Supplemental Instruction

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an academic assistance program that provides regularly scheduled study sessions. The focus of these sessions is to review the lecture material in an organized study group consisting of students and their peers, facilitated by a trained SI Leader. The emphasis in SI is on challenging courses rather than high-risk students. In this way, the program avoids the stigma sometimes attached to academic assistance programs. The weekly study sessions are facilitated by the SI leader whose role is to provide structure, not to re-lecture or introduce new material. The SI leader is a “cognitive role model”; a student who can demonstrate and show how students think about and process the course content. Learning/study strategies, test-taking strategies and organizational skills are integrated into the course content of Supplemental Instruction. Working with small groups, the SI leader facilitates discussion so that the students can actively interact and discover strategies that will empower them to master concepts and applications. SI begins the first week of class and continues throughout the academic year.

In 2000, The Center of Excellence and the Office of Cultural Enhancement and Diversity implemented sessions in M1 courses: Physiology and Biochemistry; and M2 courses: Pathology and Pharmacology. Currently, the following courses are supported by SI:

Year 1:
Anatomy
Biochemistry
CTB (Cell and Tissue Biology)
Neuroscience
Physiology

Year 2:
Microbiology
Pathology
Pharmacology

Attending SI sessions is voluntary for students. Supplemental Instruction is not a substitute for class attendance.