Kate Szumanski still remembers the note her professor wrote at the top of an essay in her senior year: "This is a good argument ... Why don't you come visit me at office hours and we'll talk about graduate school."

By all accounts this was a good note. Szumanski got an A on the paper – and she'd done well in the political science class all semester. But that note terrified her. "I started to shake, my cheeks turned bright red," she told me recently. In all four years of college, she'd never once gone to office hours.

The next week, she mustered up the courage to climb the three flights of stairs to her professor's office. The first time she got to his door, she kept walking. And the second. And the third. Eventually, she just left.

"I never worked up the nerve to go in," she recalls. "I remember feeling just intimidated and frightened; as if I'm an imposter and he's going to figure me out."

Ask just about any college student, and they'll tell you a similar story: Office hours are scary.

And so here's our guide to taking the fear out.

Let's start first with the mystery: Students often don't know what office hours are – or what they're for, or how they're different from class time.

They're part of what some students say is a hidden curriculum – the set of rules on a college campus that no one ever tells you about. And then, what students do know is that you have to meet one-on-one with your professor, which in some cases means talking to the smartest, most powerful person you know (remember, professors are the ones giving out the grades!).

I've had dozens of current college students describe office hours to me as "intimidating" or "terrifying."

This fear is so universal that Arizona State University made a satirical video about it, spoofing a pharmaceutical commercial. The diagnosis: Fear of Meeting One on One with My Professor, or FMOOWMP. The suggested treatment: Faculty Office Hours, or FOH. But once students try FOH: "Everything fell in to place," a smiling student tells the camera, "I knew how to study for class. I'm hooked."

This video is definitely fun, but it also offers an important message: No matter how scary, office hours are a huge factor in a student's success. Not only in college, but even after — in the workforce and in life.

To continue reading, please click here to open the full article.

– by Elissa Nadworny, Reporter/Editor, NPR Ed

Here are opportunities for students (and maybe you) on campus:

MSU Event  :

MSU Event  :

MSU Event  :

MSU Event  :

12th Annual Conference on

Higher Education Pedagogy

February 5-7, 2020  

Virginia Tech/Blacksburg, Virginia, USA   

REGISTRATION:

https://chep.teaching.vt.edu/Registration.html

For information about conference registration and associated fees, visit the conference website: https://chep.teaching.vt.edu/



If you have an interest in attending this conference as part of an MSU cohort, send an email identifying your interest (why), what you hope to gain from the conference, and what you will be willing to share with the MSU community upon your return to fctl@moreheadstate.edu

Call for Proposals: The 2020 Pedagogicon

May 15th, EKU

Proposals Due: February 16th

The conference theme, “  Students as Partners in Teaching and Learning,” encourages us to examine and promote students-as-partners strategies for teaching and learning that encourage deep, transferable academic experiences.

Do you have an exceptional strategy to share? Do you have a new theory or practice that might enhance teaching and learning, faculty development, educational practices, or student engagement at your institution and beyond? Presenters are encouraged to engage their audience, so preference will be given to those submissions that specify how this engagement will be provided. The conference will host an opening session on transparency in learning and teaching.

Threads might include but are not limited to:

Presenters will also have the opportunity to submit their work for consideration in the annual Proceedings, to be published in late 2020.  



Submit proposals online at   https://studio.eku.edu/pedagogicon-proposal-form .

19th Annual   Posters-at-the-Capitol

March 5th, Frankfort

The   Link to Register  is:

Closed

 

Posters-at-the-Capitol   , an event hosted collaboratively by Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University, is intended to help members of Kentucky’s legislature and the Governor better understand the importance of involving undergraduates in research, scholarly, and creative work. It provides undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in scholarship, research, and creative work that is important to their educational experience and professional development. We encourage faculty to have their students participate in   Posters-at-the-Capitol to help those in Kentucky who fund higher education understand why these experiences are so important. 

 

View the 2019 Presentations and Program Booklet

View the Report on Morehead State Students at the 2019 Posters-at-the-Capitol

 

Featured Webinars:

How Can I Enhance Class Using Story, Popular Media and Objects?

Committed educators are always looking for dynamic ways to grab and hold their students’ attention. This webinar explores:

Should I Incorporate Social Media into My Online Classroom?

Our students use social media in their day-to-day lives. This webinar explores whether or not social media can be a useful tool in the online classroom. Topics include:

Accessing Webinars:



These licensed Magna resources are available through a password-protected website. For access, faculty need to:

Benefits of Magna Webinars:

I understand that you have a lot on your plate, so let me give you a few reasons why you should consider trying a Magna webinar:

Ambassadors for Excellence in Teaching

Morehead State University

workshopwednesday@moreheadstate.edu