Guest Speakers
Guest speskers are a great benefit if the subject matter is interesting and the length of the presentation is agreed on by the instructor.
Hi Scott:
You're right about controlling the time. A guest speaker can easily lose track of time and it's ackward to have to interupt a guest in the middle of their talk. I think students like to periodically hear from another individual, especially when it relates to the subject matter or their chosen career field.
Regards, Barry
I agree with you. Guest Speakers are great and show real life experience. I usually will set a time frame for them, however, I am flexible depending on the reactions of my students and the speakers.
Sometimes, the speaker will bring so much life experience into the class, that I feel the students will benefit more by listening to them rather then my lecture. Of course, I will go over the materials the following week.
Hi Andy:
Timing your guest will help keep your speakers remarks interesting by not going on and on. A little bit seasoning goes a long way. If they are going to use all of the class time, they should be prepped with some basic notes to cover, at least, that's how I'd handle it. But I think it'd be better to just give them a time limit.
Regards, Barry
I have long been thinking about how to use a guest speaker in my class, and who that person could be. I have many contacts in the industry, but because I teach psychology at a culinary school, I've been hard-pressed to come up with someone who lives in both worlds. I am going to do some more investigation into who and how I can bring a speaker to the class as I really think it will rejuvenate their interest and attention.
Hi Nicole:
Instructors in the situation have at least two ways of using guests. One is identifying someone from the general education specialty (psychology) and the other is someone from the specialty profession (culinary). I agree that finding someone that possesses expertise in both areas might be difficult. Perhaps a restaurant owner from an upscale establishment who could speak to the psychological merits of customer service, decorative ambiance, or even marketing their business such as how to best reach potential customers. I wish you good luck.
Regards, Barry
Scott,
Last term I had 3 guest speakers. All three were field related and subsequently the students had a GREAT learning experience. The three were a real cross section and gave the students a chance to not only hear, but ask questions related to each speaker's profession. Some of the students changed their minds as to what they would like to do after graduation, while others became more interested in their fields of choice.
