Quest speaker
They may be graduates of the program who have been successful in their field, and the students love to hear threir venture. The pro and cons and hard work etc. etc.
Sara,
Student's attention perks up when they hear or see something that's interesting to them, and usually, a quest speaker fits into this category. And I believe the ability to ask open, frank questions gives the students a sense of satisfaction, and perhaps motivates them as they begin to visualize themselves in the work setting.
Barry Westling
I totally agree!! It makes a big difference when they can see someone, other than the instructor, that has accomplished what they are striving towards.
ROBERT,
Yes, and having the abilty to ask questions makes a presentation even more interesting and memorable. Students are usually anxious to ask pertinent and bold questions (worst/best thing, salary, who, what and why, etc), and usually the guest is more than willing to give straight to the point answers.
Barry Westling
Guest speakers bring a new perspective to the class and give the students a break from routine and their permanent instructor.
Travis,
Many quest speakers have an interesting or entertaining story to tell, and most students can probaly separate the thorns from the roses as they become inspired by the speakers remarks.
Barry Westling
I believe that having a guess speaker would motivate the students more. It show the students that someone else has traveled down the some path they are going to be going down. The down side to something like that would be that the students would have to understand that they must start from the bottom and work their way up within the company or business.
Carla,
Sure, and everyone has a little different spin they can put on a given topic. That's want makes the guest speaker activity interesting.
Barry Westling
I believe that having someone who is working in their (the students) field of interest, helps them to identify maybe some different areas that they haven't thought of. As in dentistry, there are different aspects, Lab, front office, back office, chairside and hygiene along with specialties.
Gabriel,
Hearing from "one of their own" can be an effective way to reinforce material and structure the instructor is trying to provide. As successful graduates, they've been there and done it. So they can be a believeable resource.
Barry Westling
