Differential Benefits of Attending Supplemental Instruction for Introductory, Large-Section, University U.S. History Courses

Abstract

We investigated students’ academic achievement in three high-enrollment, introductory-level history sections at a large, public, Hispanic-serving university. Using a conditional indirect-effects model, we analyzed supplemental instruction (SI) attendance and class absences as predictors of course success, after accounting for sex, ethnicity/race, and SAT/ACT scores. Results suggested a positive direct effect of SI attendance on course success and a negative direct effect of absences. A significant interaction effect between ethnicity/race and SI suggested that Hispanic students reaped stronger benefits from SI than Caucasian students, and that the course achievement gap between these groups was smaller when students attended more hours of SI. Our study contributes new findings to research supporting the effectiveness of SI by examining mediation and moderation effects and controlling for confounding variables.

KEYWORDS:

• supplemental instruction (SI)
• ethnicity/race
• academic achievement
• class attendance
• gatekeeper college courses

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge Ms. Lindley Workman Alyea and Ms. Susan Thompson for their assistance with conducting this study. The authors also thank Mr. William Barry for providing thoughtful comments and suggestions that have led to improvements of the manuscript. Special thanks to Dr. Phillip Vaughan for his assistance with the preparation of this manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emily J. Summers

Emily J. Summers, EdD, is Associate Professor in the Graduate Program in Developmental Education at Texas State University.

Taylor W. Acee

Taylor W. Acee, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program in Developmental Education at Texas State University.

Gail R. Ryser

Gail R. Ryser, PhD, is Director of the Testing, Research-Support, and Evaluation Center (TREC) at Texas State University.