Strategies for LinkedIn-Based Guest Speaker Recruitment and Establishment of Engaging and Comfortable Classroom Discussions: A Case Study from an Operations Management Course
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This article describes workable strategies for instructors to introduce highly interactive question and answer (Q&A) sessions with accomplished guest speakers from industry. Two innovative strategies serve as the key factors behind the series’ success: (1) using LinkedIn to partner with guest speakers, especially university alumni, who possess expertise in specific operations management disciplines, and (2) implementing a novel structured Q&A approach that enables alignment with learning objectives while maximizing quality student engagement. Our approach accesses the resumes of tens of thousands of college alumni listed on LinkedIn and utilizes free cloud-based services such as Google Forms and Google Sheets for question submission (by students), review (by instructors), and selection (by the guests). These successfully implemented strategies (1) match qualified speakers to relevant course content, (2) boost student engagement by ensuring the participation of all students, (3) promote content alignment by first filtering out irrelevant student questions, and (4) increase speaker preparation and comfort level.
Authors: Gihan Edirisinghe, Charles L. Munson
Institutions: Western Kentucky University, Washington State University
Language: English
Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4403277258