Supplemental Instruction (SI)

Several students sitting at tables in a classroom

Overview

The Supplemental Instruction (SI) program offers peer-led support for historically difficult subjects and major gateway courses with high rates of D and F grades and unauthorized withdrawals (DFW). SI Leaders, high-achieving students recommended by faculty members and recruited and trained by the SCAA, attend assigned lecture sections to model successful behaviors and identify challenging content for review in regularly scheduled group study sessions.

Group study sessions generally consist of interactive discussions and collaborative practice activities facilitated by SI Leaders. Any student enrolled in a supported course may benefit from voluntarily attending sessions and frequent participation often results in improved comprehension and performance, contributing to student retention and progress to degree completion. Sessions meet in The CORE 342 (Red-tailed Hawk Room) and/or via Zoom.

 

Now Hiring for Spring 2023

The SCAA recruits, trains, and assigns course placements for new SI Leaders every semester and welcomes qualified CSUEB students to apply to become SI Leaders for the following courses starting Spring 2023. Before applying, interested students should read the position description and must request faculty members from their subject areas submit recommendations supporting their applications.

Note: The following includes courses still recruiting SI Leaders, not a comprehensive list of supported Spring 2023 courses.
 

Courses Requesting SI Leaders

Openings


Accounting & Finance
ACCT 312: Intermediate Accounting II
FIN 300: Financial Management		 1
4


Chemistry & Biochemistry
CHEM 112: General Chemistry II 1


Economics
ECON 380: Managerial Economics & Business Strategy 1

Spring 2023 Schedule (Updated 2/2/2023)

ACCT 210: Introduction to Financial Accounting

Sections 01 & 02: MW 9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. @ CORE 342

ACCT 215: Introduction to Managerial Accounting

Sections 01 & 02: MW 4:00-5:00 p.m. @ CORE 342

ACCT 311: Intermediate Accounting I

Section 02: SI Leader Recruited, Schedule Coming Soon!

ACCT 312: Intermediate Accounting II

Section 01: Recruiting SI Leaders

FIN 300: Financial Management

Sections 01, 02, 03, 04 & 05: Recruiting SI Leaders

Note: Students enrolled in asynchronous sections may freely join another section's sessions.

BIOL 101: Introduction to Biology

Section 01: MW 1:45-2:45 p.m. @ CORE 342

BIOL 310: Genetic Analysis

Sections 01 & 02: MW 5:00-6:00 p.m. @ CORE 342

CHEM 111: General Chemistry I

Section 01: TTh 8:00-9:00 p.m. @ Zoom Meetings (Contact SI Leader for link)

CHEM 112: General Chemistry II

Section 01: Recruiting SI Leaders
Section 02: TTh 4:15-5:30 p.m. @ CORE 342

ECON 200: Principles of Microeconomics

Sections 02 & 03: TTh 2:45-4:00 p.m. @ Robinson Hall 137

ECON 380: Managerial Economics & Business Strategy

Sections 01 & 03: W 1:15-2:45 p.m.;  F 1:00-2:15 p.m. @ Art & Education Building 386
Section 02: Recruiting SI Leaders

Note: Students enrolled in asynchronous sections may freely join another section's sessions.

KIN 162: Nutrition & Performance

Sections 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 & 06: MW 2:00-3:00 p.m. @ CORE 342

Note: Students enrolled in asynchronous sections may freely join another section's sessions.

PHIL 100: Workshop in Critical Thinking

Sections 01 & 03: TTh 3:00-4:15 p.m. @ Art & Education Building 142
Sections 02 & 04: TTh 4:00-5:00 p.m. @ Zoom Meetings (Contact SI Leader for link)
Sections 03 & 05:  TTh 12:30-1:45 p.m. @ Meiklejohn Hall  2008
Sections 06, 07 & 08: TTh 2:00-3:00 p.m. @ CORE 342

Note: Students enrolled in asynchronous sections may freely join another section's sessions.

PSYC 100: Introduction to Psychology

Section 01: TTh 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. @ CORE 342
Section 02: M 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Th 12:15-1:15 p.m. @ CORE 342

Note: Students enrolled in asynchronous sections may freely join another section's sessions.

SLHS 303: Speech & Hearing Science

Section 01: M 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. @ Music Building 2515; T 3:00-4:15 p.m. @ Music Building 2519

SI Program FAQ

 SI Leaders attend assigned lecture sections to model to peer students effective study, note-taking, and organizational skills necessary to succeed in high-impact courses and facilitate bi-weekly, interactive study sessions which include intensive lecture reviews, discussions, and guided practice activities.

Active and consistent SI participation often results in improved content comprehension and course performance, leading to increased retention in difficult subjects. Likewise, student survey feedback frequently mentions how SI prepares them for subsequent coursework.

Any student currently enrolled in an SI-supported course may voluntarily participate for free in group study sessions, regardless of their current grades.

SI supports every section of a selected high-impact course.

SI Leaders receive extensive training which includes becoming familiar with expectations for engaging with peer students and assigned faculty. The SCAA requires as part of their responsibilities SI Leaders:

  • Request before class meetings time for presentations/announcements at the start or end of class
  • Model positive in-class behaviors to students, including arriving early and note-taking methods
  • Meet regularly with assigned faculty to discuss classroom expectations and session planning
  • Encourage students to voluntarily participate in SI regardless of their current course grades
  • Provide reasonable in-class assistance, e.g., distributing paper, forming discussion groups
  • Communicate often with the SCAA and their immediate supervisor, the SI Coordinator

Conversely, SI Leaders may not:

  • Lecture, supervise class meetings, or proctor on behalf or in the absence of their assigned faculty
  • Share confidential information with assigned faculty, including students' SI session attendance
  • Entice students to participate in SI with promises of extra credit/other extraneous motivators
  • Grade assignments or tests or perform administrative tasks, e.g., copying/printing, proofing
  • Record lectures, provide notes, or forward session materials to/on behalf of peer students
  • Make arrangements with students/assigned faculty independently of the SI Coordinator

Faculty members should contact the SI Coordinator with questions related to expectations.

The SCAA requests SI-supported faculty provide the following to their SI Leaders:

  • Student or TA-level access to course syllabi, in-class materials and texts, Canvas, and Zoom.
  • Time at the start or end of lectures for brief presentations and/or in-class announcements.
  • One 30 to 60-minute meeting per week to discuss lecture content and session planning.

At minimum, SI Leaders will have previously completed the courses they will support with B final grades and maintained 3.0 cumulative GPAs while enrolled at Cal State East Bay. Further, they must receive positive written recommendations from subject area faculty at Cal State East Bay familiar with their content knowledge and characters.

All SI Leaders participate in comprehensive orientations before and extensive training throughout each semester.

Faculty members may complete and submit the online SCAA Student Employment Nomination/Recommendation Form. Students may not nominate peers.

Though not guaranteed, the SCAA will always attempt to pair SI Leaders with the faculty members who nominated them. However, if not possible, the SCAA will assign other qualified and trained SI Leaders to nevertheless provide support.

Ideally, yes. However, circumstances may prevent the SI program from recruiting enough SI Leaders for every supported course section. Should this happen, faculty members may invite their students to attend another section's group study sessions while the SI Coordinator searches for additional SI Leaders.

Unfortunately, no. Whereas the SI program typically recruits students based on their capacity to support specific courses, circumstances may prevent newly recruited SI Leaders from receiving intended course placements, e.g., course schedule changes. Should this happen, the SI Coordinator will place affected SI Leaders on a reserve list while searching for new placements or alternative employment within the SCAA, if available.

Due to the voluntary nature of SI, the SCAA discourages offering extrinsic motivation or requiring students to participate. Faculty members should instead encourage students to attend group study sessions to develop subject comprehension
and practical study skills in a safe, collaborative learning environment.

The SI Coordinator and SI Leaders will share general information regarding group study session attendance but not specific students' names or attendance until final course grades post in the Pioneer Data Warehouse.

At the conclusion of every semester, the SI Coordinator sends summative reports to faculty members containing students' final course grades, group study session attendance, grade distributions by attendance, and related enrollment and DFW information extracted from the Pioneer Data Warehouse and Bay Advisor.

The SI program traditionally supports courses with 20% or higher average rates of D and F/NC final semester grades and unauthorized withdrawals (DFW) across all sections. Additionally, term enrollment in "gateway" courses, impact scores within the CSU Student Success Dashboard, and support available throughout campus, e.g., STEM LAB, help determine which courses may receive SI.