Research has shown that emotions play a significant role in the learning process and aca-demic achievement. However, the fact that measurement of emotions during or after instruction usually requires written responses on lengthy research instruments has been given as a reason why researchers have tended to avoid research on this topic in classrooms. Consequently, we developed a short Likert-scale instrument which used only three items within the three factors of interest, well-being and boredom to measure adolescent emotions during instruction in science education. We present four different studies in four populati-ons to assess the validity of the scale. In order to determine the reliability and validity of the instrument, it was administered to pupils across a range of grades (grades 6-12) after being taught standardised lessons by 14 teachers in south-western Germany. The data generated were analysed statistically in terms of their reliability and validity. As the three independent factors (interest, well-being and boredom) had been derived from theoretical constructs, confirmatory factor analysis was applied. In a second study based on pupils from different age groups, grades and school subjects, we found different scores according to age and sub-ject, suggesting that the scale is sensitive to these parameters.

Keywords: science education, boredom, emotions, interest, well-being, short assessment instru-ment