ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION - A CRITIQUE AND A CASE-STUDY

Methods of assessing the effectiveness of Supplemental Instruction (SI ) have neither satisfactorily nor conclusively demonstrated whether SI improves student performance in the university environment. Analysis which shows that students of all levels of preparedness attending SI p erform better in the course than do their similarly prepared counterpa rts fails to account for other factors which may affect academic perfo rmance. This study points out deficiencies in existing research into t he effectiveness of SI, suggests way of isolating the actual effect of SI on final student results, and posits, for future analytical work, a broadening of research methods to include non-statistical, qualitati ve forms of assessment. A case study of the effectiveness of SI in an engineering course at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesbur g concludes the study.