An assignment tasks students with scheduling, preparing for, and reflecting on the experience of meeting with a professor during office hours. Student expectations and experiences are presented

Martin, Cathlena

English

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Honors in Practice -- Online Archive National Collegiate Honors Council 
2020 
Office Hours: An Honors First-Year Experience Assignment 
Cathlena Martin 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nchchip 
 Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Administration and Supervision 
Commons, Gifted Education Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Liberal Studies Commons 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the National Collegiate Honors Council at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors in Practice -- 
Online Archive by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
Office Hours:  
An Honors First-Year Experience Assignment
Cathlena Martin
University of Montevallo
Abstract: An assignment tasks students with scheduling, preparing for, and reflect-
ing on the experience of meeting with a professor during office hours . Student 
expectations and experiences are presented .
Keywords: faculty-student interaction; reflective writing; academic support; role-
play in education; University of Montevallo Honors Program
Sometimes the simplest assignments can be the most impactful in a stu-dent’s collegiate success . Part of a professor’s teaching requirement is to 
be available to our students, most evidently via office hours . My small, public, 
liberal arts university requires its faculty to hold ten office hours per week, but 
although faculty members put their hours on the syllabus, announce them 
in class, and encourage students to come, they spend most of these hours 
alone . Few students take advantage of this valuable resource that can improve 
grades, build relationships, and provide career guidance . Since our honors 
first-year experience class is an extended orientation course to transition our 
incoming students from high school to college, I have implemented an office 
hours assignment that was due in the first half of the semester .
The assignment is simple: make an appointment and attend one profes-
sor’s office hours . Then write a brief summary of the experience describing 
their expectations before going to office hours and what they thought about 
the experience . Students are instructed to include the date, time, location of 
the meeting, and name of the professor within their written reflection .
To prepare first-year students for the assignment, several upper-class hon-
ors students come to class early in the semester to role-play various potential/
211
hypothetical office hours scenarios . They present skits to help prepare stu-
dents and reduce anxiety . I have found honors students reticent to ask for 
help but so grade-focused that they complete the requirement . Because the 
office hours assignment is uncomfortable for most of them, the skits and role-
playing are a way to mentally prepare themselves .
Students express a wide spectrum of emotions before attending a profes-
sor’s office hours, ranging from uncertainty (“I wasn’t sure what to expect”) 
to apprehension (“I was really worried about bothering [the professor]”) to 
dread (“I expected that he might be a little annoyed with me”) . Many students 
hold professors in awe, as evidenced by one student: “Before going to office 
hours, I was a bit intimidated and thought it would be much more profes-
sional than it was .” These expectations lead students to confess that they are 
“a little nervous going in,” and because of their preconceptions of professors, 
most assume that the meeting will be “a rather formal event .” One student 
wrote, “Before coming to her office hours, I expected it to be a very formal 
experience, however, I learned that it is not very formal, and the professor is 
truly there to help you .”
Fortunately, their anxiousness quickly dissipates, and most students 
reflect on office hours as being both “a pretty pleasant experience” and a bene-
ficial one . Faculty members spend time with these students, who have written 
that faculty “cleared up a lot of concerns” and “helped [them] to understand” 
course concepts . These meetings give students “a better understanding of 
[the faculty’s] expectations .” Additionally, faculty go above and beyond by 
using the time to give career advice: “I went in expecting a brief conversation 
about my major and my future, but I ended up opening up to him a lot more 
than I anticipated”; “What I did not expect was to get as much advice as I did . 
She gave me advice that I think will help me succeed”; “Talking with [the 
professor] helped me out a lot .”
Showing that the professor is there to help and dispelling negative pre-
conceptions helps precipitate future office visits . One student cites a grade 
benefit to the office hours visit: “Now that I have a good idea on what to do, 
I believe my current assignment (and possibly future ones) will become bet-
ter .” Others cite personal connections: “Overall, this office hour visit was 
extremely beneficial to me and I was glad to have gotten to know [the profes-
sor] a little better”; “My experience was a lot less stressful than I had made it 
out to be . I found out my professor was not as intimidating as I had previously 
believed . Overall, I had a very positive experience and feel more comfort-
able going to my math professor if I ever need help in the future .” Since a key 
briEf idEas
212
purpose of the assignment is to help students become comfortable attending 
office hours, it is satisfying to read multiple reflections that echo this student: 
“Overall, it was a positive experience, and I will definitely utilize office hours 
more in the future”; this is exactly the intended student learning outcome .
__________________________________________________________
The author may be contacted at
Cmartin16@montevallo.edu.
briEf idEas
213


Office Hours: An Honors First-Year Experience Assignment

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Honors in Practice -- Online Archive National Collegiate Honors Council 2020 Office Hours: An Honors First-Year Experience Assignment Cathlena Martin Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nchchip  Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Gifted Education Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Liberal Studies Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the National Collegiate Honors Council at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors in Practice -- Online Archive by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Office Hours:  An Honors First-Year Experience AssignmentCathlena MartinUniversity of MontevalloAbstract: An assignment tasks students with scheduling, preparing for, and reflect-ing on the experience of meeting with a professor during office hours . Student expectations and experiences are presented .Keywords: faculty-student interaction; reflective writing; academic support; role-play in education; University of Montevallo Honors ProgramSometimes the simplest assignments can be the most impactful in a stu-dent’s collegiate success . Part of a professor’s teaching requirement is to be available to our students, most evidently via office hours . My small, public, liberal arts university requires its faculty to hold ten office hours per week, but although faculty members put their hours on the syllabus, announce them in class, and encourage students to come, they spend most of these hours alone . Few students take advantage of this valuable resource that can improve grades, build relationships, and provide career guidance . Since our honors first-year experience class is an extended orientation course to transition our incoming students from high school to college, I have implemented an office hours assignment that was due in the first half of the semester .The assignment is simple: make an appointment and attend one profes-sor’s office hours . Then write a brief summary of the experience describing their expectations before going to office hours and what they thought about the experience . Students are instructed to include the date, time, location of the meeting, and name of the professor within their written reflection .To prepare first-year students for the assignment, several upper-class hon-ors students come to class early in the semester to role-play various potential/211hypothetical office hours scenarios . They present skits to help prepare stu-dents and reduce anxiety . I have found honors students reticent to ask for help but so grade-focused that they complete the requirement . Because the office hours assignment is uncomfortable for most of them, the skits and role-playing are a way to mentally prepare themselves .Students express a wide spectrum of emotions before attending a profes-sor’s office hours, ranging from uncertainty (“I wasn’t sure what to expect”) to apprehension (“I was really worried about bothering [the professor]”) to dread (“I expected that he might be a little annoyed with me”) . Many students hold professors in awe, as evidenced by one student: “Before going to office hours, I was a bit intimidated and thought it would be much more profes-sional than it was .” These expectations lead students to confess that they are “a little nervous going in,” and because of their preconceptions of professors, most assume that the meeting will be “a rather formal event .” One student wrote, “Before coming to her office hours, I expected it to be a very formal experience, however, I learned that it is not very formal, and the professor is truly there to help you .”Fortunately, their anxiousness quickly dissipates, and most students reflect on office hours as being both “a pretty pleasant experience” and a bene-ficial one . Faculty members spend time with these students, who have written that faculty “cleared up a lot of concerns” and “helped [them] to understand” course concepts . These meetings give students “a better understanding of [the faculty’s] expectations .” Additionally, faculty go above and beyond by using the time to give career advice: “I went in expecting a brief conversation about my major and my future, but I ended up opening up to him a lot more than I anticipated”; “What I did not expect was to get as much advice as I did . She gave me advice that I think will help me succeed”; “Talking with [the professor] helped me out a lot .”Showing that the professor is there to help and dispelling negative pre-conceptions helps precipitate future office visits . One student cites a grade benefit to the office hours visit: “Now that I have a good idea on what to do, I believe my current assignment (and possibly future ones) will become bet-ter .” Others cite personal connections: “Overall, this office hour visit was extremely beneficial to me and I was glad to have gotten to know [the profes-sor] a little better”; “My experience was a lot less stressful than I had made it out to be . I found out my professor was not as intimidating as I had previously believed . Overall, I had a very positive experience and feel more comfort-able going to my math professor if I ever need help in the future .” Since a key briEf idEas212purpose of the assignment is to help students become comfortable attending office hours, it is satisfying to read multiple reflections that echo this student: “Overall, it was a positive experience, and I will definitely utilize office hours more in the future”; this is exactly the intended student learning outcome .__________________________________________________________The author may be contacted atCmartin16@montevallo.edu.briEf idEas213

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