Supplemental
Instruction – The Peer Assisted Study Sessions (SI-PASS)


Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an academic support program that supports high-risk courses rather than targeting high-risk students.

Supplemental Instruction provides students and course instructors
with a non-remedial approach to learning enrichment through regular peer-facilitated study groups within courses to integrate essential academic skills with course-related material.

These courses are facilitated by trained diploma students commonly referred to as Supplemental Instruction Leaders. Supplemental Instruction (SI)
is a non-remedial approach to learning through regularly scheduled, out-of-class review sessions to all students enrolled in a particular class. SI study sessions are informal seminars where students review notes, discuss readings, develop organizational tools and prepare for examinations.

Supplemental Instruction (SI) leaders chosen by faculty members who have taught them. The leaders have previously taken the course, achieved an “A”
and are academically successful. SI leaders attend all class lectures, take notes and act as model students for their classmates.

historically difficult course

A historically difficult course is a course with relatively high
rates of students receiving a final grade of D or F or withdrawing from the course. SI-PASS supports courses with 20% or higher
DFW rates, which preference given to courses with DFW rates
higher than 25%.

SI-PASS also considers the average enrollment and student perception of these courses when deciding which courses
to support, as well as other support options on campus.

SI-PASS Objectives SI Sessions SI Leaders

General Objectives of Supplemental Instruction

  1. Improve student retention and progression rates.
  2. Enhance the quality of the student experience.
  3. Deepen understanding of the discipline.
  4. Improve academic performance of attendees.
  5. Develop and improve student knowledge of effective study strategies.
  6. Foster the development of transferable learning skills.
  7. Enhance students’ meta-cognitive awareness.
  8. Create and foster a learner-centered approach.
  9. Foster collaborative and active learning and engagement.
  10. Enhance social inclusion and create a non-threatening learning environment.
  11. Create a discipline-specific student communities of practice.
  12. Facilitate social connectedness.
  13. Provide leadership development for high-achievement students.

What is Supplemental Instruction Sessions?

A typical SI-PASS session is an hour-long meeting in a classroom on campus and might include a review of lecture and assigned readings, group work and discussion, problem-solving and critical thinking activities or a mock exam. The SI-PASS Leader’s primary focus is to assist students in understanding the course material while helping them to develop effective study skills that are applicable to the content.

The SI-PASS Leaders will never structure SI-PASS sessions as a forum to re-lecture to students who missed class.

  1. Should begin in the 1st or 2nd week of classes and run to the end of the semester.
  2. Sessions are commonly held as 1-hour sessions three times a week, two 1.5-hour sessions per week or one 3-hour session per week.
  3. SI is a non-remedial approach; therefore, the sessions are available to all students enrolled in each course.
  4. Are voluntary, anonymous, and available at no additional charge. 
  5. Are offered on a drop-in basis such that students do not have to sign up to attend. The ideal session size is 10-15 students. Effective sessions can be held with numbers below or above the ideal session size of 10-15.
  6. Help students to integrate what to learn with how to learn. Students will have a chance to become aware of and to develop effective study strategies while reviewing relevant course content.
  7. Are highly interactive and use collaborative learning strategies to help students process and review course content while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  8. Are planned by SI leaders but remain flexible depending on the needs of students in a particular course.
  9. Have attendance taken at every session.
  10. Do not impact student grades directly (participation in SI sessions is not rewarded with marks or extra credit based on attendance),
    so as not to privilege students who are able to attend over those who legitimately cannot attend due to a conflict.

What is Supplemental Instruction Leaders?

SI-PASS Leaders are students who have taken difficult courses and been successful in them. SI-PASS Leaders attend class for the course which they support and provide informal, structured study sessions focused on the most difficult concepts covered in class.

  1. Are model students at the diploma level who have taken the course before and achieved an “A”, are academically successful and
    are recommended by the faculty member teaching the course.
  2. Are trained and supervised by a Certified SI Supervisor.
  3. Receive intensive training through the SI Supervisor Training before their placement begins as well as on-going training during their placement.
  4. Re-attend all lectures for the course they have been assigned to.
  5. Develop a professional relationship with course instructors and other relevant staff and communicate with them on a regular basis.
  6. Are given sufficient time to properly place activities and strategies to engage students in SI sessions.
  7. Are facilitators who re-direct questions, provide time for students to engage with the material and allow students the opportunity
    to check their understanding of class concepts and topics.
  8. Are not tutors, TAS, or someone who will explain concepts to students.
  9. Have demonstrated excellent interpersonal and communication skills and have a strong understanding of group dynamics.
References

Canadian National Centre for Supplemental Instruction, University of Guelph May 2014

SI-PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions), University of Idaho, taken from https://www.uidaho.edu/current-students/academic-support/asp/tcs/si

What is SI PASS?, University of Maryland, taken from https://academicsuccess.umbc.edu/si-pass/

About SI-PASS, Lund University, taken from https://www.si-pass.lu.se/en/about-si-pass