OPENING QUESTIONS

What population do you work?

What challenges do your students experience?

 WHAT IS THE SMALSI
• Stroud & Reynolds
•2011 Child and Teen Versions
•2013 College Age Version

• Self-report inventory that measures 10 constructs

associated with academic motivation and learning
strategies
• Learning strategies: purposeful behaviors of a learner
that are intended to facilitate the acquisition and
processing of information
 WHAT IS THE SMALSI USED FOR?

• Identifying students that need help with

learning strategies
• Addressing deficits related to academic
performance
• Improving those strategies
 THE 10 DOMAINS THAT
THE SMALSI MEASURES
• Strengths
• study strategies
• note taking and listening skills
• reading comprehension strategies
• writing skills
• test-taking strategies
• organization techniques
• time management
 THE 10 DOMAINS THAT
THE SMALSI MEASURES
• Liabilities
• academic motivation
• test anxiety
• attention and concentration
 WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
• 3 versions available
• SMALSI-child (8-12yrs)
• SMALSI-Teen (13-18yrs)
• SMALSI-college

• Online or by pencil/paper
• In groups or individual
• 20-30 minutes
• Cost varies, see https://www.wpspublish.com/store/p/3377/school-
motivation-and-learning-strategies-inventorycollege-smalsi-college
 WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
Never, sometimes, often, almost always
Example questions:
• Study Strategies (STUDY)
• I use a plan to remember things for a test.
• I get help from a friend or a teacher if I don't understand a new concept.

• Note-Taking/Listening Skills (NOTE)

• I look over my notes to make sure I understand them.
• When I have questions, I write them down.

• Reading/Comprehension strategies (READ)

• When I read something long or difficult, I try to say it to myself in my own words.
• When reading, I am good at deciding which part is the most important.
 WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
Never, sometimes, often, almost always

• Writing/Research Skills (WRITE)

• When I write a paper, I use different kinds of things to get information (books,
articles, tapes, interviews).
• I make an outline before I start writing a paper.

• Test-Taking Strategies (TEST)

• I go back over my answers before turning in my test.
• I check the time during a test to make sure I finish.
 WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

Never, sometimes, often, almost always

• Organizational Techniques (ORG)

• I break down large assignments into smaller parts.
• I remember where I put things.

• Time Management (TIME)

• I change my schedule when I have a big project or test so that I have time to
study.
• I know how quickly I can finish my work.
 WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

Never, sometimes, often, almost always

• Low Academic Motivation (LOMOT)
• I think school has really little value.
• Most tests are unfair.

• Test Anxiety (TANX):

• I can’t seem to calm myself down during a test.
• While I take a test, I think about what will happen if I don't do well.

• Concentration/Attention Difficulties (CONDIF):

• It’s hard for me to sit still for very long.
• I miss instructions during class.
 SCORING
• 147 items-child, 170 items -teen, 164 items- college
• By hand or online
• Inconsistent Responding Index (INC) score
• Score Ranges
 TECHNICAL ADEQUACY, TEEN VERSION
(Jeary, 2007)
•Standardization sample: 1,100 ages 13-18
•Reliability: All internal consistency coefficients above .70, M: .84
•Intercorrelations: within Strengths (.68) and within Liabilities (.49-.71)
•STUDY and TEST scores had the largest intercorrelations
•Gender differences: girls have fewer school-adjustment problems, better
study skills and habits, and better attention skills
•Validity: negative correlation with the Behavior Assessment for Children
(BASC) self-report, positively related to BASC Attitude to School, Attitude to
Teachers
 TECHNICAL ADEQUACY, COLLEGE VERSION,
(Babcock, Wilson, & Lau, 2017)
• Standardization Sample: 1,534 college students ages 14-61 (M = 21.2, SD 4.1)
• Cronbach’s alpha
• High internal consistency: Alpha reliabilities range from .73-.92, with the
exception of WRITE for Junior college students (.67) and TEST for Asian
students (.69).
• Validity: strength scales positively correlated with each other and liabilities
positively intercorrelated.
• Limited research on predictive validity.
• Limitations:
•requires clinical judgement to determine severity
•relies heavily on the individual’s core language and reading skills
If student is struggling in one of
these domains, what are the
resources we can provide?
Linking interventions to
assessment
 STUDY STRATEGIES
• Involve several other areas: organization, reading comprehension, note
taking.
• Establish routines and a location.
• Ensure comprehension of directions: tell others what needs to be done
• Study Guides and Graphic organizers have large effect sizes (Scruggs,
Mastropieri, Berkeley, & Graetz, 2010)
• Memory-enhancing strategies: calling up vivid emotions/humor, rehearsing
and repeating, sandwiching new information within known information,
sorting information into categories, making hierarchies and organizational
charts, using associative strategies such as story, cues, imagery (Harvey &
Chickie-Wolfe, 2007)
• Studying with pre-corrected tests and assignments (Meneghetti et al., 2007)
• Spaced practice is more efficient than massed practice (cramming; Son,
2004).
• Self Management: goal setting, self-monitoring, self-instruction, self-reflection
 TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES
Come to class with everything needed
Tips found at http://www.testtakingtips.com

PIRATES mnemonic (Holzer, Madaus, Bray, & Kehle,2009):

• Prepare to succeed
• Inspect instructions
• Read, remember, and reduce.
• Answer or abandon
• Turn back
• Estimate using ACE (avoide absolute words, choose the longest most
detailed choice, eliminate similar or absurd choices.
 NOTE TAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS
• Use a voice recorder with permission of instructor or accommodations.
• Use a digital pen with permission of instructor or accommodations..
• Borrow strategies that you like from other people.
• Take pictures of the board.
• Bring online notes with you to class;
Guided Notes
Strategic Note Taking (Boyle & Rivera, 2012)
• Use abbreviations and symbols when possible.
• Students with and without disabilities learn and study more efficiently with a
laptop (Richardson et al., 2010).
• Review your notes later on the same day you took them, add details and rewrite
the main points.
• Review your notes frequently (with a classmate if possible)– every few days. Mark
tallies for reviews and set goals
 READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES
Teach strategies to use before reading:
• Preview the text - learn the text structure
• Make predictions
• Build necessary vocabulary and background knowledge set purpose for
reading
Teach strategies to use during reading:
• graphic organizers
• integrate new concepts
• Thinking aloud
• Visualization
Teach strategies to use after reading.
• Summarizing
• Evaluating ideas

Co-curricular classes to support reading? Text to speech along with reading?

 WRITING SKILLS
High School:
Self-Regulated Strategy Development for Writing
Grammarly
Assistive Technology (Dragon Naturally Speaking)

University:
Writing Center
Grammarly
Assistive Technology (Dragon Naturally Speaking)
 ORGANIZATION AND TIME
MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
Mostly designed for middle school students with difficulties in these areas, can
be adapted:

Langberg, J.M. (2011). Homework, Organization, and Planning Skills (HOPS)

Interventions. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Self Management
Schedules
Planning
Studying
Completing Long Term Projects
 ACADEMIC MOTIVATION
• Important to understand the purpose of learning material:
• why is the material assigned?
• how does the assignment relate to the student’s learning goals?
• how will the information be useful in a student’s life?
• Connect study skills to particular courses and monitor.
 TEST ANXIETY
• Limited research of effectiveness of interventions in K-12

• Effective test anxiety interventions generally fall within one of five

categories: behavioral, cognitive, cognitive–behavioral, study skills, and
test-taking skills (Cizek and Burg,2006)

• Promising results: techniques including biofeedback, behavior therapy,

cognitive behavioral therapy, priming competency, and mixed
approaches (Von Der Embse, Barterian, & Segool, 2013).
 ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION
Many symptoms may mimic ADHD, so we never want to jump to conclusions.
• Anxiety
• Lack of Sleep
• Side effects from medications

However, it’s always good to make sure medical professionals are involved in
concerns are noted for a documented period of time. For college level, refer
to Counseling and Psychological Services.

Other recommendations:

• Good nutrition
• Stress management ($12 books at Amazon!)
• Exercise
• Fostering good sleep: turn off screens in the evening
 COLLEGE STUDENT EXAMPLE
• Lily Worry, female, 20 years old, Sophomore
• Concerns regarding low reading skills and high in test anxiety
 COLLEGE STUDENT EXAMPLE
• Concerns regarding low reading skills and high in test anxiety
 SUPPORT AND SERVICES
• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
•Possible referral for Disability Support Services for test modifications
•See recommendations in slide 42 for test anxiety
• Further assessment in reading
• See recommendations in slide 20 for reading comprehension
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT EXAMPLE
• Lulu Lala, female, age 16, sophomore in high school
• Reported issues of concentration, motivation, reading, test anxiety
 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT EXAMPLE
•Reported issues of concentration, motivation, reading, test anxiety
 SUPPORT AND SERVICES

• Address issues of Test Anxiety: see slide 34

• Consider referral for 504 assessment
• Ask about interest in support for Reading
•Developmental Reading Course as a co-requisite?
•Tutoring?
 THANK YOU!

QUESTIONS?
 REFERENCES
Babcock, S.E., Wilson, C.A., & Lau, C. (2017). Review of the School Motivation and
Learning Strategies Inventory (SMALSI). Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 1-
8, np. doi: 10.1177/0829573517697532
Cizek, G., & Burg, S. (2006). Addressing test anxiety in a high stakes environment.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Codding, R., Harvey, V., & Hite, J. (2014). Best practices in promoting study skills. In P.
Harrison & A. Thomas Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology: Student
Level Services (pp. 67-81). Bethesda, MD: The National Association of School
Psychologists.
Harvey, B.S., & Chickie-Wolfe, L.A. (2007). Fostering independent learning:
Practical strategies to promote student success. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Holzer, M.L., Madaus, J.W., Bray, M.A., & Kehle, T.J. (2009). The test-taking strategy
intervention for college students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities
Research & Practice, 24(1), 44-56.
 REFERENCES, CONT.
Jeary, J. (2007). Review of the School Motivation and Learning Strategies Inventory
(SMALSI). Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 22, 262-269. doi:
10.1177/0829574507306453
Langberg, J.M. (2011). Homework, organization, and planning skills (HOPS)
Interventions. National Association of School Psychologists
Meneghetti, C., De Beni, R., & Cornoldi, C. (2007). Strategic knowledge and
consistency in students with good and poor study skills. European Journal of
Cognitive Psychology, 19, 628-649. doi: 10.1080/09541440701325990
Scruggs, T.E., Mastropieri, M.A., Berkeley, S. & Graetz, J.E. (2010). Do special
education interventions improve learning of secondary content? A meta-analysis.
Remedial and Special Education, 31, 437-449. doi: 10.1177/0741932508327465
Son, L.K. (2004). Spacing one’s study: Evidence for a meta-cognitive control strategy.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 30, 601-604.
doi: 10.1037/0278-7393.30.3.601
 REFERENCES, CONT.
Stroud, K. C., & Reynolds, C. R. (2006, 2013). School Motivation and Learning
Strategies Inventory (SMALSI): College Form [Manual]. Torrance, CA: Western
Psychological Services.
Von der Embse, N., Barterian, J., & Segool, N. (2013). Test anxiety interventions for
children and adolescents: A systematic review of treatment studies from 2000-
2010. Psychology in the Schools, 50, 57-51.