Outside of Class Activities
Office hours are often underutilized by students, but when a single check-in and reflection meeting is made mandatory, students tend to improve their learning outcomes (McGrath, 2014). These findings suggest that personal recognition and engagement have an important augmentative effect above and beyond additional exposure to the material students were tasked with learning—statistics, in this case. See McGrath (2014) for a sample reflection exercise to conduct with students during office hours. In addition to office hours, consider conducting informal activities outside of class to get to know students on a personal level and help them make connections to other resources (e.g., museums, libraries).
- Provide informal opportunities such as Q&A sessions and study groups for students to discuss course content.
- Invite small groups of students to attend office hours.
- Create informal activities/get-togethers for faculty and students to get to know one another. Examples include:
- Coffee chats
- Cookies, donuts or ice cream with different faculty
- Lunch with students
- Informal weekly meetings to talk with students about their life goals, plans, etc.
- Visit different locations on campus with students. Examples include:
- Respond to student emails or other forms of communication in a respectful and timely way.
- Mentor teaching assistants whom you’re supervising in well-being practices.
Our department organized an ice-cream social, during which administrators treated both students and faculty to ice cream. This event provided a wonderful opportunity for our department to come together, fostering personal connections and camaraderie. Numerous students expressed their appreciation for the chance to unwind, free from the pressures of exams or labs. Instead, the focus was on building meaningful connections and getting to know one another on a personal level.
- Bryson Duhon
College of Pharmacy
