Office Hours for Graduate Students

When and where are CTL’s office hours?

During the Fall and Spring semesters, CTL staff hold drop-in office hours for graduate students: Fridays 2-4pm in room 212 Butler Library and via Zoom (email CTLgrads@columbia.edu for the link).

In Spring 2025, you can also find CTL staff at the following days and times for our new “pop-up” office hours:

• Mondays 10-11am at Nous Cafe in Philosophy Hall (meet with Caitlin DeClercq) – Starting March 24
• Wednesdays 12-1pm at Joe Coffee in Dodge Hall (starting March 12th) (meet with Caitlin DeClercq) – Starting March 26
• Thursdays 12-2pm at the Core Library in 202 Hamilton Hall, (meet with Ian Althouse) – Starting March 6
• Coming soon: additional days, times, and locations

Drop-ins are welcome; no appointment is necessary. We know you’re busy, so we will do our best to ensure that anyone who drops by our office hours will be seen! We hope to see you soon.

What are office hours?

The CTL’s office hours are a dedicated space for any graduate student at Columbia to explore questions and interests at any point in their teaching journey, meaning that office hours can be a great first step into CTL programming, and/or a way to further extend your connections to our many offerings. 

Our hope is that, in attending office hours, you will feel welcomed and supported in navigating your teaching and teaching development on (and beyond) campus in alignment with your own teaching-related interests and questions.

You might come to office hours with: 

• Questions about teaching or learning – for example, what are good ways to assess student participation? How can I engage students during a 2.5 hour class session? What do I do when my class goes silent? CTL staff will share with you relevant strategies and resources to guide your teaching. 
• Draft syllabi or lesson plans you’d like to discuss with CTL staff – we can discuss your ideas and drafts at any stage of the process; and after talking about your goals and ideas, you’ll have clear steps for refining your draft materials 
• Teaching challenges (or successes!) you’d like to debrief – teaching can be hard, but remember: you are not alone! We are happy to listen, share ideas, and celebrate successes large and small!
• Questions about recent workshops you weren’t able to attend – for example, maybe you’re drafting a syllabus but weren’t able to attend our Syllabus from Scratch workshop. Drop by our office hours to learn about resources and best practices we discussed in the workshop!

Or maybe you want to work with CTL staff to make a plan for navigating the Teaching Development Program or simply learn more about what the CTL is and what offerings are available to you.

Whatever your question, our team is standing by ready to support you! 

Who will meet with me during office hours?

Our office hours are staffed by the Graduate Student Programs and Services team at the CTL. If you haven’t yet met us, see below for a brief introduction to each of us.

	Ian Althouse, PhD, Associate Director The question I wish more graduate students would ask is how to assess their teaching. At office hours, we can review your upcoming lesson plans, classroom successes and challenges, as well as CTL’s classroom observation and feedback services that can help give you the tools to shape your teaching.
	Caitlin DeClercq, PhD, Senior Assistant Director I love answering questions about the Teaching Development Program (TDP) and helping participants make plans for track completion. Think of me as your own personal TDP concierge!
	Mark Phillipson, PhD, Director New instructors are often wondering how to make sure students are actually engaged. Some of my most favorite office hours conversations involve brainstorming new ways to get students motivated and co-invested in the success of the class.
	Abby Schroering, PhD, Assistant Director My favorite conversations in office hours revolve around fellowship matchmaking! If you are interested in teaching and learning, then we probably have a paid fellowship that meets your goals.

Acknowledgment

The CTL would like to acknowledge the work of the Graduate Student Advisory Committee for their input, feedback, and ideas related to reimagining and expanding CTL’s office hours for graduate students.