2024-2025 Grant in Aid of Research
In DPT students, is there a relationship between LASSI (Learning and Study Strategies Inventory) scores,
non-cognitive factors, and performance on the NPTE (National Physical Therapy Examination)?
Jill Hipskind
Objective: The purpose of the study is to determine if DPT students’ Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) scores at graduation are related to first-time performance on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). Additionally, the study will be looking at additional non-cognitive factors of grit, resilience, and mindset to determine if these factors are related to NPTE performance and/or LASSI scores.
Methods: Approximately 250 DPT students from specific DPT programs in the United States will be invited to participate in this research study. Following completion of the informed consent, the study consists of taking a brief demographic survey, a survey assessing the non-cognitive factors of grit, resilience, and mindset, and the LASSI survey. The students will complete the NPTE examination and SPSS will be utilized to look at the relationships between NPTE performance and all of the other variables.
Results: There is currently no literature looking at the relationship between LASSI scores and NPTE performance in DPT students.
Conclusion: There are many factors and variables that affect and may help predict performance on the NPTE. The LASSI has been utilized in research within other health science fields and has been shown to correlate to academic performance and licensure performance in those areas. Research investigating the use of the LASSI within the physical therapy field is lacking. Specifically, more research is needed to explore the relationship between LASSI scores of DPT graduates and NPTE performance.