SI Educator and Staff FAQ

Supplemental Instruction (SI) program support students enrolled in courses that have been typically challenging and/or foundational to their majors. The sessions promote students working as a community of learners and active engagement in study skills and strategies to master the content knowledge. Undergraduate students are hired as facilitators of the sessions. Their formal titles are Leaders. These students receive an initial 10-hours of training in facilitation techniques and collaborative learning strategies along with weekly follow-up training during the quarter. We regularly invite faculty for which we are supporting their course to our training to observe and understand the program components.

SI Leaders facilitate sessions and have already completed the courses at UC San Diego. All Leaders are trained in collaborative learning techniques, promoting community, and developing a safe and respectful environment for learners. Some SI Leaders are required to attend all lectures each week whereas some Leaders attend lectures one time per week or as needed upon instructor request. Instructors work with SI professional staff to arrive at the best option for lecture attendance. Sessions are held either three times per week for 50-minutes each or once per week for 80-minutes.

AAH professional staff support a number of ways to assist you in informing your students about participating in SI and the benefits. Visible support of the SI program by the instructor encourages students' participation in this academic support resource as determined by program evaluation.

• Provide a link on the course web site to the AAH main web page. 
• Create announcements for instructors to deliver on their course sites, websites, or in lecture slides about the SI program. 
• Provide an opportunity for the Leader to make an in-class 1-3 minute announcement of their sessions.
• Inform course TAs about the program and encourage them to make announcements in their discussion sections.
• Refer students to the program during office/student hours.

We respect faculty time, but we do encourage instructors to interact with the Leaders if they wish. Here are some ways that faculty may interact with SI Leaders:

• Ask the Leader to meet with them and their TAs in their course weekly meetings
• Meet with the Leader at the beginning of the term to provide an overview of the course
• Look for messages from SI program staff with program updates
• Request from SI program staff for Leader feedback
• Post lecture conversations with the Leader for updates on participating student session takeaways
• Add Leaders to the course Canvas sites to make SI session announcements

• I have had the pleasure of having the support of the SI Leaders inside and outside of my course this half of a year. I have noticed a significant difference in students’ questions; both quantity and quality, as well as a much friendlier atmosphere in the lecture and between the students themselves. -- Physics Instructor
• To myself and many students, the games and puzzles actually provide a fresh approach to challenging concepts in mathematics and allow students to view mathematics with a more positive outlook. -- Math Instructor

• I wish all Instructors for all courses that are perceived as difficult by the students were able to get this type (SI) of support — it is extremely beneficial to both me as an Instructor and to the students taking the course. Clearly, it helped students get a higher grade in the course. -- Engineering Instructor

All students enrolled in the course are eligible to attend SI sessions. Students of all ability levels are encouraged to participate. SI provides a great opportunity to have a set study time each week and the opportunity to work with peers to master course material. However, it may not be a fit for all students. Students should participate if they are interested in working each week with their peers, are willing to actively participate in meetings, and enjoy studying in a small group environment.

SI helps students learn the material in a deeper, more concrete way. Sessions that are effective generate positive energy, encourage active participation, teaches discipline, and requires commitment from participants. These skills are all important criteria for life-long learning. These learning skills are transferrable to other courses and/or content.