“You’re Lucky I Am Here”: Professor for a Day as a Response to the Low-Energy Classroom

Professor for a Day is a multi-session activity built around peer facilitation as a response to the low-energy classroom. Developed for upper-level undergraduate business ethics education and adaptable to other discussion-based management courses, it places student groups in charge of designing and leading 30-min class sessions. Groups choose a facilitation format, apply course concepts, bring relevant examples, and adjust to classmates’ responses. Drawing from research on learning by teaching and active learning, the activity gives students practice making real-time facilitation decisions while classmates participate and provide structured peer feedback. This article provides step-by-step instructions, a student resource guide, a facilitation rubric, peer feedback and debriefing questions, and adaptations for online, larger, and graduate classes. It is written for instructors working on student engagement.