On the Effectiveness of Supplemental Instruction

Abstract

Supplemental instruction (SI)-variously known as peer-assisted learning, peer-assisted study sessions, and other names-is a type of academic support intervention popular in higher education. In SI sessions, a senior student facilitates peer learning between undergraduates studying a high-risk course. This article presents a systematic review of the literature between 2001 and 2010 regarding the effectiveness of SI. Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Due to methodological heterogeneity and lack of consistency defining the SI treatment, qualitative synthesis methods were applied. For seven included studies, however, an effect size of SI participation on final grades was calculated, ranging from d = 0.29 to d = 0.60. The findings of the review are consistent with claims validated by the U.S. Department of Education in the 1990s that participation in SI is correlated with higher mean grades, lower failure and withdrawal rates, and higher retention and graduation rates.

Stressors and coping strategies among physiotherapy students: Towards an integrated support structure

“…Pure academic stress, on the other hand, may be addressed by peer tutoring. Dawson et al (2014) describe how tutoring supports student success, student retention and ultimately student graduation rates.…”

“…The first and most important directive relates to the need for the integration of emotional and academic support within one support structure, as existing structures, described in literature, focused only on one of these aspects (Dawson et al 2014;Hoyne & McNaught 2013;Regehr et al 2013). Both academic and emotional aspects were noted as major stressors in our study (see Table 2), indicating the integration of these aspects within a student's frame of reference.…”

“…External support structures for university students are widely described in literature and can be divided into academic support (Dawson et al 2014;Hoyne & McNaught 2013), emotional support (Regehr, Glancy & Pitts 2013) or an integration of academic and emotional support through mentoring (Gershenfeld 2014). Because of the nature of stressors experienced by health care students during clinical training, emotional support structures for these students are more frequently described in literature than academic support structures.…”

From Inky Pinky Ponky to Improving Student Understanding in Assessment: Exploring the Value of Supplemental Instruction in a Large First-Year Class

“…In a systematic review of the relevant literature between 2001 and 2010, Dawson, Van der Meer, Skalicky and Cowley (2014) found that SI participation is correlated with improved performance as well as lower failure and withdrawal rates. These studies did not only look at effectiveness from an academic performance perspective, but also included overall graduation rates, the impact on the development of academic skills as well as the effect on general well-being, social relationships and engagement.…”

The electrocardiogram made (really) easy: Using small-group tutorials to teach electrocardiogram interpretation to final-year medical students

“…[10,11] Unlike the peer-facilitated model used in supplemental instruction and other departments at the university, where senior students tutor junior students, tutorials in the Department of Medicine are facilitated by registrars. All the tutors in NATP, including registrars, are trained, equipping them, for example, with skills to facilitate learning using active learning strategies.…”