My PhD student Cem Balcikanli drew my attention to an inventory of questions designed to measure awareness of independent learning. This is an interesting instrument designed for general education, so not specifically for language education, although I see no reason why it could not also be useful for that. The AILI is a list of 45 statements about learning and teaching. Respondents are asked to rate how true each statement is for them on a scale of 1 to 7.
Here is some general information from the authors:
“The AILI has been designed for people from whom it can be expected that they possess substantial metacognitive qualities that are based on ample learning experiences. We use the term ‘independent learning’ to designate a type of learning and studying that is accompanied and directed by metacognition. The inventory can be used for students from all stages of higher education, regardless of their specific studies. The instrument will provide an answer to the following three questions:
1. To what extent do students, according to themselves, have declarative knowledge about learning and studying?
2. To what extent do students, according to themselves, have the skills to systematically regulate their own learning and studying?
3. To what extent do students, according to themselves, have a sensitive and inquisitive attitude towards information that is important for further development of their metacognitive knowledge and regulatory skills?
The instrument consists of 45 statements, 15 for each of the above questions. Students are asked to circle a number on a 7-point scale for each statement. The scale ranges from 1: “not true at all” to 7: “ completely true”. Optical readable forms are used for the answers. Two parallel versions of the AILI have been designed. In the A-version 23 items are presented in a positive form and 22 in a negative one (see further down). In the B-version each item that is formulated positively in the A-version is presented in a negative form and vice versa.”
The instrument is included below (apologies for the lack of formatting). A paper about this instrument was published here and
Elshout-Mohr, M., J. Meijer, M.M. van Daalen-Kapteijns, and W. Meeus. 2003. A self-report
inventory for metacognition related to academic tasks. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam,
SCO-Kohnstamm Instituut.
1
I know which assignments students really need to work at systematically.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2
I think it’s necessary to make a conscious effort to work systematically when you are studying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3
When I’m reading something I don’t pay much attention to whether it comes alive for me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4
I don’t think it’s important to feel personally involved in what you are studying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5
I ignore feedback from tutors on my method of work.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6
While working on an assignment I pay attention to whether I am carrying out all parts of it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7
While working on an assignment I keep a record of my learning aims.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8
When I’ve finished an assignment I don’t check for myself whether I’ve worked at it systematically enough.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9
I never get the feeling that an assignment has suddenly started to interest me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10
While studying information I never get a sudden feeling that I’m beginning to gain insight.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11
I don’t think it’s necessary to make a conscious effort to gain insight when you are studying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12
I wouldn’t know how to enable students to formulate their own learning outcomes.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13
When students find it difficult to gain insight into the material to be studied, I know ways to solve this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14
Sometimes while working together with others on an assignment I get a sudden feeling that I’m learning a great deal from them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15
If I find an assignment pointless I try to find out why this is.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16
I think it’s important that there are also personal aims linked to assignments.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17
When I’ve worked together with others on an assignment I don’t think about whether the co-operation was useful for me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
18
I sometimes get a sudden feeling that my method of work doesn’t suit the assignment.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19
Sometimes while working on an assignment I get a sudden feeling that I am learning something valuable from it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20
When I study information I don’t pay much attention to how well I understand it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
21
When the co-operation between students turns out to be unproductive I don’t know any ways to solve this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
22
When I start on a text I first ask myself what I will need to do in order to study the text thoroughly.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
23
I can’t tell whether a text to be studied will appeal to students.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
24
When I work together with others I regularly think about what I learn from them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
25
Before I begin on an assignment I don’t have a clear idea of what I want to learn from it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
26
I think that feedback on my personal learning aims is unnecessary.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
27
I can’t tell from a text how much effort it will take for students to understand it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
28
I see no reason to talk with others about the usefulness of working together on our studies.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
29
When I’ve finished an assignment I don’t consider whether working on it has been useful for me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
30
I think that it’s important that students also learn from each other while they are studying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
31
If my personal involvement in the material to be studied were to be questioned I would think about this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
32
I know various ways in which students can increase their involvement in the material to be studied.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
33
Before I begin on an assignment, I don’t ask myself whether I will learn more from it by working together with others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
34
I am interested in why I sometimes get very little out of my co-operation with others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
35
I am not interested in why I have an aversion to some of the texts I have to study.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
36
If I can’t bring any structure into an assignment, I try to find out why that is.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
37
When students don’t work systematically, I don’t know any ways to solve this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
38
If I find information difficult to understand I don’t try to find a deeper reason for this.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
39
I find it helpful to talk with others about how one can gain an understanding of the texts to be studied.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
40
I can tell whether an assignment corresponds to students’ learning aims.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
41
When I’ve finished studying information I check for myself whether I’ve gone into enough depth.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
42
When I’ve studied obligatory material I ask myself whether it aroused my interest.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
43
When I have to study information I try to find out what I will find interesting about it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
44
Before I begin an assignment I don’t think about how I will introduce structure into it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
45
I know which assignments students will learn more from by working together.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
