Learning and Self Assessments

Learning and studying in medical settings can be very challenging. Due to this fact, it is important that your learning and study methods include strategies that ensure long-term retention of concepts and the ability to reason critically and clinically. To help you identify your interests and preferences for learning, we offer the assessments and additional resources below.

For assistance interpreting assessment results and/or to explore strategies that combine recommendations from these assessments with high-impact study strategies, contact the Director of Academic Success, at CMEDAcademicSuccess@groups.cmich.edu.

Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinesthetic (VARK) Learning Styles

The VARK questionnaire is a free, short (16 question) online survey that provides you with immediate results and links to additional resources. The VARK acronym stands for Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic sensory modalities, and the short survey helps students identify their learning preferences. Access the VARK Questionnaire here.

After you have completed the VARK questionnaire, visit the VARK Academic Helpsheets to learn more about how to incorporate specific learning strategies into your study plans.

Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI)

The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) is commonly offered to students in medical education and is designed to gather information about learning and study practices and attitudes. Specifically, LASSI focuses on the topics below, which contribute significantly to academic success:

Anxiety
Attitude
Concentration
Information Processing
Motivation
Self-Testing
Selecting Main ideas
Time management
Test Strategies
Using Academic Resources

The inventory can be taken online and takes approximately 15 - 20 minutes. The results from the LASSI are available immediately and provide you with feedback about your strengths and weaknesses.

To learn more or to take the LASSI, email the Director of Academic Success at CMEDAcademicSuccess@groups.cmich.edu to request a user name and password.

Note: If you score below the 50th percentile on any of the LASSI scales, we encourage you to contact the Director of Academic Success at CMEDAcademicSuccess@groups.cmich.edu to schedule a follow-up meeting (face-to-face or virtual) to discuss your strengths and weaknesses and to identify effective methods to enhance your learning and study strategies.

Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The MBTI assessment is the world's most widely and universally used tool for understanding normal, healthy personality differences among people (Myers, 2015). The MBTI assessment results help to explain basic patterns related to how people take in information and make decisions. It is used by more than two million people each year in a broad range of applications such as self-understanding, academic counseling, team building, leadership training, diversity training, and problem-solving.

Grit

Researchers at the Duckworth Lab at the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center have found that grit, or the ability to sustain interest and effort toward long-term goals, correlates with lifetime educational attainment.

Set up a free account at Authentic Happiness and then take the Grit survey.

References

Kelman, E. G., & r, K.C. (2002). Study without stress. Thousand, Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Myers, I. B. (2015). Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type. (6th Ed. Revised by L.K. Kirby & K.D. Myers).
Gainesville, FL: The Myers-Briggs Foundation.