Office Hours: Not all they seemto be?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Before coming to college, I heard that at small colleges, some students would just go chat with their professors during office hours, or they would set up times to meet with their professors separately for this sort of tete-a-tete. </p>

<p>Now that I'm here, it seems like that would be a very awkward thing to do. I feel like it would be interesting, but that the professors wouldn't appreciate it or would think you were trying to be a "teacher's pet" or something. </p>

<p>For other people already in college: what's your opinion?</p>

2

<p>Well, at my school a lot of people do it. But generally it's a good idea to go with something to talk about and move from there. Maybe you read an article or book that you'd like their opinion on, or you have a question about future classes, or you're interested in an internship, study abroad, or research and you need guidance. Once you build up a relationship, then it's easier to just swing by and chat.</p>

3

<p>As a former professor, I don't think it's a good idea to just stop by a professor's office to chat. I do think it's a great idea to stop by when you have specific questions about a class or things related to your class or the professor's expertise.</p>

<p>When students don't use office hours, professors use the time to grade papers, do research, etc. Their office hours are part of their working hours, and just like it would be inappropriate to stop by someone's corporate office just to chat about nothing in particular, the same is true of professors.</p>

4

<p>well, you don't just go in with nothing in mind, hoping to strike up a conversation with your teacher. the hours are meant for you to to go in and ask questions. sort of like a one-on-one tutoring.</p>

5

<p>Basically, just be respectful of their time. If you genuinely want to learn something from that professor, don't be afraid to ask questions during office hours (that's what they're there for), but don't swing by just to say "hello" and talk about the weather or something. As a rule of thumb, you just have to feel out that instructor and get a feel for when they're available.
There are certainly some professors with whom I've gotten to just hang and chat with but that is fairly rare. I think it's critical that you learn to "feel out" each situation. Social sensitivity is an important skill to have for many things -- this included.</p>

6

<p>I agree with the above posters. But there is definitely some grey area between having a specific agenda and just stopping in aimlessly. You can always pop your head in the door and say "Just walking by and saw that your door was open...wanted to let you know that I thought _______ from Monday was really interesting!" or whatever, and take cues from there. They might say thank you and get back to what they were doing, or they might pursue a conversation. I've stopped in to talk to some professors who answer my question and then we're done, but others who answer my question (or comment or what-have-you) and then proceed to chat my ear off. Depends as much on luck of timing as it does on anything else.</p>

7

<p>you usually can figure out after the first few days of class whether the professor will be someone who you can shoot the bull with.</p>

<p>sometimes you'll have a professor say "come by and talk baseball with me" or something like that. usually they are the better professors to go see.</p>

<p>also, something someone above said--don't feel like you need some specific reason to go to office hours. you pay a pretty penny to go to school, and the professor has office hours to deal with students, not so they can "grade papers." if they seem agitated that you're visiting them--tough luck. remember--say a professor teaches 3 different classes, thats 9 or so hours of in class teaching. most professors only have 2-4 hours of office hours a week. that leaves over 25 hours for them to do their work.</p>

8

<p>I've only gone to see 3 professors in their office hours, each once. The 1st one said that he feels that not enough students come by his office for help and he feels sort of lonely (not really)
The 2nd one, I came in with a specific question, she didnt know the answer to it, so I left shortly afterwards
The 3rd one, whom I only have attended 2 lectures so far, just answered some specific questions I had and again I left shortly afterwards</p>

<p>Only the 1st one seemed really open to chat/socialize. The other 2 seemed busy with their work</p>

<p>I've made a little committment to myself to see all my professors in their office hours as much as possible, with specific questions. I would like to get to know my professors, as they're all brilliant with phDs and teaching at prestigious school. Only problem is that I lack experience!</p>

9

<p>Most professors really enjoy having a student stop by to say 'hello' -- unless they're busy, of course.
You don't need to have experience, Newton. You could just start a conversation along the lines of "i enjoy your class, what else do you teach, what's your favorite class to teach" etc... and take it from there.
Professors usually enjoy getting to know their students, especially in large schools where large lecture classes make the students seem like one giant anonymous mass.
They appreciate the extra 'courage' it takes an undergraduate to approach all that brilliance with phds :)</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
Now that I'm here, it seems like that would be a very awkward thing to do. I feel like it would be interesting, but that the professors wouldn't appreciate it or would think you were trying to be a "teacher's pet" or something.

[/quote]

No, you're wrong.</p>

11

<p>well I saw my 4th professor in office hours today and heres how it went:
I told him my name and said I was in his class and asked if I did the HW correctly. he said I made a mistake (which was a careless error on my part). I asked him if I could finish the rest of my problem and he just told me that it'd be better if I do it in the physics lounge, so I could meet other students in my class. (He probably wanted me to go away asap)</p>

<p>also, I mentioned that the discussion for his class was tomorrow, he thought it was today, so he looked it up on his computer even though I told him I had my written schedule with me! as he was searching, I asked him about his research a little and he responded a little</p>

<p>he wasnt busy before I saw him, as he was chatting with another person. I don't think he was interested at all with seeing me/geting to know me (on 2nd thought, he did ask whether I was a transfer or not, and then asked what math I had completed and where I transferred from).</p>

12

<p>Unless they don't value their own time, research, and preparing for the classes that they teach, professors typically don't want students to drop by to chat just to get to know them.</p>

<p>Professors who care about their students do welcome students who come with questions that aren't answered in the text or in the profs' lectures. </p>

<p>"DId I do my homework right?" sounds like a question that would be answered in class (assuming that the homework is gone over in class) or would be answered after the homework is passed in and returned. </p>

<p>"What is your research?" also sounds like a question that is designed just to try to chat someone up. Usually one can learn about a professor's research by reading the info about them that's posted on the college's web site. </p>

<p>If one has found out about the prof's research and has a genuine interest in their research, such questions probably would be welcomed. However, "What is your research?" isn't that kind of question.</p>

<p>Your view of the prof's being busy when you came in, and the prof's view may differ. What may have seemed like a casual chat to you may have had something to do with things related to office politics or the professor's asking for a colleague's professional assistance. What may have seemed like chit chat may have been the beginning of a conversation that was more serious.</p>

<p>While I think it's an excellent idea to use professors' office hours, I do think that one needs a real reason to do that.</p>

<p>When I taught college, there were students whom other professors and I would avoid because the students would drop by to chat us up about absolutely nothing. Apparently someone had told such students that it was important to get to know the professors, and the students followed such advice blindly. Their use of office hours was irritating and a waste of time.</p>

<p>There were other students who'd come by to talk about issues related to their career, class, etc. -- things that were not gone to in depth in their texts or in my lectures. Such students were joys, and years after I stopped teaching, I still keep in touch with several.</p>

13

<p>really? so profs and (TA's too maybe?) dont like it when you ask for help on HW problems?
But it doesnt matter to me, if I really need help on something, I'll ask them and use their time anyways, after thats WHY they have office hours</p>

<p>at least now I know a little more about how professors think</p>

14

<p>Newton,
I didn't say that profs don't like it if you ask for homework help. Sure, if one doesn't know how to solve a problem, it would be a good idea to use office hours to get help.</p>

<p>However, it sounded like the person whom I was responding to was asking the prof to check over their homework for correctness. Usually homework is gone over in class or handed in and then returned with errors noted. If that's what the prof does, then it would be inappropriate to use the prof's office hours to have one's homework corrected.</p>

15

<p>"However, it sounded like the person whom I was responding to was asking the prof to check over their homework for correctness. Usually homework is gone over in class or handed in and then returned with errors noted. If that's what the prof does, then it would be inappropriate to use the prof's office hours to have one's homework corrected."</p>

<p>But my professors will grade the HW problems. Why is it inappropriate to ask the professor (or TA also?) for help on HW problems that are going to be graded? I want to make sure that I get as many points as possible.</p>

<p>I can understand that using their hours for help on really simple problems would be inappropriate, but that can't possibly be inappropriate for difficult problems</p>

16

<p>If you were asking the professor for advice on a HW problem you couldn't solve, that would be appropriate. If you were asking the professor to check over your homework and tell you which problems were incorrect, that would not be appropriate if the homework would be graded by the professor later or would be gone over in class.</p>

<p>Why would students' doing such actions be inappropriate? Because the professor's job isn't to lead you by the hand and point out errors in your homework before you turn it in. Understandably, you would want to make as many points as you can, but you accomplish this by double checking your homework, not by having your prof do double work by pointing out your homework errors before you turn it in.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]

Usually homework is gone over in class or handed in and then returned with errors noted. If that's what the prof does, then it would be inappropriate to use the prof's office hours to have one's homework corrected.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That statement made no sense. Why would someone go to a professor's office hours for homework corrections, when it's already written on the paper?</p>

<p>I had a TA once who spent 1 1/2 hours of his time giving me calculus problems to do. He did not want to see me fail, and he said "Don't worry about not getting a 3.5, I just want you to pass this class." He would've spent more time with me, but I had to go to class. I wish every professor could emulate this TA's actions. That's how much he cared.</p>

<p>
[quote]

But it doesnt matter to me, if I really need help on something, I'll ask them and use their time anyways, after thats WHY they have office hours

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Exactly! I'm sorry, but if I am paying thousands of dollars for a Professor to teach me something pertaining to his or her field, I'm definitely going to go to office hours for clarifications or homework help. Professors have their off days where they can use that time to do their research or grade papers. And trust me, I work with a Professor and he does work in his office when he doesn't teach class, so they have more than enough time to do their work. If I can work a part-time job, be involved in numerous organizations, attend class, and still have the time to study and do my homework for a class, then the Professor has NO excuse to turn a student away during office hours because he's too "busy" with his activities.</p>

<p>Northstarmom, you remind me of a professor I had who refused to help anyone during his office hours, let class out a half hour early everyday and refused to help those who wanted to stay during the rest of the class period and LEARN the material, refused to curve exams when not ONE person could 4.0 any of his exams, and didn't give a hoot if you passed or failed. He was the head of the department, so evaluations didn't matter (and trust me I wrote the harshest evaluation I have ever given to a Professor. I do not treat evaluations as a joke and it's not a game.) I regret not having the class of 100 students file complaints against him and have his tenure revoked because a lot of people had problems with him. Just because a professor has tenure, that does not give him/her the right to not teach a class.</p>

<p>This is coming from a student who is on a first name basis with more than one professor and your belittling posts do not affect my views of the professors I am on close terms with.</p>

18

<p>One of my profs doesn't have a lot of office hours, never gone into see her. The other prof invited me to go to church with him and have dinner at his house last week. not even kidding. it all depends, really.</p>