What is Supplemental Instruction?
Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a series of weekly review sessions for students taking historically difficult courses. SI is provided for all students in chosen sections who want to improve their understanding of course material and improve their grades. Attendance at sessions is voluntary. For you, the student, it’s a chance to get together with people in your class to compare notes, to discuss important concepts, to develop strategies for studying the subject, and test yourselves before your professor does. At each session, you will be guided through this material by your SI leader, so you are not on your own in the study session.
SI sessions are typically held before or after your class. They are held 2-3 times a week and are scheduled based on the availability of the students in the class as well as the SI Leader.
How do I know if SI is offered in my class?
The courses that are supported by SI are labeled on the course schedule, or you can look on the SI website for the list of classes that have SI. SI sessions are held on every campus, and in a variety of courses that are required. Also, in the first week of class, the SI leader will make an announcement about SI. We support courses that are in-person and online.
SI Leaders are students themselves who successfully completed the course and act as model students. They’ll be in class with you every day, hearing what you hear and reading what you read. They take notes and participate in the class, just like you. Their job is to help you think about the lectures you hear and the information you read. Then they craft unique activities or problem sets to recap the course material in SI study sessions to help you learn the material more efficiently.
When do SI review sessions start?
The SI leader attends class from the very beginning, but the SI study sessions begin during the second week of the semester. The SI leader will set up two or three study sessions a week at times that are best for the majority of the class. You can attend one session or all of them (the choice is yours.) Attending these sessions early is one of the keys to success.
How do SI sessions help me as a student?
Research shows that students who regularly attend SI sessions average up to a full letter grade higher than their classmates who choose not to attend. Attending SI means you’ll develop a better understanding of course content as well as more effective ways of studying. Also, the more you attend, the better your grade will be.
At each study session, the SI Leader will guide you through course concepts. The SI Leader will not re-lecture or give out their class notes, and the sessions won’t go over homework. Their goal is to help you think about the lectures you hear and the information you read, and then put it all together into some kind of perspective during SI sessions so learning happens more effectively.
SI support is provided to faculty and students at no cost. You can attend as many SI sessions as you’d like 100% free of charge.
How can I become an SI leader?
If you are interested in becoming an SI Leader, we encourage you to talk to a faculty member for a course you performed well in. Students must earn an A or a high B in the course, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and finally, students must be nominated by an ACC faculty member. If your faculty member is unfamiliar with SI, you can provide them with information from our website.
