supplemental instruction program (SI)
Department of academic affairs
CUNY Borough of manhattan community college – FALL 2019
BUS 104 – Introduction to business with Dr. Mary Padula (Sunday session)
BUS 210 – Business methods with Professor Christian De Rojas (Thursday evening session)
What is SI?
Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a series of weekly review sessions for students taking historically difficult courses. SI is provided for all students in the course section who want to acquire effective learning strategies and develop an understanding of difficult course material and improve their grades.
Attendance at sessions is usually voluntary. For you, the student it’s a chance to get together with classmates to compare notes, discuss important concepts, develop strategies for studying the subject,, and test yourselves before your instructor does, so that you’ll be prepared. At each session you will be guided through this material by your SI Leader, a competent student who has already successfully completed the course.
What is an SI Leader?
Have you ever wished you could do something over knowing what you know now? SI Leaders are students themselves and are prepared to share with you what they have learned over the years about how to study. They have taken this course, have done will in the course (I got A’s in both of them and I’m sooooooo bad at math. But I did it anyway). and can be a valuable resource to you.
They know the course content and are anxious to help you guide through it. They will be in class with you everyday hearing what you hear, reading what you read. What they won’t do is re-lecture (that’s the professor’s job); their job is to help you think about the lectures you hear and the books you read and then put it all together during the SI review sessions. SI can help you learn difficult course material more efficiently.
When do SI review sessions start?
On the first day of class, you will be surveyed by the SI Leader regarding your class schedule. Each SI Leader will set up two or three review sessions each week at times that are best for the majority of the students taking the class. You can attend as many or as few sessions as you’d like; each one will be different because you’ll have new material to discuss. SI sessions are informal. Bring your notes; bring your textbook; bring your questions; you may even bring you lunch! (Though, we might get yelled at if we bring food into the study rooms)
What’s in it for me?
If you attend SI sessions regularly, chances are you’ll earn a better grade. You also will have developed a better understanding of course content as well as more effective ways of learning. This will help you with other classes you are taking, now and in the future.
quick RUNDOWN of The SI Program
The SI program targets traditionally difficult academic courses – those that have a high rate of D or F grades and withdrawals – and provides regularly scheduled, out-of-class, peer-facilitated sessions.
SI does not identify high-risk students but rather identifies historically difficult classes.
Sessions begin the first week of the term.
SI sessions normally occur in classrooms near the course classroom instead of a in a learning center.
SI sessions are open to all students in the course section and are usually attended on a voluntary basis, free of charge.
SI Leaders are key people in the program. They are students who have demonstrated competence in the course and have great facilitation skills.
SI sessions are comprised of students of varying abilities, and no effort is made to separate students based on academic ability.
Since SI is introduced on the first day of classes and is open to all students in the course, SI is not viewed as remedial.
SI Leaders receive ongoing training which covers topics as how students learn; strategies aimed at strengthening student academic performance; data collection; and session management tips.
SI leaders usually attend all class sessions, take notes, read all assigned material, and conduct three or more 50-minute SI sessions each week. SI sessions integrate how-to-learn with what-to-learn.
Students who attend SI sessions discover appropriate application of learning strategies, (e.g. note taking ,graphic organization, questioning techniques, vocabulary acquisition problem solving ,and test preparation) as they review difficult course content.
Students have the opportunity to become actively involved in the course material as the SI Leaders use the text, lecture notes,, and supplementary readings as vehicles for refining learning skills.
SI participants earn higher course grades and withdraw less often than non-SI participants. Also, data have demonstrated higher re-enrollment and graduation rates for students who regularly participate in SI.