Supplemental Instruction in a Time of COVID-19: Challenges and Solutions

Amelia V. Noël-Elkins, Interim Assistant Vice President for Student Success, Illinois State University

Created at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, supplemental instruction (SI) is known throughout higher education as an effective tool for supporting students’ academic success. SI is facilitated by trained peer leaders who have successfully completed difficult courses. Sessions are traditionally offered in small, face-toface groups, but SI programs needed to quickly find a new way to support students after campuses closed in March.

Rebecca Cofer from Georgia College & State University (GCSU), Lindsey Randolph and Amelia Parnis from Texas A&M University, and Kim Sandlin from Wichita State University shared their experiences moving their SI programs online. Concerns about the quality of student interactions and remote instruction were mingled with the anxieties of the moment.

Targeted Outreach for Targeted Courses

All three institutions use SI for specific courses: Texas A&M and GCSU offer SI for STEM courses, and Wichita State provides SI for courses that are historically difficult for students. With the move to online, SI staff had to rethink outreach efforts and use a more targeted approach.

Wichita State focused its messaging to first-generation students and worked with other campus tutoring services to share resources, knowledge, and training. Texas A&M used student records and SI attendance patterns to compare attendance before and after the online transition, and sent personalized emails to students inviting them to continue using SI. GCSU increased its social media presence to effectively advertise SI options.

Speed of Transition

As was the case for much of higher education, SI programs needed to pivot with incredible speed to maintain continuity of service for students. Texas A&M faced the additional challenge of being shorthanded, but it still trained 60 SI leaders and launched the online program in less than two weeks without a disruption of service for students. At Wichita State, staff were trained, and all of its SI sessions were deployed online within a week.

Training and Technology

Training also took on new forms during COVID-19. Wichita State had used some preliminary training on Blackboard and Zoom before the pandemic, but it needed to be scaled up. Meanwhile, GSCU had to develop services on Cisco WebEX, an entirely new platform for them. While learning this new platform, GSCU staff were creating and uploading content to a tutor-specific class housed within its learning management system. A section was devoted to online tutoring that offered techniques, approaches, and policies for the tutors to reference, including understanding FERPA in an online environment, what online learning looks like, and online-specific tutor guides. GSCU now requires this section for all CRLA tutor training. Texas A&M was already holding weekly training for its SI leaders but moved them to synchronous Zoom sessions when campus closed. SI leaders were given an overview of some of Zoom’s features (i.e., whiteboards, annotations, screen sharing), took turns trying out the different tools, and offered feedback with staff and their peers. After the initial training, SI leaders were asked to demonstrate their knowledge of Zoom to ensure they could effectively help students.

Future Plans

The COVID-19 pandemic forced those in charge of SI to find new solutions. Randolph, Parnis, Sandlin, and Cofer agree some of these new solutions can continue to effectively serve students post-pandemic. Cofer said it had never crossed her mind to offer SI online, but she realizes some students are more comfortable in a virtual SI space. Texas A&M indicated student feedback about virtual SI was excellent. Sandlin said Wichita State did an excellent job securing technology resources for their students, thus enabling better opportunities for success in remote learning and providing SI for those students most in need.

While the pandemic pivot to online SI was something no campus anticipated, these three institutions have demonstrated how a crisis can reveal new opportunities and evoke the resiliency of staff and students in higher education. As a result of these unprecedented circumstances, program and service improvements were realized, which will benefit students in the future.

CONTACT

Rebecca Cofer: rebecca.cofer@gcsu.edu

Amelia Parnis: a.parnis@tamu.edu

Lindsey Randolph: lrandolph@tamu.edu

Kim Sandlin: kim.sandlin@wichita.edu