<p>Say you have a hw and you dont know how to do it. Do you go to office hours, or look at the book and keep trying it on your own? Which one do you think is more beneficial?
Personally, I think office hours are almost cheating, but that might be because I want to do unsolved problems. Getting shown everything is no where near as good as discovering.
What are your views?</p>
<p>It depends on your patience level. I've always been more of a trial and error type guy, but when I absolutely could not figure something out, I would get help.</p>
<p>Just remember, they're there for a reason.</p>
<p>why would it be cheating to get clarification? the office hours are there so a student can get some help, sometimes a concept isn't clear, so it is great you can talk to your prof to get more understanding</p>
<p>otherwise, why even have teachers, just give you the books and you show up for the tests...</p>
<p>and sometimes, you might learn something NEW during those office hours...if you want to learn on your own, do that, don't bother with classes</p>
<p>I usually will spend no more than an hour on a problem in the staring at it and can't figure it out mode, while looking in the text, notes, and online. Then I'll go to the professor for help. At least at my school, all of the professors are really glad you came in to help, and unless it's an insanely easy question they don't feel bothered. Sometimes trial and error can help things "stick" better, but spending too much time racking your brain doesn't get anything accomplished.</p>
<p>There are also other students; getting together a study or homework group can be beneficial, as long as everyone does their own work and only uses each other for questions.</p>
<p>Office hours are more helpful. Talking to people will help internalize the process better than staring at a book.</p>
<p>Go To Office Hours.</p>
<p>more or less...don't be overly proud. it's not cheating. you can't possibly expect to figure everything out on your own. discovery is good, true...but using it as your excuse to not ask for help can also be a facade for your own pride...i can attest to that from my own experience.</p>
<p>Why exactly is office hours like cheating? You go to have homework and assignments explained more clearly. If the rest of the class has a good grasp on the concepts and you don't, the prof isn't going to spend more time on the concept in class just for you. He/she will move on and anyone who is having trouble is EXPECTED to come to office hours if they want to not be lost come test time. Office hours is not for stupid people, and is not to be avoided by proud people. If you really want to do better/be proud, go to office hours so you'll have a better shot at getting a good grade. That's something to be proud of.</p>
<p>Actually I think discovering it yourself would make it "internalize" better than sitting and listening to somebody else explain it.</p>
<p>But if you've spent more than twice the time that would ordinarily be required, then you probably aren't going to get it alone.</p>
<p>Homework is a judge of what material you know. When you go to office hours and ask about the homework the homework no longer measures that. It is now what the professor knows.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Homework is a judge of what material you know. When you go to office hours and ask about the homework the homework no longer measures that. It is now what the professor knows.
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so? the professor may offer critical insight without which you may never have been able to finish your homework. so you want to internalize it? then take your professor's insight, then go back and do problems that aren't on the homework just for the purpose of understanding it. i still think a lot of not going is a matter of just getting over that bit of pride that's keeping you from asking for help when you truly need it. i think citygirlsmom put it well...your professor's there for a reason...not just their office hours, but the entire idea of a professor. despite how well you think you get the material, the fact of the matter is you're a student while they're an authority on it.</p>
<p>by all means work as hard as you can on a problem...believe me, i'll fight to the last minute trying to figure things out. i've spent hours on just 1 or 2 physics problems, so i know what it's like...but sometimes you really do just need a little extra help. it's not cheating.</p>
<p>office hours hands down</p>
<p>you'll save literally hours of work and loads of points that way... trust me.</p>
<p>i just study the solutions manuals to my books, I do all the problems before a test, If I cant do a problem I look at the solutions manual, see how its done. I learn it do it a few time then I remember it/ I just download all the solutions manuals to all my books or just ask the professor for it.</p>
<p>I suggest office hours. You know that your teacher won't mark you down for his own answer. Plus, your prof will recognize you more in the future (bonus points). </p>
<p>Of course, I never take my own advice /: bc it's a far walk.</p>