Student achievement and retention in relation to supplemental instruction provided for two first-year science courses

While there are many different types of tutoring or academic approaches, Supplemental Instruction (SI) is based on the combination of content and study skills. The goal of SI is to help students develop independent learning skills using solid study strategies to learn specific course material. SI Leaders have been trained to facilitate discussion during the sessions and are knowledgeable in the specific content area in order to clarify students' understanding of the material.; This research was conducted at the request of university administration to determine if the program was valuable as a tool in retention. Information specifically about the benefit vs. cost at the institution was deemed necessary in order to make budgetary decisions.; This study examined differences in mean course grades and term GPAs based on SI attendance of students enrolled in two first-year college natural science courses. In addition, the relationship between course grades, term GPA, and reenrollment was also investigated. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to discover differences in students' course and term grade point averages between groups based on attendance level at SI sessions. A Pearson product-moment correlation was conducted to determine the relationship between level of attendance at SI, course grades, and term grade point averages.; For subjects in the study, attendance in SI seemed to provide a useful intervention to increase targeted course grades. This examination supports the hypothesis that going to SI sessions on a regular basis produces a significant mean difference of the groups.; Course grade averages were significantly higher for students who attended SI more often in comparison to the course grade averages of students who did not attend. Students participating in SI more often also had significantly higher term grade point averages than those who did not attend. A positive correlation was found between attendance at SI sessions and course grade and also between attendance and term GPA. Finally, a chi-square analysis revealed that student attendance at SI sessions had a positive relationship with retention of students in the university.