Spring08: not having an office

Perhaps I should have entitled this post, the JOYS of not having an office. There is a lot to say on this happy subject, but what prompted me to write about it was that I received an email from a student this morning - a typical email, I will probably get 2 or 3 more such emails in the first week of class - and the email goes like this (I quote): "Hello. I am a bit confused on how to do the blog. I have read over the instructions and looked at other classmates blogs but I do not understand how to do it. Are you going to be in your office tomorrow anytime? I think it would be the easiest for me to come and see you so you can explain it." What has happened is that the student, a very nice student from what I can tell, confronted with a page containing instructions for something new that she has never done before, does not want to try to do the assignment by herself, but wants me to be there to do it with her. Without even making an attempt to see what happens, she has automatically concluded that it would be safer, easier, faster, etc., to have the teacher there, instead of working on her own.

Now, this is not entirely a bad impulse (in fact, this is probably a quite successful behavior in some ways for the student to have - going to visit your professors in their offices can be a very good thing!)... but it does mean that this student has learned to become doubtful of her own abilities to learn independently and to try new things on her own. The student is 100% capable of doing this assignment on her own - but she didn't even try to do it on her own, since she is clearly very comfortable with, and accustomed to, having the teacher be an essential part of her learning something new. Which is great if you have a teacher around all the time to be part of your learning... but if students really are going to be lifelong learners (a goal to which I am profoundly committed), then they need to be their own teachers, right?

So, I am very glad indeed that I could write her back with a simple answer: We cannot meet in my office, because I do not have an office. So ... she really does need to start with step one of the instructions and do this on her own. If she runs into a snag, a problem, a question, a confusion of any kind, I will be able to respond to her about that immediately (she doesn't have to wait for my office hours; she can just send me an email and I will respond with superhuman promptness) - but she needs to take the initiative, and try to do it on her own first, before asking for help. And 99% of the time, students set up their blogs and start publishing without needing any help from me at all, beyond the written instructions... I think this student will be both surprised and delighted to find that out!

Anyway, I am very glad that I do not have to rebuff this student and say "no, you cannot come to my office - it's better for you if you don't!" That would be a terrible thing to have to say, unfriendly, antisocial... So, instead, because of the simple fact that I don't have an office, I can urge her to work on her own sharing with her my absolute confidence that of course she can do this task, even if it is something entirely new to her.

Now, my university did not fail to give me an office because they knew it was a useful component in my pedagogical bag of tricks! No, the fact is that they did not give me an office because they have no office to give. One of the big impulses for the school in hiring fully online instructors like me was the shortage of classroom space and office space on campus: they just don't have room for all the human beings!

For me, though, not having an office is a perfect extension of what I am trying to accomplish in my teaching, as is the absence of a classroom. In the classroom, the teacher is almost inevitably the focus of attention... what I really don't want to be!!! There's that great phrase about the "sage on the stage versus the guide on the side" - because I don't have a classroom, I cannot be the sage on the stage, because there is no stage! Same for not having an office: I am the invisible guide on the side while my students learn to work on their own and to work with each other online. It short-circuits their impulse to physically come to me for help instead of cultivating their own independence. And, in the strange disembodied world of online learning, they actually get to know me far far better by the end of the semester than they ever would by coming to my office hours maybe once or twice for help... :-)

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Comment by Greg Oz on January 11, 2008 at 5:05pm: Another thought provoking post, Laura. I can readily relate to the student scenario you describe. I often find that students get quite annoyed if I am not at their 'beck and call'. It seems to be presumed that I will be. We see the results of students coming straight from school who've basically been coached through in order to get good scores (good for their schools reputation). So many expect us to find all the readings for them, to have it all mapped out for them. And I find it hard to challenge that - because I'm working against years of teachers playing that role.

On another note....I find that I'm able to get much more done away from my office. It's a much more productive way of working.

Comment by Laura Gibbs on January 13, 2008 at 11:42am: I don't think I could ever go back to work in an office again, to tell the truth. I have better relations with my students by being available online rather than in my office (at limited times only, as is inevitable for a physical solution like "office hours" - when I worked from an office, I didn't have much contact with students outside the classroom at all), and I have better colleague relations, too, since the folks with whom I really share teaching interests are people I meet online - the folks at my school are classroom-based teachers and, for the most part, very intimidated by technology. :-)