Model for implementing `supplemental instruction' in engineering

Supplemental instruction (SI) is a learning enhancement program, targeting high-risk courses instead of high-risk students and offering assistance on an outreach basis in regularly scheduled, out-of-class sessions. The primary goal of SI is to facilitate students' mastery of course concepts, and a secondary goal is to encourage students to develop better learning skills and strategies. During SI sessions, SI leaders facilitate students' understanding of course material via interactive learning strategies which encourage involvement, comprehension and higher-order reasoning skills. SI leaders do not re-teach or simply work problems on the board; rather, they offer alternative perspectives and exercises designed to mirror the course content.