A review of the positive impact of a Self Administered Motivational Instrument (SAMI) on Deep and Strategic approaches to study and on academic attainment

This research concerns the wider context of behaviour change and approaches to study among students in higher education. Drawing on the counselling approach known as motivational interviewing, a Self Administered Motivational Instrument (SAMI) has been designed in which students take decisions about changing their approaches to study. Motivational interviewing has been demonstrated to positively influence a range of behaviours, including alcohol- and drug misuse and weight loss. The SAMI is paper-based and as the name suggests is self-administered. Within the SAMI, students are asked to rate their academic performances if they continue to study as they are and if they change their study approaches. These questions were designed to stimulate ambivalence, if warranted, over current study approach. This is also engendered by asking students to complete the reliable, valid and relatively brief deep and strategic components of a shortened version of the RASI learning-style instrument (Duff, 1997). This shortened RASI is known as the DRASI. The SAMI has been tested in a controlled study with 328 first, second and third year university students in Scotland, UK. In this paper the design of the SAMI and the controlled study are reported. The main conclusions are: - When the SAMI is applied, approaches to study change. In particular, there was an on-average increase in strategic approaches to learning. Further, greater strategic scores among those who completed the SAMI, were associated with a greater likelihood of attaining the top two grades of A or B1. Thus, in line with applications of brief motivational interventions in other areas, there is evidence of effectiveness. - A small to moderate effect size of 0.32 was noted for strategic scores within the intervention group. Teachers, students and policy makers might regard this as a reasonable return for a low cost, easily administered intervention. Further research is required to assess if similar outcomes occur when the SAMI is applied in different academic environments, with or without support from academic staff, over longer periods and using different media, such as electronic delivery.div_BaMAdair, J. (1997) Decision making and problem solving. London: Institute of Personnel and Development. Duff, A. (1997) A note on the reliability and validity of a 30-item version of Entwistle and Tait's revised approaches to studying inventory. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 67, 529-539. Duffy, T. (1994) Brief interventions and their role in relation to more intensive treatment of alcohol problems. Scotland: Greater Glasgow Health Board, Health Promotion Department. Duffy, T. (2005) Improving Approaches to Study using a Self Administered Motivational Instrument (SAMI)'. Paisley: University of Paisley. Duffy, T. and Rimmer, R. (2008) Improving Students' Motivation to Study. A Photocopiable Resource for Lecturers in FE and HE. Exeter: Reflect Press. Hosmer, D. and Lemeshow, S. (2000) Applied logistic regression, 2nd edition. New York: Wiley. LSDA (2003) Learner motivation and barriers to participation in post-16 learning: A brief review of the literature. London: Learning and Skills Development Agency. LSRC (2004) Learning styles for post-16 learners. What do we know? London: Learning and Skills Research Centre. Miller, W.R. and Rollnick, S. (2002) Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change, 2nd edition. New York: Guildford Press. Rollnick, S. and Miller, W.R. (1995) What is MI? Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23, 325-334. Tait, H. and Entwistle, N.J. (1996) Identifying students at risk through ineffective study strategies. Higher Education, 31, 97-116. Tait, H., Entwistle, N.J and Mc Cune, V. (1998) ASSIST: a reconceptualisation of the Approaches to Studying Inventory. In C. Rust (Ed.) Improving students as learners. Oxford: Oxford Brookes University, The Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development. Whetten, D. and Cameron, K. (2002) Developing management skills. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.5pub657pub