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

Overall, the UWES-S does a solid job of assessing involvement and more personal seeming
aspects of the engagement experience with its items addressing investment, persistence,
dedication, loss of time, etc. The non-education origin of the engagement scale should not be of
concern because its psychometric properties have been investigated rigorously, more so than
those of the SCEQ, for instance. Communication across disciplines is often less than satisfactory
(Christopher, 2015) and the UWES-S measure of student engagement is an instance in which
teaching of psychology researchers could gain from existing measures in the organizational
psychology literature.
Ancillary Measures
Grit
Several measures that may not be considered traditional measures of student engagement may
hold utility in tapping into the construct. Grit is one such measure, and is defined as
perseverance and passion for long-term goals and interests (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews,
and Kelly, 2007, pp. 1087). The prominent grit measure is Duckworth et al.’s (2007) 12-item,
two-factor measure (α = .85). The two factors include Consistency of Interests (6 items α = .84)
and Perseverance of Effort (6 items; α = .78). Consistency items include “I often set a goal and
decide to pursue a new one” (reverse-coded) and “My interests change from year to year”
(reverse-coded). Perseverance of Effort items include “I am a hard worker” and “I have
achieved a goal that took years of work.” A shorter 8-item version (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009)
with the same factor structure as the original grit scale (Duckworth et al., 2007) has also been
well-validated (α = .83).
Grit conceptually shares similarities with the student engagement and interest measures
previously reviewed, it is distinct in its focus on long-term, consistent effort and perseverance.
Although not yet used in the teaching of psychology realm, we believe that measures of grit
may hold particular relative advantages over student interest and engagement measures in
assessing engagement toward course material in which consistent, long-term engagement is
required (e.g., multi-stage assignments such as empirical research papers). Indeed, utilizing
measures of grit in combination with measures of student engagement and interest may hold
advantages such as aiding in distinguishing students who lack engagement with a particular
activity or aspect of a specific course, in comparison to those students who consistently lack
engagement toward aspects of courses in general over the long-term.
Boredom
Another worthwhile perspective on engagement is to examine the opposite, the tendency to
withdraw from academic activities. Boredom is described as an unpleasant emotional state
characterized by low arousal and a lack of stimulation (Mikulas & Vodanovich, 1993). Boredom
is understood as a relevant emotion for academic experiences, and has been investigated as
92