Supplemental Instruction
Supplemental instruction is
an academic support program that has been used
nationwide with great success.
A typical course targeted for
supplemental instruction is a historically
difficult course.
An SI tutor is selected and trained to
help students.
This SI tutor is a former student who has
successfully completed the course.
The SI tutor attends all course meetings
and runs a regularly scheduled SI session for
students.
In the SI session, students review course
concepts with the SI tutor.
The SI tutor also covers course
strategies, time management skills, and exam
review with the students.
The SI sessions are closely aligned with
the course.
As Vincent Tinto says,
“Unlike
the more privileged students in residential
universities, many low-income students do not
have the privilege of spending time on campus
after class.
Once class is over, they leave campus to
attend to other obligations.
If we do not reach students in the
classroom and align our actions to reshape their
experience in the classroom, we will miss the
great majority of students who need our support.
…low-income students typically approach
success one course at a time.
They seek to succeed in one course, then
move on to the next.
The object of supplemental instruction is
to help students achieve that goal, one course
at a time.”
(Vincent Tinto, Access Without Support Is
Not Opportunity, Inside Higher-Ed, June 9, 2008)