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SI - Improve your study results through group discussions

Study support at the Department of Sociology

SI-PASS (Supplemental Instruction - Peer Assisted Study Session/Scheme) is a supplement to regular teaching and is primarily for students on "traditionally more difficult" courses. SI involves students meeting regularly in groups with the SI leader to discuss course content and study technique.

 

Students gathered round a table.

SI is all about collaborative learning. It stands for Supplemental Instruction and is a valuable complement to the regular teaching. By discussing your course with other students, you will not only understand and learn more, you will have more fun in the process!

The SI programme at the Department of Sociology is organised for English-speaking students, mainly within the Master's Programme in Sociology and the Master's Programme in Cultural Criminology.

Supporting you and helping you achieve more

The purpose of SI is to support you in your studies. SI will help you improve your study resluts and strengthen your achievements regardless of your previous knowledge, experience or background.

The SI meetings have really had a great impact on my studies, my study technique, and student life in general.

Participation is voluntary. If you join a SI-group you will meet regularly with the SI leader and other interested participants to discuss the course.

What happens during the meetings?

The meetings are organized and led by the SI-leaders, who are students who have previously studied the current course and completed it with good results. The leaders gather students for the SI-meetings about once a week, just after a lecture. After you join, the SI-meetings will be added to your course schedule.

It is important that the SI leaders have knowledge about the course, but they do not have the same role as the teacher. Their job is to act as conversation leader. Difficult concepts, questions, problems about the course content and literature, and more, can be discussed at the SI meetings.The SI leaders are trained in methods and strategies for SI-discussions and they plan the work, but it is the participating students themselves who set the agenda for the SI meetings.

The SI leaders don’t teach us, but are sounding boards. You get to discuss with each other and get support from the others.

In order for you as a participant to feel confident in the discussions and exercises, large groups are sometimes divided into smaller groups.

SI information at Lund University


For those who want to become SI leaders

If you are interested in working as an SI leader, please contact the responsible study adviser and supervisor Caroline Spannel Brnelic, studievagledare [at] soc [dot] lu [dot] se

The most rewarding has been to learn about group dynamics, how to handle a group and that all students learn in different ways.

You should be interested in pedagogy and leadership, enjoy working in groups and sharing your knowledge. In addition, you should want to learn how to get students engaged and motivated in their studies.

Work description SI-PASS leaders (PDF, 210 kB, opens in a new window)

Become a leader for SI sessions (lunduniversity.se)


The quotes are from the evaluation report "Utvärdering av SI-pass vid Lunds universitet 2022-2023". The report can be found on the Lund University pages about SI-PASS (in Swedish).

 

Contact

For more information about SI at the Department of Sociology please contact Study Adviser and Supervisor Caroline Spannel Brnelic, studievagledare [at] soc [dot] lu [dot] se

Learn more about SI on si-pass.lu.se/en.