Get the Conversation Started
Rather than immediately asking the student why they came to office hours, spend a few minutes to get to know them. Ask them to remind you of their name and pronouns, if they are comfortable, and check in on how they are doing. This is also a great chance to ask them about their major or other interests. You may ask what they do for fun or how they are managing their coursework. By putting in just a little bit of effort to get to know your student, you will demonstrate that you care about them and their success. You can learn more about the various campus resources designed to support student success below.
You may also want to provide a few conversation starters that your students can use. Because students do not need to have a content question to attend office hours, you can encourage students to use office hours as a chance to chat and get to know you. Here are a few conversation starters for your students to consider [adapted from Nunn 2019]:
- What was your major in college?
- Did you always know that you wanted to be a professor?
- Can you tell me more about your research?
- That photo on your desk, is that your family?