SI TUTOR TRAINING Program Orientation for the Department of Academic Literacy and Linguistics (ALL) by Cheryl Comeau-Kirschner, Ph.D. Assistant Professor and SI Coordinator

ALL-SI Program Staff Danae Sanchez, SI Program Staff Performs all administrative functions within the program Handles all SI Tutor documentation and other requests/help Other SI Program Staff may provide: Training for SI Tutors and participating faculty Problem-solving and planning within the overall program

What is Supplemental Instruction (SI)? The Supplemental Instruction (SI) model is a peer-facilitated academic assistance program that was originally developed by Dr. Deanna Martin in 1973 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, with the overall goal of identifying and supporting the most challenging courses for students. SI integrates how to learn with what to learn, incorporating collaborative learning strategies with course content. Source: https://www.monmouth.edu/uploadedFiles/Content/University/academics/academic-success-services/academic-advising/supplemental- instruction/SIFacultyManual.pdf

Why does ALL use SI? SI targets high-risk courses rather than high-risk students. All students enrolled in SI-supported courses are invited and strongly encouraged to attend – not just those who are struggling with course content. Adapted from: http://www.fullerton.edu/si/faculty/faq.php Studies show that students who attend SI sessions earn statistically higher final course grades than those students who do not attend, even among students who are underprepared when they enter the course (Congos, Langsam, & Schoeps, 1997).

Overview of SI Tutoring Requirements You will attend one class session (2 hours or 3 hours per week). This will be based on your schedule—if it is flexible, then you can negotiate which day with your faculty partner. If it is not, you will simply inform your faculty partner when you can attend once per week. You will hold the tutoring session (2 hours per week in addition to the class session) based on your schedule. Again, flexibility in your schedule may allow you to poll the class whereas an inflexible schedule would mean that you simply inform the instructor and students when you plan to hold the weekly tutoring session. Once the class session and tutoring session schedule (total 4 hours per each class section) is agreed upon, you must inform SI program assistant Danae Sanchez (dsanchez@bmcc.cuny.edu).

Overview of SI Program Requirements You may soon discover that some students will say that they cannot attend your tutoring session due to a schedule conflict. Again, your schedule flexibility, or lack thereof, will determine if you can offer alternative times/days. That said, SI attendance is an important program goal (refer to the syllabus statement). We are also planning to offer SI-led, skills-based workshops to all students as another option for SI. You should take individual student attendance when you meet with individual students in-class AND out-of-class. (Danae Sanchez will provide the attendance sheets)

Overview of SI Program Requirements There will be designated Learning Resource Center tables (S-500) for your use if you want to hold tutoring sessions in the Chambers Street building. If your class is in the Murray or Fiterman buildings, you may use one of the open spaces/tables in those locations. We cannot officially book space/tables in those buildings, unfortunately. You will also be given a sign with your name, course section, and faculty name. You should post the sign whenever and wherever you are tutoring so that students and/or program staff can find you. Even if students do not seem to be showing up for you tutoring session, you are expected to remain there for your entire scheduled time and you will be paid for those hours whether or not students attend your session. There have been instances in the past when students sought out their SI tutor who decided to leave early, and this is counterproductive to the program!

SI Tutor-Faculty Partnership Start of semester Meet with the faculty partner in-person and/or virtually to prepare for the upcoming semester First meeting with students during class time Ask the faculty partner if you can introduce yourself during class time to market the SI program Weekly meetings and/or email communication Establish your role in class Ask the faculty partner to share materials with you Discuss content area concerns (What are typical “trouble spot(s)” for students in this course?) Report/Evaluate student(s) progress/understanding together

SI Tutor-Faculty Partnership In-Class time Offer reminders about out-of-class tutoring and/or workshop throughout the semester Follow the faculty partner’s lead with regard to how you can be included in the class session in meaningful ways—group work, pair work, individual tutoring outside of the class, etc. Faculty members have also been trained to strongly encourage their students to attend outside-of-class tutoring and/or workshops(in addition to giving you time to make announcements); their positive input should add even more credibility to this resource!

SI Tutor-Faculty Partnership Out-of-Class time Ask the faculty partner if he/she has a preference for the type of skills and/or assignments that you should work on If you feel comfortable, give the faculty member targeted feedback about student performance or improvement rather than just a general impression, i.e. They’re doing well! or He doesn’t understand a lot. Think about how your feedback can help the faculty member in their lesson planning/class activities

ESL Writing Courses in ALL ESL 49 English as a Second Language, 0 crs. 3 hrs. ESL 54 English as a Second Language, 0 crs. 9 hrs. These two Intensive English courses are designed in their combined form to improve the reading/writing and aural/oral skills of the low-intermediate student. These two courses must be taken concurrently and are obligatory for one semester for all incoming ESL students whose placement examinations show a need for instruction at this level. ESL 62 English as a Second Language, 0 crs. 6 hrs. THIS LEVEL WILL BE PHASED OUT AFTER SPRING 2017 This is a high-intermediate level course that combines listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Narrative and descriptive writing are emphasized and expository writing is introduced. ESL 94 English as a Second Language, 0 crs. 6 hrs. This advanced level course emphasizes writing and reading skills; however, oral skills are not neglected. In writing, students focus on introducing, developing, supporting and organizing their ideas in expository essays, as well as in narrative and descriptive writing. ESL 95 Intensive Writing, 0 crs. 6 hrs. This intensive writing course for ESL students focuses on basic components of effective writing, including paragraph development and structure, sentence structure, word choice, and content. Students read and respond to a variety of texts and use argumentation, narrative, and description as modes of developing ideas in writing.

Academic Critical Reading Courses in ALL English Language Learners (ELLs) and native English speakers may both enroll in the following reading courses. Note: You may find that some students are not required to take reading or have already passed it OR some students are enrolled reading and writing simultaneously. ACR 94 Academic & Critical Reading I, 0 crs. 6 hrs. This introductory reading course improves reading comprehension through the practice of literal, inferential and critical reading skills, vocabulary development, writing, flexible reading rates and study. A variety of materials are used to enrich students' basic understanding of reading. ACR 95 Academic & Critical Reading II, 0 crs. 6 hrs. This advanced reading course is designed to help students master a full range of college-level reading and related skills, including critical comprehension, vocabulary, writing, flexible rate of reading and student strategies. A variety of college-level material is used.

Credit-bearing Courses for ESL/ACR 95 Students CRT100 Critical Thinking, 3 crs. 3 hrs. This course presents reasoning and problem-solving techniques. It begins with a description of the thinking process and proceeds to examine areas such as identifying and defining problems; understanding the roles of evidence, interpretation, and perception in reasoning; distinguishing between belief and knowledge; understanding the role of language; techniques for organizing information; and methods for building and analyzing arguments.  This is a liberal arts and social science elective course (cross-listed with PHI115) and is open to the general student population. Students placed in remedial courses must be at the 95 level (e.g., ESL95, ACR95, ENG95) in order to register for CRT100. LIN100 Language and Culture, 3 crs. 3 hrs. This course focuses on the study of Language and Culture. Students will learn about bilingual/bidialectal families and bilingual education, language and gender, literacy in a changing, technological society, child language acquisition and different dialects and registers of English. The readings will draw on works in linguistics, literature and related fields. Students will work on critical reading, producing writing based on the classroom readings in connection with their own experiences and background. This is a liberal arts and social science elective course (cross-listed with ANT115) and is open to the general student population. Online and Writing Intensive sections are offered on a regular basis. Students must have passed or placed out of ESL62, ENG88 and ACR94 in order to register for LIN100. LIN110  The Structure of English, 3 crs. 3 hrs. This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the grammatical structures of standard American English, allowing them to read, write, and interpret written texts critically and efficiently Through analysis and discovery, students will learn to evaluate the grammaticality of the written work they produce in their academic coursework. In addition, students will explore a variety of writing genres and styles, and learn to manipulate language more effectively, enriching both their production and understanding of written texts. Students placed in remedial courses must be at the 95 level (e.g., ESL95, ACR95, ENG95) in order to register for LIN110.

Any Issues? If any issues arise, please try to communicate your concerns directly to the faculty partner before you involve any SI program staff. However, inform SI Program staff if you cannot resolve issue(s) directly and keep track of such issues when you are prompted to provide feedback about your experience at the end of the semester. Important note: If you bring an issue to SI Program staff, they will discuss how to resolve it on their own, or in some cases, with the faculty partner, and you will be “kept in the loop” about the communication/resolution.