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Supplemental Instruction (SI)
What is Supplemental Instruction?
Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a series of weekly study sessions for students taking historically difficult courses. SI is open to all students who want to improve their understanding of course material and improve their grades. Attendance 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 and learning the subject, and to test yourself before your professor does. At each SI session, you will be guided through course material by your SI leader who has previously taken the course and earned a grade of A or B.
Why should I attend SI?
Students who attend SI sessions on a regular basis usually average one or more letter grades higher than those who do not attend SI sessions. You will also develop a better understanding of course content as well as more effective ways to learn it. The college level study skills that you learn in SI will help you earn higher grades in your other classes. Through attending SI, you will develop friendships with students, staff and feel a stronger connection to UCF.
Why is SI so effective?
Learning theorists such as Dewey, Piaget, and Bruner advocate peer group learning because it increases understanding and mastery of course content and students who collaborate earn higher grades. SI sessions encourage students to discuss concepts and check accuracy of notes in small groups. Group learning allows interaction and practice with the course concepts in a non-threatening environment. This method of teaching has proven highly successful in increasing learning speed and in earning higher grades. View the Semester Report for Spring 2007 here!
What can I expect from the SI leader?
The SI Leader.......
- Has had the class before and earned an "A" or a "B"
- Attends class lectures
- Is trained in the most effective college level learning and study strategies
- Shows you how to learn the course content in SI classes
- Provides leadership structure to the study session
- Models effective note-taking techniques and the crucial self-testing strategies
- Models needed thinking and problem-solving techniques
- Empowers students to become independent learners who can earn A's on their own
Supplemental Instruction at the University of Central Florida:
SI began at UCF in fall of 1996. For the Spring of 2006, we are offering SI support in 21 sections of physics, chemistry, biology, art history, geology, physical science and algebra. If you have SI in any of your courses, there will be an announcement in class during the first week of the semester. If you do not have SI in any of your classes but still are interested in developing college level study skills, come to the Student Academic Resource Center in Phillips 113 and make an appointment with the learning skills specialist.
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