Introduction: Strong relationships between students and their instructors have an undisputed link to positive student outcomes, such as retention, motivation, sense of belonging, and academic achievement [1].
However, the student-instructor relationship is under-prioritized by educators. For example, science and engineering courses are often taught with a culture of high pressure that is unwisely thought to yield more successful and resilient graduates [2].
Office hours are critical opportunities for discourse and relationship-building. Students often cite cognitive and emotional obstacles as preventing them from participating in office hours, such as fear of judgment, low task persistence after failure, and belonging uncertainty []. There is a clear need for new teaching strategies during office hours that lower barriers to participation and encourage students to build connections with their instructors. We reframed office hours as communal working spaces for students that aim to create a more relaxed and comfortable environment and encourages participation without judgment or expectations of preparedness.
Methods: This intervention was previously implemented in two Biomedical Engineering BME courses during hybrid learning to support relationship-building [5]. Students completed [and will complete] a pre- and post-course survey regarding their perceived barriers to office hours and the effectiveness of the intervention.
Survey questions evaluating student-instructor relationships were based on previous questionnaires []. Post-course qualitative interviews [will be] conducted with the instructors to further analyze the impact of the office hours strategy and the instructor perception of student-instructor relationships.
