Understanding the supplemental instruction model

Abstract

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a student academic assistance program that increases academic performance and retention through its use of collaborative learning strategies. The SI program targets traditionally difficulty academic courses, those that typically have 30 percent or higher rate of D or F final course grades or withdrawals, and provides regularly scheduled, out-of-class, peer-facilitated sessions that offer students an opportunity to discuss and process course information (Martin, Lorton, Blanc, and Evans, 1977).High-Risk Courses Versus High-Risk Students. SI thus avoids the remedial stigma often attached to traditional academic assistance programs, since it does not identify high-risk students but identifies high-risk classes. SI is open to all students in the targeted course; therefore, prescreening of students is unnecessary. Since the SI program begins the first week of the academic term, the program provides academic assistance during the critical initial sixweek period of class before many students face their first major examination. Attrition is highest during this period (Blanc, DeBuhr, and Martin, 1983; Noel, kvitz, and Saluri, 1985).Historically difficult or high-risk courses often share the following characteristics: large amounts of weekly readings from both difficult textbooks and secondary library reference works, infrequent examinations that focus on higher cognitive levels of Bloom's taxonomy, voluntary and unrecorded class attendance, and large classes in which each student has little opportunity for UNDERSTANDING THE MODEL 13The service is attached directly to specijc courses. Reading, learning, and study skills instruction are offered in the context of course requirements and as an outgrowth of student questions and concerns. Thus instruction has immediate application. While many students may self-report their need for academic assistance, only a small group will voluntarily attend workshops that feature instruction in isolated study skills.

Engage Engineering Students In Homework: Attribution Of Low Completion And Suggestions For Interventions

“…Resources were provided for students who needed help with their homework, including a discussion board, studentled help sessions, and Supplemental Instruction (group tutoring) (Arendale, 1994). The discussion board is available 24 hours-a-day and can be used by all students, graduate assistants and faculty.…”

“…A late penalty decreases linearly from 0% penalty to 25% penalty over the first 48 hours after the homework was due. The penalty remains at 25% through the module and then increases to 50% after the end of module until the end of the semester.Resources were provided for students who needed help with their homework, including a discussion board, studentled help sessions, and Supplemental Instruction (group tutoring) (Arendale, 1994). The discussion board is available 24 hours-a-day and can be used by all students, graduate assistants and faculty.…”

From Inky Pinky Ponky to Improving Student Understanding in Assessment: Exploring the Value of Supplemental Instruction in a Large First-Year Class

“…The SIs act as "model" students by showing the students how successful students think about the module and process the module content. After they have been selected, they receive training in collaborative learning techniques which assist the students in knowing "how" to learn (transferable academic skills), as well as "what" to learn (content) (Arendale, 1994;McGuire, 2006 (Arendale, 1993). Social learning theory and the concept of modelling also play an important role, especially in the intervention discussed in this paper.…”

“…Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a model focusing on high-risk courses, designed to support and assist students academically by using collaborative learning in peer-facilitated sessions (Arendale, 1994). A lot of research has been undertaken on the use of Supplemental Instruction to support students both globally (Blanc, DeBuhr & Martin, 1983;Congos & Schoeps, 1998;Etter, Burmeister & Elder, 2001;Hensen & Shelley, 2003;Huang, Roche, Kennedy & Brocato, 2017;Kochenour, Jolley, Kaup & Patrick, 1997;Lindsay, Boaz, Carlsen-Landy & Marshall, 2017;Martin & Arendale, 1992;McCarthy, Smuts & Cosser, 1997;Ning & Downing, 2010;Summers, Acee & Ryser, 2015) and in South Africa (Harding, Engelbrecht & Verwey, 2011;Harding, 2012;Paideya & Sookrajh, 2010;Paideya & Sookrajh, 2014;Zerger, Clark-Unite & Smith, 2006;Zulu, 2003) and these studies clearly show the value of SI on different levels and its effectiveness in terms of improved student performance.…”

“…The feedback strategy involved Supplemental Instruction leaders (SIs) and the use of modelling. Using SI principles such as integrating skills and content, metacognition of learning, cooperative learning and modelling (Arendale, 1993(Arendale, , 1994) I modelled to the SIs how to give detailed feedback to students after assessments, how to facilitate these sessions in order to help students to identify the errors they made, to understand the work better and to prepare for the following assessment. SIs subsequently repeated this process in their SI sessions.…”