The Load Reduction Instruction Scale: Assessing Explicit Instruction Through to Autonomous Learning

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: Division C Poster Session

Abstract

Load reduction instruction (LRI) has been proposed as an instructional approach to manage the cognitive burden on students as they learn. LRI is hypothesized to comprise five factors: reduce difficulty, support and scaffold, practice, feedback, and guided autonomy. Among a sample of 393 high school students from 40 classrooms, we assessed the validity of the Load Reduction Instruction Scale (LRIS), an instrument developed to assess LRI. Factors were normally distributed and reliable; confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported its factor structure. Intra-class correlations (ICCs) confirmed the hypothesized class-to-class variability in LRIS scores and multilevel CFA indicated sound factors at student (level 1) and classroom (level 2) levels. Correlations with validational constructs (motivation, engagement, buoyancy, cognitive load, achievement) supported its external validity.

Authors

• Andrew J. Martin, The University of New South Wales

• Paul Evans, School of Education