Visitors in

Meeting people: “Know who as well as know how” [Lemke et al, 2015]

Meeting people is a really important part of a project for your

students. It has the potential to:

• develop their social capital and networks,

• develop their subject content knowledge and

skills through meeting and working with experts,

• help them imagine possible futures through

hearing about different careers and learning

pathways

• learn about different people and their views

• provide role models for students.

If your project is quite complex and involves visits and working with external partners, it is very likely that your students will be meeting lots of different people. But even if you are planning a smaller-scale project, it is easy to build in opportunities for your students to meet people with relevant knowledge or skills. This could be in person or using virtual platforms. The starting point should always be your local community but we mean this in the widest possible sense, because in the age of the internet it is possible to draw on contacts far and wide.

The first questions you need to ask yourself when planning your project are ‘how is the visitor going to strengthen the project and what level of involvement am I hoping for?’

• Are they going to launch the project to give it authenticity?

• Are they going to come in (or attend virtually) once and provide specific knowledge/skills at a key point in the project ( see section 5)?

• Are they going to come in a few times and work alongside your students or provide virtual support?

• Are they going to provide a Q & A session?

• Are they going to judge something at the end of the project?

Once you have made these decisions and decided who you would like to invite in, make sure you are very clear about what you are asking for and the level of commitment when you first get in touch. This will ensure that roles are understood.

A final point to mention is that whenever you involve visitors in your projects, to whatever degree, ask them not only to introduce themselves and their current role, job, expertise etc., but also to explain the journey they took to this point. What did they study? What jobs did they have? In the 21st century it is unlikely that your students will follow a linear study- ‘career for life’ pathway. Therefore the more they hear about other people’s lives, the better their understanding of future possibilities, and the more they can imagine their futures.