By Judit Török, Ph.D, Professor of Philosophy, General Education
Director, Center for Teaching and Learning at Pratt Institute
Attending office hours with your professor can be an important part of your learning. In some courses it’s a required part of your attendance, in others it’s an optional invitation that you should take seriously. Even when you feel like you don’t know what to say, what to ask, even when you feel like you are ‘doing just fine’ in the course, remember that office hour is a good opportunity to get to know your professor and other students, talk about connections you are making from the course to your academic goals and professional goals beyond.
Here is a personal story I’d like to share:
When I was an undergraduate international ESL student, I didn’t understand the value of office hours either. I thought I had to go when I was in trouble. I thought my professors would think I was a bad student who didn’t understand the materials during class, that I needed extra help. I thought they would judge me or resent me for bothering them. I felt that going to office hours was a stigma.
Until one day, one of my professors asked me to come by his office after class. We chatted for a long time and he very kindly explained to me something that has helped me be a better student, a better writer and ultimately gave me the courage to pursue higher degrees in my academic journey. One office hour visit changed a whole lot for me, and I am so grateful to this day for this professor! Thank you!
If you are still not convinced or still hesitant, here are some tips to help you prepare for an office hour visit:
- Do you feel like you need any help? Do you have any questions or need clarification about anything related to the class or an assignment? Do you want any further help in improving your performance or learning more in the class? Make a list, write your questions down, be specific.
- Do you want to dig into a particular topic or assignment a bit deeper? Do you want to share your thoughts beyond what you added to your formal discussions or written assignments? Do you want to get more feedback from the instructor or hear their perspectives more directly? Think of what that might look like, be prepared to ask these questions.
- Are you particularly excited or interested in something that you are learning about in the course? What is it? Why is that exciting to you? What else do you want to know about?
- Are you totally lost about something that you are learning in class? Does something not make sense at all? Do you have any comments or ideas about what you might need? Be ready to share these with your professor.
- Are you finding the course particularly relevant to your other classes, your major, your work, or your career path? Could you use some conversation about these connections you are seeing or making?
- Do you find the professor’s background intriguing, would you like to know more about how they pursued their career path, what suggestions they might have for you?
- Do you have any other curiosities that lead you to come to an office hour? That’s great, follow that!
Don’t miss out on this wonderful mentoring opportunity!
