Textbook analysis at UT Tyler

As an English Graduate student a large part of what I want my future to include is teaching. I am a self-admitted loud mouth who always has something to say about everything and this includes wanting people to have the best future possible. In my case I take 'best future possible' to mean 'you can understand why rhetoric and writing are important and you can use this skill to go where you want to go in life.' Every student has different needs and so, as a wanna-be-teacher, my interest often turns to subjects like 'teaching with unorthodox materials,' ie: graphic novels, movies, images, etc...

The Power of Supplemental Instruction

I owe a lot of my A's on exams to S.I. sessions. I don't know about anyone else but S.I. is seriously my academic hero.

Supplemental Instruction is basically a study session lead by fellow UT Tyler students (most of them upperclassmen). The best part? You don't have to pay for it directly, because it's already including in our tuition! Even more reasons to take advantage of it.

S.I. sessions are held twice a week for every class that has S.I. Unfortunately, not every class at UT Tyler come with S.I. but that would be really really great! Go here for a list of classes that have S.I. sessions.

Personally, S.I. sessions help me a lot because the S.I. leaders would go through anything that you might need help in. Also, we go over a lot of problems that we don't normally have time for in class, because lectures mostly focus on theory and concept. This way, I am pretty much prepared for the exam because I not only understand the material, I also know how to answer exam questions.

I remember freshman year, for my first ever Calculus exam, I was very distraught because I got a D. I decided to get some help and attended all of the S.I. session and believe it or not, my next Calculus exam was an A! 

So even though I am pretty swamped and busy this semester, I always, always find time to go to at least one S.I. session a week.

There's no harm in trying, so if you find yourself struggling with a class, plan to attend an S.I. session (if it has one). It may or may not be for everyone but you don't really lose anything by giving it a shot! :)

The SI website has a daily calendar that's very useful with planning your time, if you ever want to go. They also update it everyday, in case any sessions get cancelled!