After attending Guest Speaker meetings students are not clear how the information they’ve heard can benefit them in their career exploration/advancement/transition.

I drafted a detailed activity plan, outlined necessary content and course materials, implementation and delivery tools. Activity mapping included:

Step 1 – Before the workshop (asynchronous) – students review speaker’s biography, research them on LinkedIn and other social media, their current role and employer, prepare questions to be asked during the Q&A part of the meeting.

Step 2 – At the workshop (synchronous) – students ask questions they have prepared , attentively listen to all answers provided by the guest speaker and make notes. If necessary, ask for clarification or additional details.

Step 3 – After the workshop (asynchronous) – Students

• analyze what they’ve learned at the meeting and write at least one self-reflection post in Moodle Forum describing a piece of new information they’ve gained from the meeting and their thoughts on how it can be applied in their own career advancement;

• review posts of their classmates and engage in conversations by commenting on at least two posts;

• connect with speakers and follow up on the meeting.

• I created speaker and student guides using Microsoft Word to set expectations and intentionally guide the process.

• I set up a Forum discussion board called “Guest Speaker self-reflection” in Moodle, communicated instructions for participation on the front page of the activity and invited students to start contributing.

• I connected with guest speakers virtually and in-person to discuss details of the activity and shared Guest Speaker Guide to support in their preparation.

• I provided instructions to learners, explained flow of the activity, timeline and expectations during virtual group sessions and in the Guest Speaker Student Guide.

• I facilitated and moderated guest speaker weekly meetings over Zoom motivating learners to engage in the conversation and ask prepared questions.

• I followed and reviewed self-reflection posts in Moodle Forum and provided feedback to learners individually. 

By creating an informational interview simulation activity that motivated learners step-by-step to source, receive and self-reflect on the gained knowledge, students were able to:

• expand their professional network externally outside the group and internally within the group;

• gain meaningful industry and occupation knowledge from the speaker and comments of their fellow learners;

• make a draft action item for their career exploration/advancement/transition;

• share their professional insights from the past relevant experience with their fellow students while commenting on their posts.