SI activities (mentoring programme)
To ensure you as a student have excellent conditions for completing your education in a way that makes it as rewarding and meaningful for you as possible, the faculty offers what is known as SI activities. SI stands for Supplemental Instruction and is based on a pedagogical model recognised throughout the world. At SI meetings you meet a student who has already taken the course and together go through it and discuss selected parts of the course's learning outcomes and content.
What happens at the meetings and who can participate?
SI meetings are voluntary and take place once a week. Each meeting lasts for about two hours, including a coffee break. The SI leader is a student who has been trained in SI methods and who has studied the course the previous year.
Each meeting begins with the participants agreeing on the purpose and content of the meeting together with the SI leader. What distinguishes the meeting from a lecture is that you as a student can be involved in deciding the content. If the participants do not have any ideas of their own, the SI leader helps with suggestions.
A meeting may have several purposes and the participants can work in different groups and on different themes. These could include:
- Terminology – how do I explain the terms in a comprehensible way?
- Difficult components – have I really understood how it works?
- Practical exercises and problems – how should I think?
- Study technique – how can I work on the different parts of the course together with my classmates?
- Studying for the exam together – what should I focus on?
Anyone studying the Bachelor’s programme in science is welcome to participate in SI activities. The atmosphere is relaxed and safe and there are no “stupid” questions.
Benefits of participating in SI activities
- You can get better grades
- You can increase your chances of passing the course and gaining your credits
- You will learn good study techniques and get the opportunity to immerse yourself in the subject
- You will have fun while learning with others
- You will establish student contacts
When we asked participating students what they thought was the best thing about SI activities, some of their answers included:
- I had the chance to ask about things I did not understand at the lecture
- I was able to ask more questions than I had time for during the lectures
- I was able to ask questions that I did not dare to ask lecturers
- I could work at my own pace
- The SI leader had taken the course themselves and could therefore see the difficulties from my perspective
More information about SI activities
Are you interested in participating in SI activities, or perhaps working as an SI leader? Contact the faculty's SI coordinator or the SI coordinator at your department.
The SI coordinator at the Faculty of Science
Helena Elvén Eriksson
Contact information for Helena Elvén Eriksson – lunduniversity.lu.se
The SI coordinator at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences
Anna-Maria Persson
Contact information for Anna-Maria Persson – lunduniversity.lu.se
The SI coordinator at the Department of Biology
Jep Agrell
Contact information for Jep Agrell – lunduniversity.lu.se
The SI coordinator at the Department of Chemistry
Sophie Manner
Contact information for Sophie Manner – lunduniversity.lu.se
The SI coordinator at the Department of Geology
Mikael Calner
Contact information for Mikael Calner – lunduniversity.lu.se
The SI coordinator at the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
Helena Elvén Eriksson
Contact information for Helena Elvén Eriksson – lunduniversity.lu.se
The SI coordinator at the Department of Physics
Charlotta Nilsson
Contact information for Charlotta Nilsson – lunduniversity.lu.se
Contact
Helena Elvén Eriksson
SI coordinator at the faculty
Contact information for Helena Elvén Eriksson – lunduniversity.lu.se
SI activities at the faculty
The courses offering SI activities are always included in at least one of the points of entry to the Bachelor’s programme in science. The courses often come at an early stage of the programme, so that you can quickly benefit from the work methods introduced at the SI meetings.
As a student on the Bachelor’s programme in science, you should be offered SI activities on at least one course. On average, SI activities are offered on two courses at each department within the faculty.