Rethinking the Supplemental Instruction Model to Meet the Needs of Community College Students

Community colleges serve a disproportionate number of students who identify with nontraditional and historically underserved groups, factors associated with challenges in achieving educational goals. Therefore, these institutions devote considerable resources toward providing student support. Supplemental Instruction (SI) is one such support, offering collaborative, peer-facilitated study sessions. Though most SI research focuses on quantitative measures of effectiveness, this study explored SI qualitatively to develop a user-focused, community college program model based on perceptions and experiences of SI faculty, the professor teaching a course supported by SI sessions, and SI leaders, the peer-facilitators holding the sessions for a course supported by SI, at a public, two-year institution in Texas. The study aimed to increase understanding of contextual factors that influence community college student engagement with SI, focusing on areas where the current model could be adjusted and those that could be developed into a set of best practices, creating a more robust, context-specific, and equity-focused model. The collective case study was conducted through the social constructivist lens. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, field notes, reflexive journaling, and the lens of the researcher. Data was analyzed through open and axial coding to identify emergent themes. Findings indicated the study institution’s multi-campus environment, paired with responsibilities many community college students shouldered, created usage barriers. SI model improvements included strategic scheduling approaches, targeted, proactive communication, and amplification of unique program attributes. Best practices of the current model include appealing to students across the academic spectrum, utilizing the power of peer learning, and developing skills for the future. Implications of the research signaled a need for institutions to contextualize supports like SI to keep busy commuter students connected to campus life long enough to achieve their goals, that SI should be recognized as a resource offering more than academic support, and that community colleges must recognize the growing imperative to utilize programs like SI to create more robust student experiences, combat declining enrollment, and meet the needs of shifting national demographics. Recommendations for a community college-specific SI model included implementing a robust, strategic scheduling approach, developing a proactive communication outreach strategy, and creating a holistic SI Evaluation Toolkit. Finally, recommendations for future research included additional research engaging students, particularly commuter and adult students.