Guest speakers can reinvigorate students and get them focused back on their goals.
A guest speaker adds extra value in many ways. A guest speaker who is dynamic and can give students a perspective different from the instructors can help to engage students in the discussion or topic in a way that the instructor has been unable or unwilling to. In my classroom I am primarily teaching students who come from a very different educational and economic background. I like bringing in speakers to serve as role models of success, speakers who come from where my students come from and who have achieved what my students hope to achieve. These speakers add a richness and a truth to what I am teaching my students in a way that I can't.
I think it's inspirational. Not only is the speaker providing real world experience, which I think is really important, but also, they are something of a role model. Students can see where they can expect to be in 5, 10, 15 years if they continue to be successful in both education and career.
Guest speakers can really motivate your class and get students who have lost hope or interest back on track.
The biggest problem, in my opinion, is finding an appropriate speaker. Someone successful in your field that is a good public speaker and willing to devote the time isn't always easy to come by.
Hi Heather,
Great response! Guest speakers give the students the motivation they need to keep their eyes on the prize.
Patricia
Hi Joshua,
Graduate guest speakers are the absolute best! Current students get it from the graduate guest speakers. It clicks.
Patricia
I was able to see the value of guest speakers first-hand when I returned to industry after teaching, but continued to come in to the school as a guest speaker to classes I used to teach.
I gave the same lectures, shared the same information, used the same techniques, but when I stepped in the door as a guest speaker, the class was focused and excited. When I returned to teaching, and was once again the instructor, I was no longer as "exciting" as when I was coming in as a guest speaker to say the exact same things.
Hi Florene,
My favorite guest speakers are graduates. They have great stories to share, and it really does show the students that they can do it too.
Patricia
Guest Speakers are great because they help students see and hear reality. Guest speakers help motivate students to be successful in their career fields. Especially when you bring in guest speakers that are recent graduates and working in the field. It convinces students that it can be done.
The role of the guest speaker can help discouraged students to be motivated by another person who has completed school and is now working in the field. This is particularly effective when the speaker is a recent graduate. Not only does this break up the monotony of lecture, it also give the student an example goal to work toward.
A guest speaker can bring great value to a classroom, especially for discouraged students who may be considering quitting. In the classroom, it can be difficult to think about the end result; career and lifestyle. Guest speakers can motivate these students by showing them career possibilities and reminding them that their hard work now will pay off in the future. When students feel invested, they are more likely to stay encouraged and engaged in the classroom.
Hi Carol,
Guest speakers really do add a lot of spark to the course. It really is good for students to hear from a different resource other than us all the time. Guest speakers validate what we teach in the classroom.
Patricia
Using gues speakers is a valuable tool. It allows the students to hear first hand what it is like in "the real world". I sometimes think they doubt us instructors even though most of us have lived in the "real world". I also think our students like to hear from a "different" body some of the things and concepts they have heard from us because it reinforces that what we have been teaching them is really TRUE. Having a speaker also gives them a chance to ask questions that I sometimes think are more appropriate than they do in the classroom setting. I also like to plan a "field trip" sometimes for the students if I can work it out with the guest speaker because that also allows them to put everything into perspective.
Hi Meighen,
There is nothing like putting classroom theory into real-world perspective. Students love knowing how they are going to benefit from a course.
Patricia
I think that using guest speakers in your class can be very motivating to all students. However it can be particularly motivating to students who are considering quitting your course. By using a guest speaker you are illustrating how the content of your class will be put to use in the real world. This fosters buy in to the class content from students. This can also help students become excited about the class content.
I think guest speakers are good for classroom presentation and reminding students of their committment and realizations of their goals. Guest speakers help to back up many points of knowledge and instructions delivered by the classroom instructors. This validates the instructors knowledge, and creditability. It also helps the student to recognize the importance of the point of view outside the classroom by the career they have chosen to study.
Hi Denise,
Guest speakers have great testamonies. Students love hearing the stories because in the end there are positive results.
Patricia
I believe it is a great way to show the students that it can be done. It might seem real hard and scary at first but when you hear that someone else has had those feelings before and they were able to overcome that fear just encourages them even more.
Hi Judy,
It is good for students to hear another professional say most of the things they have been taught by us. The right guest speaker can add a lot of validity to a class.
Patricia
A guest speaker can bring in new up-to-date experiences along with a new voice to be heard in the classroom. A guest speaker, when motivational, holds the students attention longer and brings out questions and interests the students might not have had prior.
I invite guest speakers often and student motivation is the intent. I choose guest speakers carefully and prefer those who have met with bumps but success in academics and those who discovered ambition and made career good choices. I especially like those who openly talk about their mistakes and challenges and how they dealt with those. Guest speakers are invaluable and usually more memorable than the instructor!!!
