Supplemental Instruction (SI) and Guided study session offer students academic assistance that increases their academic performance through its use of collaborative learning strategies. SI Guided study sessions target traditionally difficulty academic courses and avoids the remedial stigma often attached to traditional academic assistance programs since it does not identify high risk students, but identifies high risk classes.

• • Assistance begins the first week of the term.
  • The SI/guided study leader introduces the program during the first class session and surveys the students to establish how many might be attending the study session.
  • The service is attached directly to specific courses. Reading, learning, and study skill instruction is offered in the context of course requirements.
  • The SI/guided study leader attends all class sessions or has already taken the class. These sessions are designed to promote a high degree of student interaction and mutual support.

With the increasing diversity of the college classroom and level of academic preparedness, institutions are seeking to develop a community of learners. SI and Guided Study sessions helps promote the formation of such communities and promotes scholarship through increased academic performance of students. Faculty enjoys the resource and support provided by the SI/guided study leader.

What is a SI/guided study leader: a student who has successfully completed the targeted class or a comparable course.

• • The leader is trained in proactive learning and study strategies and operates as a “model student,” attending all course lectures, taking notes, and reading all assigned materials.
  • The leader conducts 2 out of class study sessions per week during which he/she integrates “how to learn” with “what to learn.”
  • The leader is a facilitator, not a mini professor. The role of the leader is to provide structure to the study session, not to re-lecture or introduce new material.

The leader should be a model student who shows how successful students think about and process course content. He or she facilitates a process of collaborative learning, an important strategy since it helps students to empower themselves rather than remain dependents as they might in traditional tutoring.

When do SI/Guided Study sessions start?

• • On the first day of class.
  • Each SI/Guided Study leader will conduct two review sessions a week at times that are blocked on your schedule.
  • Bring your notes, bring your textbook and wear your THINKING CAP !