|
|
|
The views expressed on this page are soley
those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the views of County
News Online
|
 |
NPR Ed
College Students: How To Make Office Hours Less Scary
Elissa Nadworny
Kate Szumanski still remembers the note her professor wrote at the top
of an essay in her senior year: "This is a good argument ... Why don't
you come visit me at office hours and we'll talk about graduate school."
By all accounts this was a good note. Szumanski got an A on the paper –
and she'd done well in the political science class all semester. But
that note terrified her. "I started to shake, my cheeks turned bright
red," she told me recently. In all four years of college, she'd never
once gone to office hours.
The next week, she mustered up the courage to climb the three flights
of stairs to her professor's office. The first time she got to his
door, she kept walking. And the second. And the third. Eventually, she
just left.
"I never worked up the nerve to go in," she recalls. "I remember
feeling just intimidated and frightened; as if I'm an imposter and he's
going to figure me out."
Ask just about any college student, and they'll tell you a similar story: Office hours are scary.
And so here's our guide to taking the fear out.
Let's start first with the mystery: Students often don't know what
office hours are – or what they're for, or how they're different from
class time.
They're part of what some students say is a hidden curriculum – the set
of rules on a college campus that no one ever tells you about. And
then, what students do know is that you have to meet one-on-one with
your professor, which in some cases means talking to the smartest, most
powerful person you know (remember, professors are the ones giving out
the grades!).
I've had dozens of current college students describe office hours to me as "intimidating" or "terrifying."
This fear is so universal that Arizona State University made a
satirical video about it, spoofing a pharmaceutical commercial. The
diagnosis: Fear of Meeting One on One with My Professor, or FMOOWMP.
The suggested treatment: Faculty Office Hours, or FOH. But once
students try FOH: "Everything fell in to place," a smiling student
tells the camera, "I knew how to study for class. I'm hooked."
This video is definitely fun, but it also offers an important message:
No matter how scary, office hours are a huge factor in a student's
success. Not only in college, but even after — in the workforce and in
life.
"Office hours are a way for your professor to get to know you,"
explains Anthony Abraham Jack, a professor at Harvard University and
the author of The Privileged Poor. "You gain access to institutional
resources, you gain access to a professor's network. You gain access to
a professor's support — for adventures and experiences that you may not
even know about."
It's a valuable part of the college experience; a time when your
professor can transform into an adviser and ultimately a mentor. For
students who don't know this – or are too nervous to take part – they
may be missing a crucial component of what they're paying for by
enrolling in college.
"The students who are least likely to go to office hours are the
students who would benefit from them the most," explains Jack. He says
colleges and professors need to do a lot more to make office hours more
accessible. A good place to start, he says, is to actually tell
students what office hours are — not just when they are.
Kate Szumanski, who did laps on the third floor to avoid meeting with
her professor more than 25 years ago, now teaches college students at
Villanova University, just outside Philadelphia. She holds her office
hours on the second floor of the library, with 20-year-old Kate in
mind. "My office travels to where students are. Office Hours on the
road," she says. "That's my kind of small way to say, 'Where are our
students who need my services?' "
No matter how lovely a faculty office is decorated, she says, it's not
a familiar space for students. Moving office hours to a
student-centered location like the library, a dorm or the food court
can make students feel more at ease. Szumanski thinks of her road show
as a gateway to other office hours, in more formal settings.
Professors have tried other strategies to demystify Office Hours,
including changing the name to "Hangout Hours" or "Student Hours."
"There is a power dynamic that has to be acknowledged," says Monica
McLemore, who teaches nursing at the University of California, San
Francisco, "I completely understand why students avoid it." McLemore
holds her office hours over video conferencing apps — like Zoom and
Facetime — since many of her students are commuters.
For students who are still wary, Harvard's Anthony Abraham Jack has
this advice: "Never, ever, be afraid to ask for help: It is not a sign
of weakness, it's a sign of strength."
Plus, he says, when you go to office hours, you're letting the professor do their job.
|
|
|
|
