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SEI Remote Flex

Open Office Hours

Someone from the instructional team will be available to answer questions during labs an in-class activities.

You may ask the instructor or TA “on duty,” who will help people on a first-come, first-served basis. If there are a lot of people asking for help, we ask that you (a) continue working on the problem and (b) be patient until we can get to you.

Be sure you’re asking a question that follows the guidelines for asking for help

You are strongly encouraged to use these times to also work with fellow students on assignments and projects.

What to expect

Instructors are not going to solve the problem or bug for you during office hours. Instructors are also not going to pair program (i.e. work on an exercise with you) during office hours.

Instead, instructors will frame and help you understand the problem, help you find a direction forward, then send you off to work on it yourself.

While it may seem counterproductive (maybe even unhelpful at times), there is a method to it: it’s really important that you become an independent problem solver. Office hours is designed to mimic working with a senior developer in a professional setting. In most work environments, you’ll have more experienced developers you can use as a resource, but with some caveats:

  1. You have to understand the problem you’re facing, as much as you can.
  2. You need for formulate specific questions.
  3. You have to try and get unstuck by yourself for a while first, before asking for help

See the guidelines for asking for help for more!