Start by actually attending office hours
I didn’t properly attend one of my professor’s office hours until my second year of university. I say properly, because I distinctly remember using every skill in my arsenal to grub 10 per cent from a philosophy teaching assistant in my first year.
Suffice it to say, I failed at the attempt, and the entire endeavour put me off of consulting with the very people in charge of helping me learn for quite some time.
The first professor I ever consulted during office hours was an English professor who so terrified the class on the first day that we almost religiously consulted him before each assignment was due. This professor convinced us that the only way to succeed in his class was by asking for his direct supervision.
“How can you know what I’m looking for if you don’t ask me,” I’m sure he, at one point, said.
That particular professor would no doubt be personally offended at my horrendous lack of thesis, so I propose getting into the thick of it as efficiently as possible: consult your professors and T.A.s, because they’re going to be able to help you when your notes, your textbooks, your reference points, your fellow classmates, and the internet all spectacularly fail you.
In short, consult the teaching elements in your life, because they’re there to help you figure out this crazy little thing called university.
Ann Wilson, the Associate Dean, Academic of the College of Arts, explained that students typically fail to adequately attend office hours.
“I think that students tend to under-use office hours, frequently preferring to email,” explained Wilson. “If a question has a response that requires some detail, it is best to meet with the instructor or teaching assistant during office hours.”
According to Wilson, meeting during office hours is more beneficial than simply asking a question during or after class, because it allows students to more easily correspond with their instructors.
“A conversation allows the opportunity for a student to ask follow-up question, to ensure that there is no confusion,” said Wilson.
Most importantly, attending office hours allows students to get to know their professors better.
Modern university education is often criticized for large class sizes and for facilitating an environment that prevents one-on-one interaction between students and instructors.
However, what Wilson argues, and what many of her professorial peers will corroborate, is that office hours provide students with the very opportunity to avoid being defined by one’s student number.
“If a class is a large lecture, going to see the instructor during office hours allows the instructor to get to know the students a bit better,” concluded Wilson.
I will be so bold as to conclude with a few paragraphs summarizing my argument—even though all of my English professors would no doubt frown at the paltry use of the “hamburger” essay format.
Speaking with my professors did more than just teach me what they were looking for—it taught me to be a better student. Having them look over my papers before submission—being able to explain my reasoning for certain structural or grammatical choices—allowed my professors to better understand my writing, while also being able to provide specific, direct constructive criticism.
Writing is subjective—chemistry tends to be less so. However, the knowledge that can be garnered by personally speaking with a professor or instructor is the same. University classes should be all about the “a-ha” moment—the moment when every detail falls into place and the entire puzzle becomes less abstract. Sometimes, it takes a little bit extra for certain students—like myself—to find that moment; speaking with a professor helped to accelerate that process.
Finally, speaking with an instructor provides students with the chance to ask the questions that one would otherwise be embarrassed to ask in front of their peers. Every single professor I’ve ever spoken with has echoed the sentiment, “If you don’t understand something in class, chances are that your peers are in the same boat.” Regardless, I’ve found that few people want to admit that they don’t understand something in class. For those who share my insecurities, speaking with a professor privately is the difference between promising to look something up later, and actually understanding the lesson.
University is about learning. It’s always been about learning. It should continue to be about learning. Of course, there’s no better place to learn than from those who have gone through it all before.