The Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois

Purpose & History of the SI Program

Developed by Dr. Deanna Martin in 1973 at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an academic assistance program that increases student performance and retention.

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 high-risk classes.

SI sessions normally occur in classrooms near the course classroom instead of a learning center. SI sessions are open to all students in the course and are attended on a voluntary basis. SI leaders are students who have demonstrated competence in this or a comparable course.

SI sessions are comprised of students of varying abilities and no effort is made to segregate students based on academic ability. Since SI is introduced on the first day of classes and is open to all students in the class, SI is not viewed as remedial.

The SI leaders are the key people in the program. They are presented as model students of the subject. As such, they present an appropriate model of thinking, organization and mastery of the discipline.

All SI leaders take part in an intensive two-day training session before the beginning of the academic term. This training covers such topics as how students learn as well as instructional strategies aimed at strengthening student academic performance, data collection and management details.

SI leaders 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 study strategies, e.g. note taking, graphic organization, questioning techniques, vocabulary acquisition, and test preparation, as they review content material.

Students have the opportunity to become actively involved in the course material as the SI leaders use the text, supplementary readings, and lecture notes as the vehicle for learning skill instruction. The main portion of the SI sessions is spent working and collaborating on worksheets and guiding students in the development of problem solving skills.

The SI supervisor, an on-site professional staff person, implements and supervises the SI program. This person is responsible for identifying the targeted courses, gaining faculty support, selecting and training SI leaders, monitoring the quality of SI sessions, and evaluating the program.

The SI leaders meet as a group with the SI supervisor every week during the term for follow-up and problem-solving.

SI students earn higher course grades and withdraw less often than non-SI participants. Also, data demonstrate higher re-enrollment and graduation rates.

Faculty and staff from over 800 institutions in the U.S. and abroad have been trained to implement SI.

Copyright by The Curators of the University of Missouri, 1997
Modifications, Gretchen Adams, 2004