One of the most gratifying experiences I have had is working as a Supplemental Instruction Leader. The Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program is a resource provided to students by UT Dallas’s Student Success Center. As a General Chemistry SI Leader, I attended General Chemistry I and II lectures, prepared my own lesson plans, and led SI sessions to help students improve their knowledge of General Chemistry and score better in the class. Being an SI Leader has been a phenomenal experience. I learned many skills, including the ability to engage a classroom, create innovative studying activities, and improve my own communication. However, when I first started my employment as an SI Leader, I encountered problems in learning how to accommodate all
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In addition, I asked veteran SI Leaders how they dealt with similar problems. Through all this, I started formulating sessions that could benefit both groups of students. For example, I realized that I did not have to personally guide the students through everything, rather the students with solid chemistry foundations could teach the struggling students. By pairing stronger students with those struggling, I was able to implement challenging problems in my sessions and have students guide each other through them, explaining the basic concepts needed to solve it. Furthermore, at the start of each session, I had students come up to the board to give a summary of and explain the concepts taught by the General Chemistry professors in the previous lecture. By implementing sessions that promoted collaborative learning, I was able to use my time traveling around the classroom instead of standing in front of the board, addressing specific questions one-on-one and making sure everyone stayed content and productive. By breaking the students into groups and having them teach each other, my students also had opportunities to meet new people and, often times, they formed study groups after my sessions. Soon students who once struggled with chemistry were themselves teaching their peers who once mentored
In addition, I asked veteran SI Leaders how they dealt with similar problems. Through all this, I started formulating sessions that could benefit both groups of students. For example, I realized that I did not have to personally guide the students through everything, rather the students with solid chemistry foundations could teach the struggling students. By pairing stronger students with those struggling, I was able to implement challenging problems in my sessions and have students guide each other through them, explaining the basic concepts needed to solve it. Furthermore, at the start of each session, I had students come up to the board to give a summary of and explain the concepts taught by the General Chemistry professors in the previous lecture. By implementing sessions that promoted collaborative learning, I was able to use my time traveling around the classroom instead of standing in front of the board, addressing specific questions one-on-one and making sure everyone stayed content and productive. By breaking the students into groups and having them teach each other, my students also had opportunities to meet new people and, often times, they formed study groups after my sessions. Soon students who once struggled with chemistry were themselves teaching their peers who once mentored