keep the attention of the students.
Guest speakers are real motivators for students who are discouraged or about to quit your course because they are living examples of how to handle tough situations and let the students know that what they are experiencing is something others have experienced. This feeling of quiting was defeated by sometimes sheer determination and hard work and balancing the challenges of life with school and work. The key is that the student sees that he or she is not alone in their feelings.
Guest speakers can either capture their interest in the ways the course helped them to succeed and attain their career objective, or, a guest speaker can talk about how they wished they had not given up on their education. The guest speaker can talk about how the course could have helped them attain their career objective and/or assisted them in their day to day lives, and without it, the difficulties they have experienced.
I can see how a guest speaker could be very inspiring and motivating. In my case, I think that by bringing in a speaker to talk about how accounting has affected their job, even though they are not in an accounting profession, would help motivate my students by helping them realize the importance of the material and how it will help them be successful in the workplace.
I would love to use guest speakers. I found it to be great inspiration when I uas learning. Hearing from someone that went through some of the same excitement and hardships that I have just gets the message home. Unfortunatly, our course cycles are too short and packed with material to allow for guest speakers. I sometimes have other instructors stop by my class just to shed a little insight.
I use the guest speaker to relate what we are discussing in the classroom to what is going on in the real world (on the job). Guest speakers can tell the students what the key issues are and how they are handled from day to day. A drawback using guest speakers is that they often go off in a different direction than called for in the lesson, spend a lot of time talking about themselves, or they are not well-informed about some dimensions of the lesson. I try to prepare the speakers by giving them a lesson plan to review and make sure they know what the course/lesson objectives are--what are the main teaching points of the day.
Hi Robert,
Great points made! Guest speakers are great for reinforcement!
Patricia
Guest speakers tend to motivate students.
I was having difficulty engaging minority students in my Am History class. There was not a lot of buy in on their part. When we began studying the Civil Rights Movement, I invited a black lawyer to lead the class that covered the Brown v School Board Supreme Court case. This brought immediate interest and engagement by all of my students as they were now hearing a voice that reflected diversity better than I could. Although there was some loss of interest after that for the most part my students started to engage each other in the rest of the material we covered in the course. They were now seeing things faster than I could facilitate their questions. Time for small group discussions and then sharing by each group to tackle all of the questions they were generating from their own inquiries.
Guest speakers that speak on topics related to our course of study can often "open the window of learning" for the students. It is someone different. The speaker may clarify what the instructor has been attempting to teach.
Using guest speakers can help students who are about to quit a course by showing them that there are indeed students who have made it through the course successfully. The speaker will be able to give tips on how to succeed, how to manage time properly to complete the assignments, etc. Personally, I have used guest speakers to help students relate a concept to how it is used in the real world. For example, I asked a real estate agent to speak to my math classes about how percents are used to in the real estate world. This really helped to bring the lesson on percents alive for the students.
Students that are discouraged or about to quit the class may reconsider after hearing from a guest speaker. Some students might connect with the guest speaker better than they do with the instructor (we might not win them all, right?).
Arranging for a guest speaker may also demonstrate that people other than the instructor can add value to the class. An instructor should be a subject matter expert, but that does not mean that the instructor is all-knowing, or that a person can present a particular topic more effectively than the instructor might.
Additionally, a guest speaker can break the ice for a class by providing a change of pace, a different viewpoint, and a different voice to listen to.
One of our university librarians recently spoke in my class. I know how to use the library fairly well, but our librarian was able to TEACH the students how to use the library. This guest did a great job and my class enjoyed it thoroughly.
Hi Carolyn,
Guest speakers can add validation to what the instructor has taught.
Patricia
A guest speaker from within the industry the student is focused on provides another personality for the students to model on.
Hi Anthony,
Guest speakers should be supported and encouraged by the institution. Some times the rules are so strict, the instructor does not even entertain the idea of having a guest speaker.
Patricia
Hi Faith,
Guest speakers help solidify everything.
Patricia
Hi Homer,
Guest speakers are great inspirations.
Patricia
A guest speaker could be vital in encouraging a student by telling of their experiences and how they made it through the program despite any difficulty they may have had. Past experiences go a long way when dealing with a discourage student especially when it comes from a former graduate.
They can motivate students on the edge of quiting by talking about the challenges they had to deal with and overcame. This helps the student gain confidence that they can also succeed.
Guest speakers are great! If nothing else, it changes the monotony of the class by having someone else rather that you address the students.
The challenges are however to chose an appropriate speaker to address a relevant topic; also, from an administrative point of view, some institutions have strict rules/requirements to have a guest speaker in the classroom, in effect discouraging the opportunities.
