In the classroom everything had seemed to make sense. Later, however, the words on the pages and pages of notes seemed to blur and were no longer coherent. Thankfully, there was a better way to deal with these late-night study sessions: Sl. Supplemental Instruction, m Sl, , allowed students to come together and compare notes, study and reason together on like subjects. A program provided by academic services for students who were enrolled in selected on-campus courses known to be difficult, Sl was conducted entirely by students. eo Bell said the best way to learn a subject was to have to teach it to others. "It's a really cool thing because it's like a step between being a teacher and still being a student and learning the material myself," Bell said. "It helps me develop the skills that I will need to be able to comprehend a subject to be able to teach it." Harding graduate Stephanie 0' Brian was currently the Sl supervisor after being an observer for one semester and a leader for four semesters. 0' Brian said that she had witnessed the program mature in many positive ways since she had worked there. "More students and faculty are becoming aware of Sl and its benefits not only to the students but the faculty as well," O'Brian said. Senior Jeb Bell, a history major with a political science minor, was an Sl leader. He worked at least 10 hours a week assisting other students in his area of expertise. After passing a few courses and acquiring the knowledge at an advanced level, Bell was asked to become a student leader. "SI is a pee1·-led session for a specific class," Bell said. "We Sophomore justin Horschig learns about International Relations during a Supplemental Instruction session on Nov. 11. Sl sessions were times students could be tutored in group settings. Ashe/ Parsons According to O'Brian, Sl helped students in more ways than one. She said that the peer-led study sessions enabled students to really d1scuss the material covered in class, while talking and ~oing hands-on activities helped the sfudents not only academically, but a~cu;ocially. discuss the lectures and cover material and get the main purpose. It allows the student to develop skills to learn the subject on their own." Bell said the program provided helpful reviews and was not remedial, so anyone could join. According to Bell, the meetings had scheduled times and met three days a week. The instructor's job, along with the other students' assistance, was to help individuals gain a better g1·asp on the particular subject and develop the skill to learn how to do this on their own. 1 9 4 academics H~ing Sl for a class was also beneficial to professors, as it was the incentive for their students to excel. Sl leaders had to have previously done extremely well in the class they wanted to teach. Not only that, but they also had to have great personalities to attract students to their sessions. "I had one Slleaderthis semester who had 72 students come to a session one night," O'Brian said. "That is 72 students taking time out of their busy college life to go study government with their peers for an hour. To me, that is awesome!" Elumbo Ebenio
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