Transforming Course Content with Real-World Insights

Guest speaker Tina Filion of Credit Counselling Society, visited Professor Angela Lyrette’s Financial Services Graduate Certificate students to discuss the services and tools she uses to help people regain control of their finances. Filion shared that her team takes care of the person first, noting that debt stress has a physical and emotional impact.

EXAMPLES: Classroom assessment and activity ideas

Tina and her team use compassionate language when discussing financial stress, systems, and goals with clients. Students can practice discussing financial literacy with empathy through authentic exercises.

• create case studies with realistic financial difficulties and solutions
• practice conversational skills beyond the small talk

Tips for Effective Guest Speaker Visits

• The awkward pause: The week before, have your students prepare questions in advance as an ‘exit ticket’ and send them along to your guest speaker.
• Invite an elephant: Great ice-breaker questions, “Tell us about a mistake at work. What happened? How did they recover? What did they learn?”
• Give them the mic: Give your speaker context such as your lesson plan, where the content fits within the course, and more broadly, the program goals. They will fill in the gaps beautifully.
• Make it a party: Invite 4-6 speakers as a panel. After brief introductions, break out into smaller groups for deeper conversations and networking. Guests appreciate meeting each other too.
• Award prizes: Thank your guest with a class signed online card, make a quick certificate, or post about them in social media.

At the end of the term, students will take what they learned and create public service announcements, presentations, and infographics that can benefit others in the College community. Authentic assessments using real-world insights prepare students for careers in the financial services industry.