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Now Hiring Fall 2020 SI Leaders!

If you have students in mind that would make a great SI Leader, click here to submit a nomination form! We'll email the student(s) directly to let them know they were nominated and include the link to apply.

GREAT CANDIDATES:

  • Would be great at helping and working with a diverse group of students.
  • Can create a welcoming environment for others.
  • Has strong communication, time management, and organization skills.
  • Likes to learn and develop new skills.
  • Was successful in the course they will support as an SI Leader (B or better required).
  • Demonstrated high performing student that can help set an academic tone with other students.
  • Will have earned 30+ credit hours by Fall 2020.

Supplemental Instruction (SI) Overview and History

Supplemental Instruction (SI) was first developed in 1973 by Dr. Deanna Martin at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. SI is an academic assistance program that provides weekly, peer-led group study sessions for students taking historically difficult, gateway, and bottleneck courses. SI sessions bring students together in a collaborative learning environment where they improve their understanding of course material, review and discuss important concepts, develop study strategies, and prepare for exams. In SI, students connect what to learn with how to learn. SI is provided for all students who want to improve their understanding of course material and improve their grades; SI is not a remedial program for struggling or failing students. Students who attend SI sessions on a consistent basis traditionally earn a half to full letter grade higher than those students who do not participate in SI.

 

Purpose and Goals of SI

  • Help students become more independent learners.
  • Reduce DFW (D, F, and Withdraw) rates in targeted historically difficult courses.
  • Improve student grades in targeted historically difficult courses.
  • Increase re-enrollment and persistence of participating students.
  • Ultimately, improve the graduation rates of students at MSU Denver.

By encouraging regular attendance, SI aims to accomplish these goals through helping students:

  • Understand what to learn and how to learn.
  • Develop transferable study skills.
  • Gain problem-solving experience through trial and error.
  • Develop analytical and critical thinking skills.
  • Become more actively involved in the course.

Differences Between SI and Other Academic Supports

MSU Denver offers multiple academic support programs that focus on student success through peer learning. The purpose and role of each leads to a different approach to serving students. There are clear benefits for each program, and students are encouraged to utilize as many programs as will best meet their needs! (Note: Teaching Assistants’ roles and responsibilities typically vary by department, and from Undergraduate to Graduate TAs.)

What Benefits Have Faculty Observed from SI?

Faculty have noticed a variety of benefits from having an SI Leader in their course. Common benefits include (all quotations are from the Fall 2019 SI Faculty Survey responses):

  • “Students who attend SI sessions tend to be more motivated and more engaged in the course.”
  • “I just gave what historically has been the most pivotal exam of the semester and for the first time I had 1 perfect score and more A’s and B’s than previously.”
  • “Unprompted… students would speak very positively about the SI Sessions, even trying to recruit other students to attend. They shared that it helped highlight the most important course information, as well as guiding them to take better notes and better study.”
  • “Students have a peer contact they can go to in addition to seeing the instructor… students have more opportunities for help.”
  • “It provides another avenue for students to engage in the material… in a very meaningful and challenging way.”
  • “The students in the class are comfortable talking to the SI Leader. It’s nice having extra support for students who are struggling with the course.”
  • “When a class is large, it is so beneficial to the students to have someone else that can help answer students’ questions.”

Supplemental Instruction Data

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