Supplemental Instruction

Want to sharpen your study skills and improve your understanding of difficult course material? Supplemental Instruction is here to help!

Students who consistently participate in Supplemental Instruction receive, on average, a half or a whole letter grade higher than students enrolled in the same course that do not attend Supplemental Instruction. Students who participate in Supplemental Instruction also acquire effective learning and test-taking strategies.

Develop your study skills, Improve your understanding of course material, Meet other people in your class

Supplemental Instruction is a free academic assistance program that uses peer-led study groups to help students in traditionally difficult courses – those with low completion rates (D’s, F’s, and W’s).

Supplemental Instruction Leaders are current Georgia State students who excelled in the course to which they are assigned. They attend the lecture along with the students and prepare activity-based sessions that correspond with the material covered in class. Supplemental Instruction sessions are informal, peer-led study sessions that provide students with an opportunity to not only engage with each other while re-enforcing course material, but also acquire valuable study strategies.

All Campuses

All Students

What is Supplemental Instruction?

How do I use Supplemental Instruction?

Supplemental Instruction is a series of regularly scheduled review/study sessions for students taking historically difficult courses led by students (SI Leaders) who have already taken the course, earned an A- or better, and have a GPA above a 3.0.

Attend a Supplemental Instruction session to:

Develop effective study strategies and habits that lead to higher grades
Learn how to manage academic stress and anxiety
Establish fun and beneficial relationships with peers
Engage in an interactive learning environment
Maintain motivation to complete courses successful and graduate

What happens in Supplemental Instruction?

Ask questions
Discuss material covered in lecture
Solve practice problems
Compare notes
Organize study material and maximize your study time
Learn study techniques
Learn how to talk to you professor during office hours
Identify campus resources

Become an SI Leader

What does a Supplemental Instruction Leader do?

Provide assistance to students enrolled in an academically challenging courses
Plan and facilitate out-of-class study sessions three times a week throughout the semester
Attend all course lectures
Attend all SI leader trainings and meetings, and complete tasks throughout the semester to enhance the SI Leader experience and SI program for students
Assist in the collection and reporting of evaluative data regarding the selected course

SI Leaders are trained in proactive learning and study strategies as well as facilitation skills. SI Leaders are facilitators who assists students to integrate course content and learning strategies.

To become an SI Leader, you should have the following qualifications:

Undergraduate Students:

Enrolled in at least half-time credit hours at Georgia State University
Have already completed the SI course with an A- or better in a previous semester

Graduate Students:

Enrolled full-time and/or in the required number of credits required by your program
Be a student in the Philosophy, Political Science or Economics Departments, and be invited to apply for the position by your department the Office of Supplemental Instruction

Graduate and Undergraduate Students:

Maintain an overall GPA of a 3.0 or higher
Possess excellent interpersonal communication skills
Have a working knowledge of campus resources for academic success
Provide a recommendation from a professor; instructor in the discipline is preferred

How do I become a Supplemental Instruction Leader?

Graduate Assistantship Opportunities

Instructor FAQ

What should I expect from an SI Leader in my class?

SI Leaders should:

Maintain consistent attendance in all your lectures, with proper attention given to the material discussed
Facilitate three sessions per week outside of class time
Conduct ongoing communication about lecture/session material and recommendations for topics to emphasize in sessions

What shouldn't I expect from an SI Leader in my class?

SI Leaders should not:

Grade test or quizzes
Report students’ SI Session attendance to you
Act in the same role as a TA

What is my role as an Instructor participating in SI?

Encourage all students to attend SI sessions regardless of performance
Include the SI Leader’s name and session days/times/location in your syllabus
Meet weekly with your SI Leader for a brief conversation about what to review during their sessions
Recommend excellent candidates for future SI Leaders during the SI Office recruiting process

Can I attend an SI session held for my class?

So that we preserve the casual atmosphere of the sessions and keep the anonymity of SI participants, please do not attend SI sessions

Session Schedules

Check out the SI schedules from previous semesters:

Contact Us

Atlanta Campus
Kate Kendall
33 Gilmer St SE, Sparks Hall, Suite 249
404-413-2061
supplementalinstruct@gsu.edu

Perimeter College Campuses
Justin Swisher
Jim Cherry Learning Resource Center (CL-2310)
678-891-2826
jswisher@gsu.edu

Meet the Supplemental Instruction Team

Office Staff

Lizzy Shuford

Program Assistant & Mentor

Rachel Burke

Mentor

Fatima Shaikh

Mentor

Brett Brock

Mentor

Shema Meghoo-Peddie

Student Assistant

Senior Leaders

Left to right:David Cohen (CHEM 2400), Thais DeAlmeida (POLS 1101), Peter-Jon Williams (CHEM 2410), Peter Nguyen (HIST 2110), David Pretlow (MATH 2212), Alice Dobosy (BIOL 2120), Alexandra Hiten (BIOL 2107)

Biology Leaders

Back row from left to right: Jeenifer Alberto -Jimenez (BIOL 1103), Indiya Mallory ( BIOL 3800), Megan Gretz (BIOL 2108)

Front row from left to right: Sahiti Namburar (BIOL 1104), Muhammed Abdullbari (BIOL 1104), Haley Dourron (BIOL 2107), Diki Gurung (BIOL 2108)

Not Pictured: Giovani Velez (BIOL 2110), Nin El (BIOL 2110)

Student Success Programs at Georgia State