Attentively, you listen to the anatomy class lecture on cranium waiting for the “aha” moment.

Are you still waiting for the moment? Are you taking a class that is historically difficult? Do you like interactive learning? If your answer was yes then Supplemental Instruction might be your source for sufficiently attaining the class content.

Supplemental Instruction is offered to classes that have a high rate of D, F and W grades. IU Southeast students who have already taken the class will facilitate the Supplemental Instruction. 

Ryan Norwood, academic resource coordinator, said that Supplemental Instruction groups usually meet an hour before every class all semester long.  The meeting is a review over the material presented in the class before.

Before meeting with the students, the trained facilitator will have a well thought out plan. “The plan focuses on how to integrate study methods and to better understand the material,” Norwood said.

According to Norwood, Supplemental Instruction has 50 sections per semester and they work mostly with natural science classes, though they do extend beyond.

English W290 has become historically difficult, so this semester Supplemental Instruction was added to adjunct english professor, John Stephens Bowman’s class.

“English W290 can be a difficult class for many students because it is research intensive, which many students aren’t prepared for,” said Bowman.

According to Bowman, is it common for three to ten  students to drop by mid-semester.

Bowman said that he hopes by adding Supplemental Instruction to his class the students will have extra help to grasp the content from his lectures.

Alan Royalty, English senior, is the supplemental instructor for english W290.  According to Royalty, he is the first supplemental instructor for a writing class at IU Southeast.

Royalty believes that adding Supplemental Instruction to this course has been beneficial for the students who do show up.  “The ones that come to Supplemental Instruction are doing better than the ones who aren’t,” Royalty said.

Phil Adams, secondary education freshman, attends the Supplemental Instruction for english W290. He said he joined because he needed help narrowing a topic down and was scared to go to his teacher.

He talked with Royalty about his topic and by the end of the meeting they had decided on a focused topic. Adams has found Supplemental Instruction to be beneficial.

Supplemental Instruction is free to students who are attending a difficult class that offers Supplemental Instruction.

Norwood believes that engagement is key to success and that Supplemental Instruction will help students develop skills not only for the class they are receiving Supplemental Instruction but also for future classes.