LoTi
Research Picture
LoTi HomeResearchOnline LearningProductsOnsite SessionsCollaborations

Validity and Reliability Information

School Picture In Spring, 2006, the standard (inservice teacher) version of the LoTi Questionnaire was the topic of an extensive validation study conducted by Dr. Jill Stoltzfus at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Content validity was previously established with the original LoTi Questionnaire through a representative item sampling of the survey's different content domains. This validation study focused on an expanded version of the original LoTi Questionnaire that could be used to capture the depth of teachers' professional development needs. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following two questions:
  • What is the resulting factor structure for the expanded version of the LoTi Survey (DETAILS) as revealed by large, randomly selected sample groups of teachers who completed the original LoTi Survey?
  • What is the internal consistency reliability for the expanded version of the LoTi Survey (DETAILS) within a large, randomly selected sample group of teachers who completed the original LoTi Survey?
The results of the validation study revealed the following:
  • The expanded LoTi Survey (DETAILS) contains five reliable and valid constructs for prioritizing professional development needs. These five constructs include: (1) Using Technology for Complex Student Projects, (2) Teacher Proficiency in Using Technology, (3) Student Influence on Teacher's Current Instructional Practices, (4) Dependence on Resources and Assistance to Increase Comfort Level in Using Technology, and (5) Challenges to Classroom Computer Use.
  • Factor 1, Using Technology for Complex Student Projects, is of greatest importance empirically, given its highly homogenous item content and resulting unidimensional structure--meaning that the DETAILS Survey's central empirical focus lies in teachers' use of technology to develop complex, higher-order student learning projects.
  • Factor 1 scores (Using Technology for Complex Student Projects) can be applied in conjunction with Bloom's Taxonomy to help teachers see how their technology implementation practices coincide with (or detract from) their efforts to instill higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in their students.
As a result of the validation study, the following recommendations were instituted to increase the integrity of the expanding LoTi Survey (DETAILS):
  • Reduce the number of questionnaire statements from 50 to 37 to align with the five identified empirically-validated constructs.
  • Continue ongoing construct validation efforts over time to enhance further the empirical value of the DETAILS Survey.
  • Pursue a criterion-based validation study of the DETAILS Survey. Criterion validity demonstrates how well your content- and construct-valid survey correlate strongly with one or more outside objective criteria. It is critical for self-reporting surveys to show that they can be meaningfully linked to something that isn't based on people's potentially subjective responses.
  • Perform both construct and criterion-based validation studies of all derivative versions of the DETAILS Survey (e.g., Building Administrator, Instructional Specialist, Media-Technology Specialist, Preservice Teacher, and Higher Education Faculty).