Abstract:
Developmental mathematics courses are historically difficult classes for community college students. The failure rate of these courses is alarmingly high. Supplemental Instruction (SI) was developed to assist students in mastering the concepts and as result increasing the passing rates of these difficult courses. SI is a program that uses small peer-assisted study sessions to improve the problem solving skills and the retention of students in historically high-risk courses. Study sessions are led by a student instructor that previously took the class and earned a good grade. This thesis is a study of the efficacy of Supplemental Instruction on Elementary and Intermediate Algebra courses at a community college.