I agree on the value of guest speakers. However, I'm a new instructor. How do I connect with outstanding alum who would set a great example with my current students in a writing class? Current students are from a variety of majors from technology to medical assisting and early childhood.
I utilize guest speakers alot. They offer "real world" practices to students who are losing their steam. It's a nice change from the usual coursework.
Using a guest speaker can have a very telling affect on the discouraged/ready to quit student. The student can see a living example of what his/her future can be if they stick it out.
The speaker may point out problems they may have experienced when they were sitting in those very same seats, how they were feeling and how they dealt with it. In other words there may be a connection between the student and the speaker. Encouragement and motivation can be gleaned from this experience resulting in ...."well, maybe I'll give it another shot!"
Guest speakers are an excellent resource to validate the course content. Since they come from the working world, they can give a practical viewpoint of the neccesity to learn the content and show how it is applied in the working world.
I often ask my former students to drop by the class and speak in front of the class and tell them what they are actually doing on the job site.
They can describe and explain their duties and also reiterate the importance of knowing their drugs,instruments,medical terminology and etc. It also helps reinforce the importance of knowlegde and not knowing is unexceptable. Then they open the floor for questions. And I smile as the hands go flying up. Successful !
I feel that having guest speakers help the students see themselves after they graduate and what opportunities there are waiting for them. It also gives them the opportunity to listen to speakers who have experience in the fields that they are wanting to enter into.
GIVE THE STUDENT AN OPPORTUNITY TO LISTEN AND QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT HELP CHANGE THEIR MIND ABOUT QUITTING.
Guest speakers revitalize the class subject matter. For snstance, a firefighter when discussing safty,a grief counselor discussing death and dying and a woound specialist discussing pressure ulcers, all bring their expertise to the students
I agree. Guest speakers can really motivate the students into a different level of viewing their career training. Helping them to see past "school" and into real life.
Guest speakers provide an invaluable third party prospective to students. A teacher speaking to students about the value of the material and time commitment is much like a parent telling a child the importance of brushing their teeth. It is when someone else who has "been there and done that" now reaps the reward for completing the task can provide validity to what the instructor has been saying.
I feel that if a student is looking to quit, having a guest speaker there would be helpful because this person could explain and portray their trials and tribulations where the student might could relate and have motivation to continue their education.
Bringing in a guest speaker allows the students to sometimes see the light at the end of the tunnel.. put themselves in that spot. It will continue to motivate the students for their new career. Try and bring someone who is "passionate" about what they do.
Hi Gwendolyn,
I have found that guest speakers make text book theory real. Students love it when learning is applied to the real world.
Patricia Scales
Hi Carla,
Guest speakers are very inspiring and motivating!
Patricia Scales
Hi Regina,
I concur! Guest speakers are the best! They can certainly add a lot of spark to the fire!
Patricia Scales
With a good guest speaker, you can re-energize students and give them hope that the course they have chosen is worth continuing on to completion. Guest speakers are real-life individuals who are often not part of the staff, and who bring credibilility and real-life experience. That is not to say that the staff do not - they DO! Bus having an independent, outside source confirm and add to the information that the instructor is giving can be really helpful. The key is to get the RIGHT guest speaker who can really energize, excite, and encourage the students.
I have to admit, I have some reservations about using this strategy in my classes...I definitely see the value, and have brought guests in in past when they are 110% relevant, but I often prefer to find "in class" methods of inspiring excitement (exercises, group activities, projects, etc)
A guest speaker is an opportunity to allow confirmation of relevance to skills and rules as they translate into the world of work.
Guest speakers are an excellent resource, especially for students who are considering dropping their program. This gives the student the opportunity to see a clear pictures of their chosen career. This may motivate the student to stick with their program.
Using a guest speaker allows the student a glimpse of what they will soon be doing. For the student that is discouraged and ready to give up, it offers them a different perspective on the field that they have chosen to make their career. I have found that by doing this you also bring excitement into the classroom and the goal that might have seemed a lifetime away suddenly seems a little bit closer to their reach
