By Erin Keller
Supplemental Instruction (SI), a model of academic support and retention, targets introductory-level courses with high-risk content. For SI, trained undergraduate students are paid to lead weekly out-of-class study/review sessions for their peers, focusing on how to learn difficult course content. Participation is voluntary, though students are urged to attend on a regular basis. Since 1997, SI has been offered at IUP each term and assessed according to prescribed guidelines set forth by the international SI center—analyzing mean final grades and D/F/ withdrawal rates for students who have attended SI sessions one or more times versus students who have not participated. However, the researchers hypothesize that irregular attendance by students during a fourteen-week term, such as three or fewer sessions, has little impact on their performance in the course. For this project, researchers examine the correlation between students’ attendance at SI sessions and learning outcomes, as measured by final course grades and rates of D/F/ withdrawals.
