Office Hours/Synchronous Student Contact
Regular and Substantive InteractionOffice Hours/Synchronous Student Contact
Overview
Office hours are a potential RSI method. Instructors should use a combination of methods most appropriate to the discipline and course. Explore this page to understand how to best set up office hours that target student engagement and accreditation/evaluation requirements.
Not All Office Hours/Synchronous Contact Is RSI
- Not RSI:
Virtual office hours or synchronous sessions that are rarely used by students due to lack of promotion, inconvenient timing, or a perceived lack of value fall into this category. If these sessions are merely available but not actively integrated into the learning experience, they do not contribute significantly to RSI.
- Gray Area:
Synchronous sessions or office hours are scheduled and attended; however, there is a lack of academic engagement or clear objectives. They may provide some level of interaction but do not fully meet substantive engagement. This could happen if sessions are unstructured or unfocused.
- RSI:
Well-advertised and strategically planned virtual office hours and/or synchronous sessions are used to support learning objectives, clarify concepts, and engage students in meaningful academic discussions. These sessions offer direct interaction with the instructor, personalized support, and opportunities to deepen understanding of course material.
Self Check
Start with the best example, then click on the other answers for additional guidance!
- Holding review sessions before exams where the instructor is present and available for questions, but there's no facilitation of discussion or review of challenging concepts, leading to minimal student participation.
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Gray Area: If the instructor's role is passive, waiting for questions rather than proactively facilitating discussion or review, this would be in the gray area.
- Regularly scheduled virtual office hours with a clear agenda (e.g., reviewing challenging concepts from the week, previewing upcoming material, Q&A on assignments) that are actively promoted in class and through the LMS. The instructor uses these sessions to engage with students, offering explanations, facilitating discussions, and providing feedback.
Definitely RSI: This would nail it!
- Offering office hours at times that consistently conflict with students' schedules or not communicating the purpose and potential benefits of these sessions, resulting in low attendance and engagement.
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NOT RSI: This would not contribute significantly to RSI.
Can Accreditors and Evaluators Access Office Hours/Synchronous Contact?
Start with your best guess, then click on the other answers for additional guidance!
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No
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It depends, but if virtual office hours or synchronous sessions occur without any recording, summary, announcements, or follow-up documentation within the LMS, their visibility to evaluators is significantly limited.
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Gray Area (Conditional Visibility)
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Right--it depends. Sessions that are documented to some extent, such as through office hours posted in the syllabus or automatic attendance tracking, offer limited visibility. While there's evidence of the sessions taking place if evaluators know where to look, the lack of detailed information about the academic interactions within those sessions provides limited insight into their substantive nature.
Of course, if evaluators were invited to a live synchronous session, that would be a different scenario.
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Yes
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It depends. Only documented sessions, including live attendance, summaries or recordings made available in the LMS, ensure high visibility of these interactions to evaluators.
Key Takeaways
- Promotion and Accessibility: Actively promote office hours and synchronous sessions, highlighting their value and scheduling them at times accessible to most students. Polls or surveys can help to determine the best times.
- Active Engagement: Plan sessions with specific topics or themes based on course material or student inquiries. Encourage interaction by asking open-ended questions, using polls, or discussing recent assignments.
- Documentation and Follow-up: Summarize key points discussed during these sessions and share them with the class via the LMS. This not only extends the value of the sessions to those who could not attend but also documents the substantive interaction for evaluators.
How to Use TechConnect Zoom
Learn how to use TechConnect Zoom Links to an external site. in your Canvas course to schedule 1:1 meetings, group meetings, and share recordings.