Entering its fourth semester, the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program hires students who have passed the class with an A or B and has them retake these classes and act as student coaches for students seeking aid. These coaches designate times where class members can ask questions.
Up from 10 instructors last semester to 20 instructors now, the SI program currently serves math and English students. Random students are selected to fill out an evaluation of the program at the end of the semester.
“We believe we’ve achieved our goal due to the student evaluations. They testify to the learned skills these students have acquired and the group,” SI coordinator Luis Barrueta said. “We believe we have achieved our goal academically by the number of instructors requesting the program and students interested in joining.”
Carl Broderick, math professor, who has SI workshops tailored around his class every Tuesday and Thursday, offers students a small amount of extra credit for attending these sessions.
“I think it’s a wonderful program that gives students an excellent chance to progress. It’s hard to learn math in class and it’s nice that it’s structured for my own class,” he said.
SI workshops are offered in English B, A and 1A. The workshops are also offered in Math 23,40,70 and 130. The program started by a Title V grant, began with 150 members and has now grown to 450.
“I think it is as good as the math tutoring center,” said Claudia Ruina, liberal studies major, who attends the sessions for help in her Math 40 class. “If you want to study at your own pace or if you’re stuck on a chapter, you can ask the SI tutor what to do. It’s very convenient. The math tutoring center helps me a lot also.”
Broderick said he believes one advantage of attending these SI sessions instead of the math- tutoring center is it is suited around his class.
While he doesn’t mind students using different methods to solve problems, he believes some students get confused when taught something completely different from what they know.
Cindy Garcia, liberal studies major, who coaches students every Monday and Thursday evening for professor Susan Corbin’s English A class, has found coaching these classes beneficial for her future aspirations of becoming a teacher as well.
“I thought it was going to be kind of like tutoring, but it wasn’t really,” Garcia said. “It was more like a mini-teacher you can say, that is what I call it. You actually go in there with the students; you have your own session and you have to help the students to get a better understanding of what they want in the classroom. If instructors don’t touch certain subjects in the classroom as much as the students might want, SI touches it.”
Barrueta said he hopes to one day allow coaches to receive college credit, a program similar to that of a work study program.
Being a Title V program though, the same type of program as the Teacher Education Program, the grant needs to be picked up by the college once the grant ends. With the success it has experienced Baruetta is confident it will be picked up.
“We are extremely pleased with the way SI has exploded,” he said. “Extremely pleased with the instructor support and pleased with the number of people the door it has opened for us.”
