Listening to the 2023 Teaching Practices Survey: Inviting Guest Speakers

It has been a few months since we shared a post from the Teaching Practices Survey (TPS), but we’re back! This month, we share some of the data around the theme of “Inviting Guest Speakers”. As readers who have been following this series of posts around the TPS may recall, the open-ended question our team analyzed was “If you have integrated Indigenous topics, perspectives and worldviews into your course, please describe your approach to doing this work (i.e., your decision-making process, decisions around support/resources sought)” (Question 9.4, TPS survey, 2023). Of the 280 responses we analyzed, 33 people (12% of respondents) mentioned that part of their approach was bringing guest speakers into their classrooms. It is important to note that many respondents described using multiple approaches in their work, for example combining content integration with a guest speaker.

For more context about the TPS and how our team approached the analysis, we encourage readers to look back at our first post on Integrating Indigenous topics and our second post on Consultations and Stewarding Good Relations.

Questions for reflection

Many of the TPS respondents provided details about what they consider when planning to invite a guest speaker into their classroom. We have organized these considerations into themes below and summarized them with the following reflection questions. These considerations and questions are ones we also encourage folks to reflect on in our consultations when asked about inviting guest speakers into classroom spaces.

Have you done your own learning first?

One of the questions we always ask folks when they express an interest in inviting an Indigenous guest speaker into their classroom is whether they have attempted to learn about the topic themselves first. While acquiring “expert” knowledge is not the goal, we do think it is important for instructors to learn as much as they can about a topic before reaching out to an individual or community. This consideration was reflected in several of the responses in the TPS data. For those who may be new to UBC, or just starting out on their learning journey, the librarians at the X̱wi7x̱wa library provide fantastic support to faculty and others looking for articles/books/resources from Indigenous authors and communities.

Why are you bringing in a guest speaker?

A second and important question to consider is the intention(s) behind inviting a guest speaker. Sometimes, instructors may feel that they do not have enough knowledge to speak to a particular topic, and that bringing in a guest speaker is more appropriate. As the point above suggests, doing your own learning first is important because it does not put the onus on Indigenous people to “teach” your students. As the respondents in the TPS data suggest, bringing in a guest speaker may not always be appropriate or feasible (see question 3 below). However, if the intention is to build community, or speak to a very particular topic in a way that cannot be done otherwise an invitation to speak could be one step in a larger collaboration, one grounded in an ongoing reciprocal relationship with an individual or community.

Is your timeline reasonable?

Some respondents shared that they tried to bring a guest speaker into their classroom, but the timeline did not work out. Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers and scholars are often inundated with requests to speak or be involved in research projects, so it is important to reach out well ahead of time, so your timeline does not interfere with theirs. Avoiding last-minute requests can help you build good relationships that are not extractive or transactional.

Are your students prepared to engage with the speaker?

Many TPS respondents shared how much effort they put into preparing their students ahead of time for the guest speaker. They bring in a variety of Indigenous voices and perspectives into the classroom throughout the term in the form of readings, videos and podcasts. They also discuss what respectful Q&A looks like ahead of the guest lecture. In subsequent classes they set aside time to discuss with students what was shared, and intentionally model for students how to draw connections between those learnings and future topics of discussion in class.

Connections to the ISP

The topic of guest speakers intersects with many different aspects of the Indigenous Strategic Plan (ISP), One part of the ISP that connects directly with the practice of inviting guest speakers is Goal 4, Action 17; “Provide equitable and timely financial compensation to Indigenous people who support the Indigenization of curriculum”. Ensuring that you are able to financially compensate guest speakers in an equitable and timely fashion is essential. One resource that may help you work towards this goal is the Indigenous Finance Guidelines.