The making of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire

The goal of this article is to discuss one of Paul Pintrich's more enduring legacies: the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), an 81-item, self-report instrument consisting of 6 motivation subscales and 9 learning strategies scales. The MSLQ has proven to be a reliable and useful tool that can be adapted for a number of different purposes for researchers, instructors, and students. The MSLQ has been translated into multiple languages and has been used by hundreds of researchers and instructors throughout the world. This article reviews the history of the MSLQ and discusses how it has been used to (a) address the nature of motivation and use of learning strategies in different types of content areas and target populations; (b) help refine our theoretical understanding of motivational constructs, how they are distinct from one another, and what individual differences exist in self-regulated learning; and (c) evaluate the motivational and cognitive effects of different aspects of instruction.