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New review sessions may
increase grades
By Corrie Wollet
Staff
Writer
Raising test scores may now be easier through new
review sessions hosted by Supplemental Instruction. The sessions are
being held for various subjects to help students before vital exams.
The sessions are convenient because they are being
held in the residence halls during the evenings. According to Ethel
Schwartzendruber, the Supplemental Instruction supervisor, "These sessions
are a great way for students to get together and discuss class content
and difficult materials."
The Supplemental Instruction program began nearly
two years ago with its focus on helping students answer questions about
the challenging materials they found in class. These sessions are free
and voluntary. Currently, there are five different Supplemental Instruction
courses offered: PSY 120, "Elementary Psychology;" BIOL 204, "Human
Anatomy and Physiology;" PHYS 152, "Mechanics;" MA 153, "Algebra and
Trigonometry;" and MA 154, "Algebra and Trigonometry II."
There will be more courses added for next year
as well. The courses offered are chosen after reviewing the grades students
have received in past semesters.
Purdue students who have already taken the class
lead these sessions. These group leaders help students demonstrate what
they know and assist them through difficult problems. They know the
pitfalls of the course and can give the students tips, said Schwartzendruber.
Research involving students who have attended past
Supplemental Instruction sessions shows an increase in grades. According
to the program update newsletter, the overall statistics for the fall
of 1999 state that the mean course grade for those students who participated
was 2.40 versus 2.16 for students who did not attend sessions. Those
who attended a session received 18 percent D or F grades as compared
to 24 percent for non-participants.
These sessions are held throughout the day. "It
is really easy to fit these sessions in between classes," said Stephanie
Rothrauff, a freshman in the School of Education.
This year, the sessions will be more residence
hall focused. They will be held in Wiley Hall and will concentrate on
various subjects, usually as a review for an exam. "The (Supplemental
Instruction) instructors make up their own problems as examples and
we have time to answer them and then go over them," said Lindsay MacKenzie,
a freshman in the School of Science.
The next big review session will be at 7 p.m. Monday
in Wetherill 200 for MA 154, "Algebra and Trigonometry II." Daily session
schedules are available in the learning center in the Liberal Arts and
Education Building, or online at www.purdue.edu/Retention/SI. At the
Web site, biographies of all the Supplemental Instruction leaders are
posted as well as the leaders' individual session times.
Mark Ertmer, a group leader, said, "We give peer
to peer assistance, we know what we struggled on during the class and
our experience will help others through the same problems."
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