8.4 Role 1: Office hours and learning resource curation

otp-module-08-canvas-cards.jpg

“It was really helpful for me when my instructor set expectations with the students that neither of us would respond immediately to their texts. I would only answer questions during office hours, and not 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” - TA contributor to this module

Office hours include any non-classroom meetings with students (either one-on-one or in groups) to clarify content, guide their independent learning activities, review assignments, and/or offer feedback. Conducting office hours online can be done synchronously using software like Zoom, or asynchronously using email or discussion forums (within Canvas or Piazza) . Two challenges your TAs may experience are: that online students expect them to be available 24/7, and challenges managing the number of students who post questions. These challenges will be addressed below.

What contributions could your TAs offer in this role?

  • Holding synchronous, online office hours.
  • Reviewing discussion posts, student chat sessions, or office hour conversations to identify common questions.
  • Preparing or curating resources (including open educational resources) like screencast tutorials, solution sheets, or FAQs that can supplement course materials to address student questions or common difficulties. Be aware that TAs may own copyright on materials they create, limiting your ability to use them in future course offerings.
  • TAs who are located in different time zones might be able to support students who are also in those timezones by hosting office hours or responding to discussion threads during their local workday hours.

Questions to consider

How will your TAs’ office hours be held? 

For synchronous sessions:

  • How much time should TAs spend per week holding synchronous meetings with students?
  • How will you manage potential differences in time zones?
  • Will appointments be at a regular scheduled time/day or will students request appointments? 
  • How should appointments be arranged? You may find the Canvas Scheduler Links to an external site. helpful for this.

For asynchronous sessions:

  • How much time should TAs spend per week reviewing and responding to discussion forums?
  • What sort of response times should students expect from your TAs?
  • How should your TAs respond to questions in discussion posts or chat?
    • Collect questions, prepare and update a FAQ page?
    • Give time for students to answer one another’s questions but jump in if they need guidance?
  • Which software/tools will be used to hold office hours?
  • How will you share TA office hour information with your students?

How can you best support your TAs in this role?

  • Provide your TAs with tips for managing students’ expectations around response times.
  • Clarify with your TAs what kinds of questions they should refer to you and what is up to their own discretion.
  • In the past you may have asked your TAs to keep the office door open, or to not work alone with students. How should these expectations be adapted for the online environment? How will you ensure the safety and security of both your TAs and your students, including protection from incidents or allegations of harassment during online office hours?

How would you like your TAs to share with you their experiences during office hours?

Consider asking your TAs to provide you with a summary of office hour discussions if there are common questions asked by students, and to provide information on uptake of office hour support.

What skills or training might your TAs need for this role?

  • Check out the CTLT website for Grad Student and TA program opportunities
  • Do the TAs know how to set up FIPPA compliant (e.g. turn on encryption) and secure meetings?  (Resource: Privacy Matters) 
  • Do TAs have sufficient background in your course expectations, syllabus (written and unwritten), and course content to be able to answer questions on your behalf?
  • Provide your TAs with resources for responding to students who may be experiencing difficulty or need mental health support.

What resources do your TAs need to successfully take on this role?

  • Make sure that your TAs have the ability/permissions/accounts to do things like set meetings up themselves in the software being used. Connect with your department’s instructional support unit or the LT Hub for support.
  • If you intend for your TAs to host synchronous office hours, check that they have adequate hardware, software, and bandwidth resources.