The Essential Elements of Supplemental Instruction

The Supplemental Instruction model has proven to be successful with institutions of varying size, location, and organizational structure.  The SI model can be adapted to reflect the individual needs and differences of each campus but there are certain elements of the model which must be present to ensure the integrity of the program.  They are as follows:

1. SI Sessions Are Peer-Facilitated
The ideal SI leader is a student who has recently taken the class from the same instructor and received a high final subject grade.  All SI leaders should be approved by the course professor for content competency.  The SI leader neither re-lectures nor introduces new material, instead the SI leader's responsibility is to organize and add structure to the SI sessions.  The responsibility for processing class material and answering questions generated by the students remains with the students.  The primary function of the SI leader is to facilitate discussion among SI participants and model successful learning strategies at key moments in the SI sessions.  In the absence of a qualified student to act as an SI leader, a staff member, or community resident may also serve as an SI leader.

2. The SI Leader Serves As A Model Student
The SI leader functions as "model student" of the discipline rather than an authority figure.  SI leaders help students formulate and answer their own questions.  This process helps students develop a more sophisticated approach to learning while maintaining the focus on content mastery.

3. SI Sessions Integrate Content and Learning Skills
The SI sessions integrate the review of lecture notes, textbook readings, outside supplemental readings along with appropriate modeling of learning strategies.  "How to learn" is embedded into SI sessions along with "what to learn."  Through practice and mastery of effective learning strategies, students can adopt and transfer these strategies to other subjects and content areas.  Collaborative learning strategies are used in SI sessions as a means of creating a more active learning environment for student participants.

4. The SI Leader Attends the Targeted Class Lectures
When the SI leader attends all lecture sessions, the SI leader is knowledgeable about what is occurring in the class sessions and has an opportunity to model "good student" behavior in the subject.  The SI leader's presence in the classroom also serves to market the SI program to students.  If he potential SI leader cannot attend class, it is generally best to identify the academic assistance sessions as something other than SI, e.g., group tutoring.  Education systems in the United States often present scheduling incompatibility between the SI leader and the time that the targeted class meets.  In these cases the SI leader meets at least once a week with the targeted class instructor to discuss the lecture content, textbook readings, home work assignments and proposed SI session activities.

5. The SI Leader Receives Training
The SI leader receives training prior to the beginning of the term.  In-service training continues throughout the quarter.  These training sessions include specific teaching/learning theory and strategies. 

6. The SI Program Is Supervised
A trained University of Cincinnati professional staff member supervises the SI leaders and the SI program.  Among other duties, the campus SI supervisor periodically attends SI sessions throughout the quarter and provides helpful feedback for the improvement of the program.  To ensure the success of the SI program, the professional staff member attended the SI Supervisor workshop conducted by a staff member of the UMKC.

7. Faculty Support the SI Program
The instructor of the targeted course should both understand the SI program and support its attachment to his or her class.  Faculty members generally are encouraged to find ways to fully integrate SI into the overall subject but should be allowed to choose their level of involvement with the SI program.  Faculty may also play a role in selecting and screening SI leaders for content competency.

8. Regularly Scheduled Sessions
SI is in place from the beginning of the quarter.  Generally three or more sessions are offered each week but a number of weekly sessions will vary depending on the student demand or specific issues related to the subject.  Students attend SI sessions on a voluntary basis.

9. Program Evaluation
There are two reasons to evaluate the SI program each academic quarter: (1) to continuously improve the overall quality of the program by gathering information about its strengths and weaknesses and, (2) to inform college administrators about the overall impact of the program.  The SI program should be evaluated appropriately by assessing institutional outcome measures (e.g. final subject grades, subject withdrawal rates, institutional drop out rates, institutional graduation rates).  Assessment is an increasingly important issue in academic life and sometimes has a direct link to funding.

10. SI Targets Subjects Rather Than Students
 SI serves classes where a large portion of students will experience academic difficulty.  SI avoids a remedial stigma by focusing on classes rather than individual students.  The SI program provides systemic change in the learning environment for all students enrolled in the targeted subject.  While all students may not take advantage of the voluntary service, it attracts an equal proportion of students from differing ability and cultural groups.  SI does not segregate students based on prior academic performance or predictions of academic success.  SI sessions work best with heterogeneous groupings of students.  Participating students receive higher measures of academic achievement in comparison to their nonparticipating counterparts.