A COMPENDIUM OF SCALES for use in the SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

choosing appropriate scales, developing scales, and the types of scales the SoTL literature still
needs.
The first section of this e-book focuses on the selection, use, development, and validation of
scales. In Chapter 2, Regan Gurung discusses several best practices concerning scale use and
choice, including identifying relevant psychological variables that influence learning and using
published scales instead of cobbling together a non-validated measure. The chapter concludes
with a review of criteria for selecting an appropriate scale and (where no published scale is
available) writing your own items. In Chapter 3, Andrew Christopher complements the best
practices chapter with advice on how to select the right scale, from his perspective as the
current editor of Teaching of Psychology.
The next two chapters focus specifically on scale development and validation. In Chapter 4,
authors Heather Hussey and Tara Lehan provide a brief, accessible guide to the scale
development process. They succinctly describe the early stages of scale development such as
conducting literature reviews, creating items, pilot testing, and revising items. They also provide
an excellent summary of common reliability and validity tests, which will prove particularly
useful to anyone new to the scale validation process (or even if you just need a refresher).
Section 1 concludes with a commentary on the state of scale validation in SoTL research
(Chapter 5), in which Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges provides some exemplars of ways in which
SoTL researchers have adopted the best practices for scale validation while operating within the
common constraints of sample size, class composition, and semester length; all of which are
perennial issues among SoTL researchers.
The chapters in Section 2 make up the bulk of the e-book and present a topical selection of
scale information:
In Chapter 6, Pam Marek, Adrienne Williamson, and Lauren Taglialatela discuss the
measurement of student learning and self-efficacy. The authors describe both formative
assessments (e.g., classroom assessment techniques) and summative assessments (e.g., writing
assignments and standardized tests), before concluding with a review of measures of perceived
learning and perceived self-efficacy.
The measurement of critical thinking skills is addressed in Chapter 7 by Eric Landrum and
Maureen McCarthy, who review mainstream measures of critical thinking that are specific to
psychology as well as broad-based general measures. This chapter concludes with a set of
recommendations for how SoTL researchers might balance the desires for efficiency and
validity in the measurement of this complex construct.
Measures of student engagement toward coursework at both macro- and micro-levels are
reviewed in Chapter 8 by Kevin Zabel and Amy Heger. The latter includes descriptions of
measures of student interest, student engagement, as well as ancillary measures such as grit
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