One of the ways to enhance and enrich course material is to invite guest speakers who have special knowledge or experience in the area being discussed. Another way to provide students with a more concrete example of some subjects is to take them on site to observe a person or an activity.
All too often, however, these two activities can degenerate into either a "sleep-a-thon" or an excuse to cut class. Careful planning and preparation, however, can deter these behaviors.
Why do you want to invite the speaker, or go on-site?
The first consideration in planning one of these activities is why you want to do it. What kinds of information can the students obtain from the experience? How does the speaker or site relate to the objectives of the course? What, exactly, do you expect students to gain from the experience?
Once you have decided that either a guest speaker or a field visit will be beneficial for your students' learning experience, a bit of technical planning is in order:
Invite the speaker, or arrange a site visit, for a specific date, time and place. Discuss your objectives for the class, why you want to do the activity, and some basic guidelines for addressing issues related to course objectives. You should also mention that you would like to allow time at the end of the activity for students' questions. Follow up this discussion with a note to the speaker or site host, summarizing your conversation.
Advise students of your plans at least a week prior to the activity. Provide an agenda, background on the person or site, a brief outline or statement of your objectives for the activity (how does it relate to previous or subsequent course material?), and any suggestions or assignments for related readings.
At the class period prior to the activity:
Remind students of the activity, and take at least a few minutes to discuss what you want the students to learn or observe.
Your regular classroom is usually the best place, but make sure that you get the entire class in one place prior to the activity. You don't want people wandering in and out. It's distracting to your guest/host and to the other students.
The day before the activity:
More than one instructor has been "left hanging" because of miscommunication. Do yourself a favor, and check. You may also want to have your next day's lecture ready, just in case your speaker does not show, or your site visit is cancelled at the last minute. Depending on the nature of your guest's work, last minute crises do occur. Be prepared for it.
Be in class early to greet your guest, and to introduce students to your guest.
After introductions have been made, turn the class over to the guest. You may want to sit on the front row, near the guest, or in the back where you can watch your students as well. That is a personal decision, and both places have merit. If you sit in back, be sure that you can easily return to the front of the room.
Allow time for questions and interaction at the end of the session.
You may wish to provide students with a form to evaluate the speaker on the content of the presentation, the style of the presentation, and an overall impression of the visit. Invite comments. These should be turned in at the end of the class period or site visit.
The speaker a) should be informed that students will be providing such feedback, and b) should be provided with the original evaluation forms no later than one week after the presentation.
READ YOUR STUDENTS' EVALUATIONS OF THE ACTIVITY! Note any interesting reactions or patterns of response, and any particularly interesting comments. These may be interesting to share with the class.
Decide and announce how much class time you wish to use to discuss the activity.
Review and summarize the major points of the lecture or site experience with your students.
Summarize major reactions of students to the experience with your students, and note any patterns of response. Relate the experience to the course material. How does it all "fit"? Relate any interesting comments, observations, or complaints that you noted. This is a good way to get a discussion started, and to lead into your next subject.