I ask my TA for Organic Chemistry Lab a lot of questions because I want to make sure that I am doing the experiment correctly. My TA seems to be getting a bit annoyed by me. It’s not like I’m asking questions that are off-topic or questions that don’t have anything to do with the material. I do feel kind of bad because I don’t want to get on his nerves, but I shouldn’t be reluctant to ask questions if I’m not sure about something. So do professors or TA’s get annoyed by students that ask too many questions? And what can I do to not ask so many questions?
It’s possible, especially if it’s stuff that’s answered elsewhere (lab manual, prelab, syllabus). But all you can do is prepare as well as you can and ask questions for the stuff you truly can’t figure out.
I’'m not a prof, I’m a high school math teacher. But I’ll throw in my 2 cents anyway.
Whoever said there was no such thing as a bad question was wrong. There are, absolutely, good questions and bad questions.
Bad questions include things that are common sense, things that I’ve just covered, and things that you would know if you had been paying attention. They’re questions that someone else has just asked, and questions that you’re asking out of insecurity. (“Should I label the graph?” Stop and think… do you think I’m going to say “NO!”???) They’re questions that you would be able to answer had you gotten the notes you missed for the class you missed yesterday or last week or last month. They’re questions designed to bring me off topic. They’re questions that are totally off topic as I"m in the middle of teaching. (Yeah, you can go to the bathroom. But did you have to interrupt my train of thought to ask, 4 minutes after the start of class?)
Good questions show that you’re thinking. Lots of good questions begin along the lines of “Is it possible…” or “I’ve noticed…”
Which kind of questions are you asking?
OP: Your question seems to be a rhetorical one.
Of course, one would get annoyed by “too many” questions.
Make sure you’ve studied and tried to figure it out, first.
Then, write down your specific questions so you don’t get sidetracked.
@bjkmom The questions that I ask are questions that aren’t really covered in the procedure or the lab manual. Or I’ll also ask him something if the lab manual explained a concept or a step that wasn’t very clear to me.
Have you thought about working with a few students and learning a bit that way? Helping others and them helping you might be a good way to study the material.
I also want to add that developing a tolerance for ambiguity is sometimes considered a learning goal for college students. At your job, you won’t get complete information on how to complete every task or how to write every sentence of the client report and you need to become more comfortable with a small amount of uncertainty and do the best you can.
Are your questions during class/lab or during office hours? You have every right to seek help (and should), but I would suggest keeping most questions for the office hours.
“a tolerance for ambiguity” = One of the best phrases that I have never heard before. Now I’ll be up all night trying to evaluate that phrase in the context of my experiences. Thank you @CheddarcheeseMN,
@chercheur The questions that I ask are during lab. He gives a 5-minute lecture at the beginning of lab to talk about the experiment we’re doing for the day. After his lecture, we start the experiment. He’s available for us to ask him questions while we’re doing the experiment. The questions I ask are questions that I need to or would like to know as I’m doing the experiment.
There’s a difference between "need to " and “would like to” know.
Do you get the lab paperwork ahead of time? Would it be possible for you to read through the labs and figure out some of the answers ahead of time?
None of us can tell you whether you’re asking “too many questions” or “good or bad” questions. But the fact that you’ve started this thread might imply that you should try to figure out some of the answers yourself.
@bjkmom I have the experiment and the procedure in my lab manual. I can also listen to a recorded lecture for the experiment and look at notes. Yeah, I should just say “need to”. That’s because the questions I ask are kind of crucial to do the experiment correctly. Like I’ve said I ask questions on things that are unclear in the lab procedure or a concept I need explained differently. I admit I can do a better job on preparing for the lab. I kind of wait until like two days before the experiment to start preparing for it when I should’ve been doing it like a week beforehand.
When I’m in class, I usually try to ask my professor or TA as an absolute last resort, unless they help. If I’m really interested in the material, I’ll go to office hours just to chat (and hopefully their OH won’t be busy). What I normally do is try to figure it out myself for at least 5 minutes after I realize I need help and then I’ll ask someone around me. If they really don’t know and it’s crucial to my ability to progress, then I’ll ask.
There are times and places for questions, but usually I don’t really like asking them in class. I save my hypotheticals and what-ifs for office hours. But then again, I’m not a STEM person.
How is the rest of the class coping if the directions are incomplete or unclear?
@bjkmom Some people are able to catch on more quickly than I can. And I’m not the only one, of course, that asks questions if something in the directions is unclear. I just notice I ask a bit more questions than some of the other students.
In theory, they should not get annoyed by questions, but some TAs are better than others. Remember that the TA is a student, also. It is a job for them, not a career, and some don’t have a lot of patience or the best teaching skills. You may want to go to the TA’s office hours and tell them you are aware you ask a lot of questions but you really appreciate his/her help. That may soften them up a bit.
I really don’t get annoyed unless the question takes us off course or occupies too much of discussion time. But I’ve been a prof a long time and have chilled out a lot!
Sometimes you have a set of material you have to get through in 50 minutes. If someone asks too many questions or uestions that are only tangently related then you can’t get through the material. Try writing down your questions and see if they get answered. See if they are in the reading. Go to office hours and ask any you still don’t know.
The thing about labs is that you often need your questions answered right then, because you’re doing the lab right then.
But a class full of people who ALL need questions answered NOW…I can see why a TA could get frazzled.