Integrating Teaching, Advising, and Research Tools: The Student as Learner Inventory as Retention and Learning Intervention. AIR 1995 Annual Forum Paper.

The Student as Learner Inventory, which was developed at Alverno College (Wisconsin), is described. Alverno College is a private, 4-year liberal arts college for women with an enrollment of 2,500 students. The inventory, which is completed by entering and second semester students in an undergraduate program, is integral to the curriculum. The inventory is part of a New Student Seminar and involves: self-reflection by students on their development as learners; support for discussions by student, advisor, and instructor concerning learning issues; and identification of students "at risk" for attrition. Teachers bring students into a conversation about their learning perspective in relation to what will make them effective as learners in the curriculum. Consideration is given to: the rationale for research in a curriculum context; the contextual validity of the learning statements in the inventory; collaboration among researchers, instructors, and advisors; reframing validity as research and instruction are combined; the value of putting learning ahead of research and measurement goals; integration of research and measurement with instruction; use of qualitative and quantitative responses to interpret student responses to the inventory; measurement perspectives on score uses; items specific to the local context and philosophy of learning; and inventory revision based on statistical techniques and informed judgment. The inventory is appended, along with an educator's guide to the inventory. (Contains 34 references.) (SW)