Working With a Wide Range of Ages
Most of my students fall in the 18-25 year old range. Though in my 40's, I feel I relate well to this age group on the whole.
However, occasionally we have a 17 year old student, and currently, I have a student in the neighborhood of 60 years old.
At times, these large range of ages has impacted the "group dynamic" in a negative way. Other times, it has had a positive or neutral effect.
My continuing challenge (that seems constantly change in circumstances) is to work toward a positive learning environment or, what I like to call, "moving forward".
Any thoughts?
My students also tend to range from just out of high school to forties and occasionally fifties. The class seems to like it when I capitalize on this obvious and wide disparity by noting that career-wise, the elders have more experience and maybe some wisdom, while the younger have more running room. I suggest they team up to form a formidable duo!
Rhonda,
yes that presence of the older, more experienced student can be a great motivator to the younger group.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I find that most of the older students tend to set the atmosphere for the younger to follow. Their persistencey in their studies, attendance and along with their experience in life infuence others.
denise,
there really is so much potential for our cross-generational classes to learn from one another if we can get them to break out of the generational groupings. Great job on promoting this environment.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have noticed that my classes seem to team up, older students with younger students, after a few weeks. It's great to see that they start to see the potential of learning from one another.
Christine,
I agree with you. Sometimes we label one particular age group as challenging, when in reality each group & each person has a unique personality & presents different challenges.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I work with students of all ages after high school. They can be challenging at any age especially with the demands of school and outside influences
David,
While there are definitely generational or even just life-stage differences, there are uniting elements that transcend these differences.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I also have a wide range of student ages, some right out of high school, through retirees. I try to find a common ground that all ages can relate to, like food, and it's had some positive impact on my classes.
I would treat everyone equally regardless of age. Respect is key.
James,
I've found this to be true as well. And Gen Y seems to have a great respect for the older generation & we can use this to stimulate more discussion & learning in the classroom.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have found when I have a signficantly mixed-age class, I often have some of the best and most wide ranging class discussions. The diversity of age-based experience and attitude has also worked very well in team activities - it often results in more respect between older and younger students.
Kimberly,
Glad I could be of help. There is definitely value in seeking the different perspectives, but when we can make it a little more structured, it's even more powerful.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Dr. Meers, you've just given me an idea. I may try that.
What I've been doing is just trying to get perspectives from a wide variety of students and find some way to validate even unusual opinions. That helps some, but I think there's more that could be done.
mendy ,
I think we can also use the two age groups to potentially help one another. By pairing a younger & older, the older student can share some of their valuable life experiences & the younger can learn from those. Then the younger can potentially help the older student with the technology gap & understand those tools better.
Ryan
Dr. Ryan Meers
The wide age range does seem to bring different perspectives to my classroom. I try and help my students realize that in a working environment, you may not always get to choose your coworkers, so try to find positive attributes in an individual or situation. I also try and help the younger students realize that it is a career change for the older students, and although they are new to the field, they have life experiences to bring to the table. Some of the older students get frustrated with the tecnology gap between themselves and the younger students. Good advise on making the students feel valued and welcomed Dr. Meers!
Carter,
Good question that I welcome others to weigh in on.
One thought I had is making sure that all students (especially those at the extremes) feel valued & that their thoughts are just as important even though they're out of the norm. I've found that often these folks (both young & old) will try to prove their value if we don't acknowledge it. The veterans will make sure we know they have experience & the younger often will just be obnoxious. So I try to make sure they are welcomed & feel valued.
Ryan
