Supplemental Instruction, Learning Communities, and Students Studying Together

Abstract

Researchers have shown that out-of-classroom peer relations influence student outcomes at residential four-year colleges, but research findings conflict about the impact of social integration on community college students. The study described in this report was designed to identify and quantify the impact that a form of supplemental instruction had on peer relations at a community college. Two groups of students in 19 general education courses at a California community college were compared: those who joined supplemental workshops for the courses and those who did not. Questionnaire items elicited students' perceptions of the workshops' influence on peer relations. Correlation and regression analyses revealed a strong correlation between supplemental instruction and studying with other students as well as meeting outside class with a student group to study. Supplemental instruction had little or no correlation with student organization meetings and campus cultural activities.