Making the Most of Guest Speakers 

Many teachers invite guest speakers into their classrooms to augment curriculum or make real-world connections between a topic and the greater community. A lot of time and effort can go into arranging for a guest speaker, so how can educators make the most out of having someone come in to talk to students?

Here are some tips that have worked for me to help maximize the impact of speakers in the classroom.

Cognitive bookends

I’ve written about cognitive bookends as they relate to field trips, and cognitive bookends are also important to keep in mind when you have a speaker coming to your class.

In short, cognitive bookends are the activities, discussions, and assessments that students accomplish before and after a special educational event (be it a field trip or speaker). Cognitive bookends imbue an event with meaning and context. They also help students to better understand and retain pertinent information related to the experience.

Keep in mind that students need to engage with content in some way before the speaker arrives and after the speaker leaves. What relevant undertaking related to the speaker or his or her content can students complete before the individual even enters the room? Similarly, how can students use the information from the speech after the speaker has left? 

Front Loading

Before the speaker arrives, present students with any information they need to better understand the guest and their career or story. Consider asking the speaker to provide a short biography or a link to information about him or her beforehand.

If the speaker is a defense attorney, complete a day’s lesson on the job of a defense attorney. Have students work on some suitable activity, such as watching and commenting on a video of a defense attorney or completing an activity related to a lesson on lawyers. 

Here’s another example of how my colleagues and I have prepared our students for classroom speakers. We invited two public historians to come into our classes to discuss the story of several churches and buildings in our region. Before the speakers visited, we had students create a hypothetical walking tour of the neighborhoods they would be discussing. 

Students drew from websites that presented the history of the buildings and watched a documentary on the churches in our region. The video showcased not only the history of the buildings, but the ways in which these houses of worship served many of the immigrant communities. 

Another important part of the “front loading” is getting students to jot down questions for the speaker before they visit. Having students prepare questions is a great strategy for a number of reasons.

•  It saves any embarrassment for the teacher when the guest asks for questions and the room remains silent.
• It allows students to gather their thoughts.
• It enables teachers to use this opportunity to help guide students toward formulating stronger questions. Treat this activity as a writing exercise by reviewing what makes a strong question, drafting and peer-editing the questions, and reworking the questions for effectiveness (my post on short writing exercises might be of assistance).

Ask students to write three or four well-crafted, grammatically correct questions. If they choose, the teacher can send them to the speaker to prepare him or her ahead of time. These questions, admittedly, will be broader in nature, as the students haven’t yet heard the speaker. 

This might take some direction on the teacher’s part. If the speaker is, say, a scientist talking about local waterways, the teacher can help the students craft questions about pollution, ways to protect rivers and lakes, aquatic life, boating and recreation, etc. Other questions can revolve around the speaker—what inspired them, their education, and any advice they might have for those interested in following a similar career path.

Teachers can have students ask the speaker questions in class, or the teacher can read the question aloud one-by-one according to the needs and capabilities of the students. I have used both methods, but typically I request that students ask their own questions after the speaker has presented. As the students have crafted the questions beforehand, they’re usually less apprehensive, especially if I’ve allowed them the time and guidance to write effective queries.

Another good tip is for the teacher to jot down some questions beforehand, as well. That way, the teacher can start off the question segment with a few of their own. 

It should be noted that asking students to prepare questions on the fly has benefits, too. Doing so can persuade students to pay closer attention to the speaker and helps them with note-taking and listening skills. Consider having students prepare a question or two prior to the speaker visiting class. Then, encourage them to ask questions they might have crafted during the presentation as well. 

Being a good and attentive listener is also a skill, so it’s important to model good behavior. Demonstrate to students appropriate and inappropriate behaviors (including placing one’s head on the table or appearing uninterested).

Post-Speaker Assessments and Activities

The other part of a cognitive bookend is what students do with the information after the speaker has left. Teachers can jot down information while the speaker talks and then create a Kahoot or a more formal assessment that students complete alone or in groups. Think of an activity students can do that touches on something they learned.

In one of my courses, an entrepreneur spoke to the class. He and his family own several businesses, and he asked the students to describe the kinds of businesses and amenities they’d like to see in the community. This lent itself to a post-speech activity in which students brainstormed the needs of our community and how businesses might address those needs.

Preparing a speaker     

Not all speakers are educators. Sometimes a guest speaker might not know the most appropriate and engaging manner to reach the target audience. With this in mind, give presenters some gentle tips, such as encouraging visuals, handouts, small check-for-understanding activities, or just breaks.

Guest speakers can be a great way to enhance a lesson or topic. An individual from the community can shed new insight on a subject or present information in a novel way. Speakers can also demonstrate that the content students are learning has applications outside the classroom.