[UCM-Student-Success] Office Hours: Changing Student's Misperception

[John Newton]

Good morning Brenda,

Thank you for sharing this! That NPR article also caught my eye and I wish I had it available earlier in the semester. To answer your first question in how we can educate our students about the importance of office hours, EXCEL! created an assignment as part of our Probation Student CatCourse (Bobcats on Track) that provides some guidance in how to use office hours as academic support but also relationship building with their professors. It includes the satirical video by ASU (it's really quite good, link below) as well as links from other universities/sources about how to make the most out of office hours. I would have included the NPR article if it had been available when we created the assignment. To answer your second question, I've found that taking a practical approach helps. When students tell me they want to go to Med School or Grad School, I ask them what the components of the application process are, and eventually after saying MCAT, Resume, Transcripts, etc. they get to Reference Letters. Immediately I stop them there: "Who are you going to ask?". They say professors. "How can they write you a letter if they don't know you, your character, your passion for your field? That's why 'office hours'." Knowing they'll need those letters one day, it provides more incentive to overcome the discomfort or fear of talking to their professors. Again, thank you for sharing!

Option 6: How to 'Office Hours'
Intended Outcome: Learn how to make office hours less intimidating and how to strategize to make office hours more effective and helpful.

  1.  Watch this (funny) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQq1-_ujXrM
  2.  Review any (or all) of these articles:
     *   https://studentlife.uoregon.edu/node/381050
     *   https://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/professor-office-hour-dos-and-donts
     *   https://www.chegg.com/play/student-life/10-tips-for-getting-the-most-out-of-the-office-hour/
  3.  Develop a list of 3 questions for your next office hour visit (or more if you wish!). Review your course syllabi for the course you feel you would benefit most from talking with your professor or TA.
  4.  After your visit, upload your thoughts on the video, the article(s), and the questions you prepared, as well as a brief summary of the experience.

All my best,
John

[Sig]

From: UCM-Student-Success <ucm-student-success-bounces at lists.ucmerced.edu> On Behalf Of Brenda Maldonado-Rosas
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2019 4:13 PM
To: ucm-student-success at lists.ucmerced.edu
Subject: [UCM-Student-Success] Office Hours: Changing Student's Misperception

Hello, All:

I hope October was a smooth month in the semester for each of you and your units!

Given we are in the halfway point of the semester, some of my meetings with students have revolved around their mid-semester grades<http://advising.ucmerced.edu/mid_semester_grades>. During these conversations we will generally discuss academic success resources<http://advising.ucmerced.edu/resources/academic-success> available to them to support them personally and academically. A resource I always refer students to are office hours. However, an all too familiar trend arises regarding this resource: office hours are scary!

For many of our students, office hours are not initially viewed as a resource they have access to that will help them learn and better understand the course material. Rather, office hours can be perceived to be a setting in which they will have to prove they know, or at bare minimum, understand what has been covered in class thus far. Hearing students express their thoughts and feelings about office hours reminded me of a NPR article I read earlier this month: College Students: Hot To Make Office Hours Less Scary<https://www.npr.org/2019/10/05/678815966/college-students-how-to-make-office-hours-less-scary>. The article speaks to what many of our student population may go through when it comes to office hours, that is, they do not know what office hours are, and thus do not see the experience for what it can really be for them. As the article states, office hours can be "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."

This leads me to ask of ourselves: what are we doing to educate our students on the importance and value of attending office hours? How can we improve it? And, lastly, what are we not doing that could help change their misperception and eliminate their fear?

Best Regards,
Brenda Maldonado-Rosas

[https://emailsignature.ucmerced.edu.672elmp01.blackmesh.com/ucm_seal.png]
Brenda Maldonado-Rosas, M.S.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Manager of Student Services
Lead Academic Advisor
School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts
5200 Lake Road | Merced, California 95343
http://ssha-advising.ucmerced.edu/ | 209.228.2366 Schedule an appointment with me<https://ssha-advising.ucmerced.edu/meet-your-advisor/advisor-appointments>
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BUILDING THE FUTURE IN THE HEART OF CALIFORNIA


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