UMKC hosts international students
Tyler Allen
Issue date: 2/23/09 Section: News
UMKC hosted the first ever Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader Exchange last week attracting 14 student leaders from six countries around the globe.
The SI program started at UMKC in 1973 and has since disseminated to over 1,500 institutions in 29 countries.
Students visited from Sweden, Australia, Canada, West Indies, South Africa and England.
The Center for Academic Development (CAD) at UMKC is home to the International Center for SI. The program takes a non-remedial approach to learning by offering regularly scheduled, out-of-class review sessions facilitated by students who have successfully completed courses.
The idea is students are best helped by their peers, rather than a professor or faculty member, because they are less intimidated and can relate to one another.
While the visiting students were on campus, they shadowed 10 UMKC SI leaders to gain a better understanding of the program and undergo additional training.
"This is the home of SI and right now our program is still developing," said Phiwe Ndinisa, SI leader at the University of Fort Hare in Alice, South Africa. "I'm here to learn how UMKC runs the program and to learn from everyone participating in the exchange."
Before the program began, the traditional academic support model targeted at-risk students. Instead, SI targets historically difficult courses.
"We take a student who has already done well in the course, then train them in how to facilitate groups with learning strategies, and have them sit through the course again as an SI leader," said Dr. Marion Stone, associate director of CAD.
The activities kicked off Tuesday with a reception for the visiting SI leaders featuring speeches by UMKC administrators and faculty.
Dr. Glen Jacobs, executive director of the SI International Center, welcomed the visiting SI leaders and explained the purpose of their visit.
"This is an opportunity for you to learn from other students throughout the world," Jacobs said. "We hope you will learn a lot about the culture in the U.S., what we do here at UMKC and take these experiences back to your home country."
The SI program started at UMKC in 1973 and has since disseminated to over 1,500 institutions in 29 countries.
Students visited from Sweden, Australia, Canada, West Indies, South Africa and England.
The Center for Academic Development (CAD) at UMKC is home to the International Center for SI. The program takes a non-remedial approach to learning by offering regularly scheduled, out-of-class review sessions facilitated by students who have successfully completed courses.
The idea is students are best helped by their peers, rather than a professor or faculty member, because they are less intimidated and can relate to one another.
While the visiting students were on campus, they shadowed 10 UMKC SI leaders to gain a better understanding of the program and undergo additional training.
"This is the home of SI and right now our program is still developing," said Phiwe Ndinisa, SI leader at the University of Fort Hare in Alice, South Africa. "I'm here to learn how UMKC runs the program and to learn from everyone participating in the exchange."
Before the program began, the traditional academic support model targeted at-risk students. Instead, SI targets historically difficult courses.
"We take a student who has already done well in the course, then train them in how to facilitate groups with learning strategies, and have them sit through the course again as an SI leader," said Dr. Marion Stone, associate director of CAD.
The activities kicked off Tuesday with a reception for the visiting SI leaders featuring speeches by UMKC administrators and faculty.
Dr. Glen Jacobs, executive director of the SI International Center, welcomed the visiting SI leaders and explained the purpose of their visit.
"This is an opportunity for you to learn from other students throughout the world," Jacobs said. "We hope you will learn a lot about the culture in the U.S., what we do here at UMKC and take these experiences back to your home country."
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