Pedagogy and Professional Development

Virtual Guest Speakers in Fashion Courses: Student Experiences and Expectations

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Abstract

This research investigated college students’ views on the practice of bringing industry guest speakers into the fashion classroom through a virtual medium. Its goal is to offer guidance to others seeking to use guest speakers in their classes. Students in the researchers’ apparel courses were assigned a qualitative online survey to better understand their opinions on this practice; resulting data were analyzed with the grounded theory method. Overall, 130 students had prior experiences with virtual guest speakers. While respondents clearly preferred face-to-face guest speaker visits, it was not by as wide a margin as was anticipated. Students were less disturbed with technical concerns after the onset of COVID-19 and were enthusiastic about the chat feature found in videoconferencing platforms. However, respondents found difficulty in remaining focused during a virtual visit; they also missed the ease of making a more personal connection, which they equated with an in-person visit.

Keywords: remote learning, online teaching, COVID-19, industry speakers, pedagogy

How to Cite:

Jablon-Roberts, S. & McCracken, A., (2022) “Virtual Guest Speakers in Fashion Courses: Student Experiences and Expectations”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 78(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.13507