We are so glad you asked! It’s important to ask for help as soon as possible.
It is better, for example, to attend your instructor’s office hours each day for even five minutes with new questions than the day before the test with confusion about an entire unit.
You can always speak with one of the STEM Learning Specialists for guidance in navigating these resources for your particular class schedule.
Office HoursOffice hours are a valuable resource in any college course.
Office hours are usually indicated on the course syllabus and/or the instructor’s website and are set aside specifically for students to meet with the instructor outside of class. Most instructors do not require that students attend office hours, but they can be really useful!
Students often benefit from attending office hours. You can dig deeper into the course content, get questions answered, and get to know your instructor better.
Still not sure? Check out this NPR piece or watch this video by Arizona State University. This handout from the Learning Strategies Center at Cornell University has even more information on office hours and how to prepare.
- Center for Multicultural Affairs offers Orgo Learning Communities for students enrolled in Chem 202 in the fall and Chem 201 in the spring.
- Biology – Help Room hours are listed on the Bio 201 and Bio 202 syllabi and offer a great opportunity to work through lab questions or problem sets.
- Engineering – E-Team Peer Advisors help fellow students with aspects of life at Duke, including classes.
- Mathematics – Help Room serves all “L” courses, MATH 202, 212, 221, 218, and 230. We encourage you to align Help Room hours with when you plan to work on your math course – that way you can drop by and raise your hand whenever you have a question.
- Physics – Evening Help Sessions are sometimes available. Reach out to your instructor to find out more.
- Statistics – Find when the TA for your course holds office hours in the Statistical Education Center.
- Meet individually with a learning consultant, including the STEM Learning Specialists.
- Join a group tutorial for certain Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics courses.
- Check Drop-In Tutoring to see if your course is one of those listed. If so, drop in and do your homework there! Then you can ask questions as they arise.
- Become part of a SAGE Learning Community. We currently host SAGE – Bio, SAGE – Chem, and SAGE – Math. We will continue to update this site with more information about the SAGE program.
- Form your own study group with Study Connect. Simply sign up and indicate your course(s) and we’ll connect you with other interested students.
