Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program

Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions are informal, peer- facilitated review group learning seminars for a particular course section – SI sessions meet twice per week.

• SI started at UMass Amherst in 1998 with one course section and a few hundred student visits.
• We now support over 50 course sections, with over 100 SI sessions running per week, and over 40,000 student visits annually.
• SI support is available in many large lecture, foundational courses.
• During SI sessions, students review course content, compare notes, discuss readings, develop organizational skills and learning strategies.
• SI leaders are successful, dynamic, and engaged undergraduate students who have successfully completed the course and are hired and trained by the LRC to go back and support the course again.
• Research has shown that students who regularly attend SI sessions earn higher grades in their SI-supported courses.

Student Participation in Supplemental Instruction (SI)

Participation in the SI program is completely voluntary and open to all students enrolled in the course.

Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leaders

SI Leaders serve as model learners of the subject and they also guide peers to work within a group. Student leaders benefit from the program because the process reinforces their own learning and skill in the subject area. SI leaders are trained in active learning, metacognition, informal assessment, classroom management, diversity and inclusion to name a few. SI leaders undergo multiple trainings every semester, along with frequent session observations, consultation feedback, and formal performance feedback evaluations. We are proud of our training, observation and feedback loop for our SI leaders. Our goal is to provide constant training, mentoring, skill and professional development for our leaders, so that they can best serve the students they support. To become a SI leader, students undergo an application, test teach, and group interview process.