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Hi, and welcome to this Pod cast.
My name is Matt Hanson—I’m one of the course instructors here at the University and also a staff psychologist at the Counseling and Consulting Services. Today I’ll be talking briefly with you about some strategies for effectively interacting with your professors.
To start, I’d like you to rate how comfortable you feel in a number of common academic situations. For example, how comfortable do you feel asking a question during class about something you don’t understand? How about approaching your professor to make an appointment to see her? Or meeting with your professor to discuss a grade you received on an assignment?
Most students will feel some level of stress or anxiety in many of these types of situations. For many especially first year students or students who tend to be more reserved or shy, some of the above examples can seem especially overwhelming. If you find yourself in this latter group, or are worried about how to approach or speak more effectively with your professors, listen on for some useful tips to make these important interactions more manageable and less threatening.
First, remember that professors are people, too, despite the sometimes-complicated words and concepts they use, and impressive academic credentials they’ve earned. It may help reduce some of your tension to bear in mind that professors were once first year undergraduates with many of the same fears and insecurities that you might experience.
Also, bear in mind that you may be looking at your professor’s role in the classroom differently than they are looking at their role. For instance, some students may tend not to question what their professor says and believe that their professor is the ultimate authority in the classroom or on the subject being discussed. While this perspective makes a lot of sense, most professors believe that knowledge (even on topics they have studied for years) is a shared experience and expect to be challenged to think critically. When students view themselves passively, and professors as having all the control or knowledge, they see little value in talking to professors either in or out of class and miss out on helping create a truly engaging and rewarding learning experience.
So how do you interact more effectively with professors? Here are some basic tips to help lay the groundwork for more effective communication.
The first tip is to sit up front in class. When you are up front, you are more likely to stay alert and focused on the lecture, especially if you are in a class with many other students. Plus, you generally feel more inclined to speak with someone (even with the professor) if he or she is nearby, rather than several rows away.
The second tip is to ask good questions. Remember that there are no bad questions, but some are much more thoughtful than others. And professors, by and large, prefer that students take the necessary time to ask well-thought out questions (even those that may not seem clear at first) rather than asking questions just for the sake of being heard.
The third tip is to make sure to ask for help sooner than later. Keep in mind that for as anxious as you might feel approaching a professor at the beginning of a semester, your anxiety will likely increase exponentially if the semester wears on and you find yourself increasingly confused or behind on assignments.
A fourth tip is to communicate with your professors via e-mail. Particularly if you’re feeling paralyzed by the thought of speaking in front of the class, thoughtful e-mails can be a great way to both get the information you need and express your interest in the class at the same time.
In addition to these tips, there are some general guidelines you can follow to further increase the chances of having a positive experience with a professor.
For example, make sure that you’re clear about why you are going to see your professor. Do you need clarification about a project that is due? Are you having trouble understanding how to do the assigned homework problems? Are you going to see your professor just to get to know him or her a little better? This may seem like basic advice, but you’d be surprised how many students fail to clearly identify why they show up at their professor’s office door. It will serve you much better, for example, to say something like “I understood everything up to this point, but when we had to add this step, I got lost. Now I don’t even have the slightest idea of how to solve these types of problems,” rather than “I don’t understand the material.”
Another guideline is to be clear about the logistics of the meeting. In other words, make sure to check before you show up during an office hour that the professor is actually going to be there. A professor may, for example, have a meeting scheduled that they forgot overlapped with an office hour, or be at a preplanned professional conference during a time they will normally be available. It’s never wrong (and can possibly save you a bit of grief) from saying to a professor something like: “I noticed on the syllabus that your office hours on Friday are from 9:00 to 10:00. I just wanted to check with you to be sure that you would be in around 9:30 so that I could ask you a couple of questions.”
A final guideline is to make sure you’re clear about what you want to accomplish from the meeting, and present this in an open and direct manner. Consider, for example, the following two scenarios:
John, a first year student, made an appointment with his professor because he did not do well on his first paper. Writing has always been difficult for John, but with help from his teachers he has been able to do fairly well. John’s professor seems like a fair-minded person who is willing to talk with students about their writing. During his meeting, John acknowledges that writing is not his strong suit, and he tells the professor he feels disappointed about his low grade on their first assignment. At this point, John actually brings his paper out and begins to ask the professor questions about the comments in the margins. John takes notes on the suggestions the professor gives him, and asks for clarification as needed.
Harry is also a first year student, and, like John, did not do well on his first writing paper. Harry got good grades in his high school English classes, but really relied more on his memory for good grades rather than developing good writing habits. At the same time, Harry was surprised by his poor grade and confused that his professor could be so critical when his high school teachers failed to comment on any particular writing problems. Upset, Harry makes an appointment with his professor to see if there has been some kind of mistake in his grade. When Harry arrives at his professor’s office, he asks the professor to justify the low grade, and questions the validity of the grade given his previous achievements. Rather than listening to his professor’s suggestions for improvement, Harry seems intent on trying to justify his writing and leaves feeling like the meeting was a “big waste of time.”
It’s pretty obvious which of these students used the better approach. John was open about his disappointment, clear about what he needed, and assertive in asking for the necessary help. Harry, by contrast, was defensive, unclear about his role in receiving a poor grade, and unwilling to hear constructive feedback. Even if you can relate to Harry’s feelings, my hunch is that you can still see how unproductive his approach was to his meeting.
Remember that communicating effectively with professors, and learning to communicate effectively overall, is one of the most important skills you can develop during your college years and can serve you extremely well as you continue to pursue your personal and professional goals. It is also a skill (like any other skill) that takes practice to develop, so remember to be patient with yourself if you feel somewhat awkward initially. Also remember that no one communicates perfectly all the time, so don’t put pressure on yourself to do so either.
Finally, know that if you feel like talking with others—not just professors—is especially hard for you—there are a number of helpful professionals at University Counseling and Consulting Services who can help you speak more confidently, connect more effectively with others, or adjust some of the expectations that may be getting in the way for you. |
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