Guest Speakers
I utilize guest speakers as a resource to reinforce and reiterate the importance of the course. I choose dynamic and effective guest speakers who understand the points I would like covered. I always discuss what the demographics of the class is and how their career is relevant to what I am trying to stress.
Hi Jeff:
Arguably, students will become more interested, motivated, and engaged if they have the opportunity to speak with or hear from people in the field/who have experience in something you've been discussing in class.
As for people in business becoming quality faculty members - that's a big topic to tackle in one post because there are so many factors that make for a quality instructor. But, you've hit on one of the primary factors - willingness to be an instructor.
Regards, Barry
Good evening, everybody! I attended a business luncheon yesterday where the guest speakers, who represented a higher education advocacy group, spoke before the attendees about the importance of increasing the educational level of citizens in the metropolitan Cleveland, Ohio area. Their presentations were not only fascinating, but encouraging to those of us who have civic pride in our region.
One of the presenters recommended that the business persons could encourage their employees to attend college for reasons X, Y, and Z. While the presenter was correct in offering the statistics to help people attend college or complete their degrees, I offered during the question-and-answer period that the business people present could help their employees either by becoming faculty members at area colleges or by becoming guest speakers. I was surprised by the responses from the attendees—as though they had never thought of these options.
Those of us who are administrators are always looking for quality instructors. Often, our business persons may not realize that, while they may not have gone through graduate training in Education, they have something much more valuable: expertise in their fields, perhaps even gradate coursework in their fields, and the crucial element of passion for their subject areas.
Comments?
I absolutly agree that a new voice is always refeshing for students.
Hi Barry,
I agree with you on that guest speakers are inspiring. I have one that always gets the students involved and has them laughing and they just keep asking questions more and more. She can hardly leave the campus.
And yes always a successful endeavor.
Regards,
Lori
Hi Michele:
I have uesed a guest speaker in the field of legal nurse consultant. She came by to discuss the legal ramifications within the field of health care. It was very informative and the students loved it.
Thanks,
C. HEtzel
Hi Patricia:
I think guest speakers are used because they can offer insight into a profession or topic based on real world examples.
From my experience, they are usually quite inspiring, and nearly always capture the students attention, keeps them engaged and focused, with lots of questions. Always a successful endeavor.
Regards, Barry
I agree with the concept of using guest speakers to enhance the learning process. I myself have been a guest speaker many times. I disagree with the statement that guest speakers are usually unprepared to present their topics in the classroom setting. I feel it is important to alert the speaker to the dynamics of the class and then allow the speaker to address the topic or issue utilizing their own knowledge and techniques. After all a guest speaker is invited because of their unique qualities and experiences and not to parrot the style of the instructor. They often can be a refreshing new voice for learning.
