New program helps students tackle tough classes

Above: SI leader Ana Jackson writes out sample problems on the board. Below: Participants have seen their grades improve.

Ana Jackson already passed College Algebra, but she’s repeating the class. This time, she signed on as peer tutor for a new program that launched this spring at Austin Community College.

Student Learning Services, which oversees the Learning Lab and other tutoring resources, adopted Supplemental Instruction (SI) following a successful pilot last fall. SI is a nationally recognized program that assists students with historically difficult classes, helping them improve their understanding of the material and earn higher grades.

“We’ve already seen some great results,” says SI Coordinator Mary Gilmer. “Professors who participated in the pilot saw their students average a letter grade higher than other classes.”

Gilmer plays SI matchmaker – she identifies professors who want to participate in SI, then recruits and trains students who are willing to serve as study group leaders, called SI leaders. They have to have recently completed the course and receive a recommendation from their instructor.

Each SI leader is assigned to a professor’s class for the semester. They attend class, take notes, confer with the professor, and hold outside sessions to help classmates master skills and concepts.

“I’m not there to re-teach the lecture,” says Jackson, who leads a College Algebra class at the Cypress Creek Campus. “I’m there to give them study tips, clarify the professor’s expectations on the material they are learning, and make sure they are on the right track.”

SI leaders are important to the program’s success because they are new to their subject. “SI leaders are more aware of the stumbling blocks their classmates face because they only recently learned the material themselves,” Gilmer says.

“Usually people tutor in subjects that they themselves naturally have a talent for, and it can sometimes be difficult to put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn’t just ‘get it,’ “ Jackson says.

This spring ACC coordinated SI for 22 classes in math, chemistry, and English for Speakers of Other Languages. The program will be scaled back for summer but will return in fall, limited only by the availability of peer tutors and the budget to pay them.

“SI has been a phenomenal experience,” Jackson says. “Students have expressed their satisfaction – and, in some cases, surprise and excitement – with their grades. One student told me she had never gotten an A on a math test before.”

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