Everything You Need to Know about Running an Effective Supplemental Instructor Session

I recently read an article about how to maximize your effectiveness in Supplemental Instructor (SI) sessions. I figure this would be a good article to read since I am currently doing my first semester of SI for English 250/260 class (intermediate English). Here is a brief summary and discussion  of the article. It's called "Supplemental Instruction: SI Leader Manual" owned by Chaffey College.

      The manual starts off by saying the old Confucian motto "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." It is a perfect motto because the heart of SI is to help students become independent learners. It then goes on to talk about the five main points of SI and how to use them effectively.

1 Helpful Tips:  These tips are just basic knowledge every SI should keep in mind when starting to conduct a study session. It also includes a few tips on how to reach out to students and make them feel welcome to the study sessions.

• personally invite students to your sessions (flyers, announcements, emails, etc.)
• write the times of your SI sessions on the board before each class
• provide a comfortable environment for SI sessions
• clarify lectures and answers that were given in class 
• model how to get answers; don't tell students the answer 
• refer to the syllabus regularly

2 Difficult Scenarios: Sometimes SI's can run into difficult situations when conducting a session. They must know what to do since there is no teacher around to help. Hopefully these situations never arise. However if they do here is a guide on how to handle them.

Scenario One- One student tends to dominate the group discussions.

If one student is dominating the group sessions then you can step in and ask others students to participate one at a time. This way the talker is less likely to interrupt. If the talker interrupts you can politely say something like "I'd like to hear what Sarah wants to say first then you can go next." Or if the talker persists you can do the popsicle stick trick. The  popsicle stick trick is when the only one allowed to talk is the one holding the popsicle. However this also tends to disrupt the flow of group conversation so be careful thoughful when using it. Most dominant talkers are unaware of what they're doing so be patient!

Scenario Two- A student is only interacting with the SI leader

If a student is only talking with you then first, and most obvious, don't sit next to them! Try to surround them with other classmates. This encourages them to talk to others around them instead of just the SI leader. Remember it's natural to gravitate towards the authority figure, so try the obvious first. However if that's not working then you can simply tell the student, "your classmates want to know what you think." Or "your classmates want to know what you have to say." Encourage the student to share with the class. A third way to solve this problem is to do partner share exercises. The student is likely to share with a partner because they don't want to exclude their partner by talking exclusively to the SI.

Scenario Three- A student becomes confrontational with the SI and argues that the sessions are useless, dumb, or not as good as the teacher.

If a student becomes confrontational then always diffuse the situation! Under no circumstances is it a good idea to argue with a student. Do not insult the student either that just makes it worse! If the student says that your sessions are useless or dumb then remind him/her that he/she doesn't have to be there. Tell him/her you are only trying to help. If the student says that you aren't as good as the professor then tell them you aren't a professor. You are not a professional yet so one one expects you to be. 

Scenario Four- The SI asks a question and the students get quiet.

If students tend to get quiet then it is possible they are shy, they didn't study, or they want to participate but they aren't sure. The best thing to do in this scenario is to reassure students that SI sessions are a safe zone. There are no wrong answers. The most important thing is they make an effort to participate. If the SI asks a question and the students get quiet then it could also be possible they just need a hint. Give them hints to get the answer. If the students are still quiet then let them pair share before they answer. This way they have a chance to circulate ideas before answering. 

3 Collaborative Learning Techniques: Collaborative leaning techniques are a fun way to get students to think about the material they learn in class. Collaborative learning techniques can solidify ideas and lead to better comprehension. There are four main techniques: group discussion, partner work, think/pair/share, and student surveys. The group discussion is exactly what it sounds like. The students discuss ideas. When done properly there is no telling who leads the conversation in each group because everyone shares equally. The partner work gives students a chance to test their ideas. They can get structured feedback from their partners.The article specifies,"When doing think/pair/share, give participants a specific amount of time (30 seconds, 5 minutes, etc.) for the “think” portion.  The goal of a think/pair/share is to allow participants time to think BEFORE a discussion. Research shows that when people are given time to contemplate an answer to a question, their answers differ from those they would give if they responded immediately"(Hope). Group surveys are similar to playing twenty questions. The group questions each student to find out their opinion/position on an issue. The opinions and issues are assigned by the SI leader. The article hints, "A survey works best when opinions or views are briefly stated. Be sure to keep track of the results of the survey" (Hope). 

4 Transitioning: Transitions can seem very easy when in fact they are more difficult than they seem. Transitions are important to give students a break in long SI sessions. It helps prepare them mentally for the next part of the SI session. Some SI have students take deep breaths and stretch. Some will give students a three to five minute break to go to the bathroom or get a snack. Basically anything that provides a mental release is encouraged. 

5 Questioning: I personally prefer Costa's levels of questioning when working with my class. Here is a link to Costa's questioning scale. https://tamoclass.wordpress.com/category/costas-house/  Costa focuses on three level of questioning. They go from easy to most difficult. 

EXAMPLE LEVEL ONE QUESTIONS: What characters are in The Great Gatsby? What happened in chapter six?

EXAMPLE LEVEL TWO QUESTIONS: How does Mayella Ewell's behavior behavior in court affect people's opinion of her? How does "manifest destiny" represent people's attitudes in the Western frontier of the Unite States?

EXAMPLE LEVEL THREE QUESTIONS: Why does Holden feel so upset when he sees graffiti at his school? How might Phoebe, years later, describe Holden to her children? 

As you can see level one deals with basic comprehension and summary. Level two is more difficult because it asks the students to link information to bigger ideas. It asks them to analyze, sequence, and compare. Level three is most difficult because students have to use their judgement to infer, evaluate, and hypothesize. It is important to use all three levels of questions in the study sessions. 

 Works Cited 

Hope, Laura and Robin Witt. " Supplemental Instruction: SI Leader Manual." Chaffey College. n.d. 1-42. 22 February 2016. Web. 

https://tamoclass.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/costas-house-intro.jpg (link)