Worried about talking to your professors and TAs? What for!? Let us help you!

1. Who’s afraid of their profs and TAs?
Let us help you plan out how
to get the most out of your
classes!
In this toolkit you will learn:
• Why your professors want to talk to you
• The value in talking to your profs
• How to build a plan of what you need
from your professor

2. Think about
this:
How often do
you talk to your
Professors or
Teaching
Assistants
(TAs)?

3. Watch the following video to learn why
professors want to talk with you and
why you should come and talk to them.

4. Now that you
have heard from
some professors,
how could one of
your professors
help you?

5. Introduce yourself!
• It’s hard for your professors to help you if they
don’t know who you are– go introduce yourself
before or after class
• talk about what you’re interested in, why you’re
taking the class or anything else you like–
remember, your professors are just people.

6. But how do I actually approach my professor?
• Send an email (with a subject line) introducing
yourself and asking when would be best to meet.
Remember, this email may be the first impression you
give.
• Come prepared. Have a particular question in mind or
a topic you want clarification on.

7. What if I can’t make it to my prof’s office hours?
Talk to your professor after or before class about
an alternate time to meet. Believe it or not, profs
can arrange to meet you outside of class.
If you have introduced yourself before hand and
are engaged in class, the likelihood that they will
meet you will greatly increase.

8. Now think about what you want to get out of
your next meeting with your professor…