Generation Y roadblocks
Would love some feedback on how to turn around Gen Y students who are reactive in class. It's very difficult for my program of Massage Therapy because learning "soft skills" is as important as learning how to do a good massage if not more so.I have a few that have very low social skills and don't want to work with anyone different than there peers and that present obvious problems for my field especially when enrollment profiles are from 18 years old -over 50
One thing you can do is to have them perform a role play but instead of having the students act the part of the patient ask some friends or colleagues (preferably that the student's don't know) to come volunteer and have the students interact with them and give them a grade. You can video tape their interaction and review it at a latter date with just them and you or the entire class and allow them to critique and make suggestions of how different situations could have been handled.
Hi Elly,
You are right on with your observations. I teach gen ed courses as well and I am always amazed that many students do not see application and relevancy to what they are being taught in these courses. Effective communication is critical for all career areas as we both know. Can you bring in chefs and have them tell the students the value of effective communication? Maybe these individuals could get through to these students. I know has worked very well for me and my courses.
Gary
I teach public speaking at a culinary institute. What bothers me is their blatant lack of respect for the general education courses. They believe since it is not an actual "cooking class" that they will never use what they are learning. Which is completely inaccurate.
I find the older students, the ones who have actual work experience, understand the need for these classes more than the young students.
Hi Richard,
I am shocked like you are. When I am teaching adults I should not have to deal with basic social skills and yet I do. They don't seem to understand that the Golden Rule applies. The person with the gold rules, meaning you have to learn how to work with and be courteous to all those whom you have contact. It is simple but powerful if done.
Gary
I sometimes wonder what kind of upbringing these people had. Many of them lack basic courtesy skills - they don't even know how to say "thank you". I constantly try to remind them that in the customer service industry, you have to treat the customer right. If not, there's plenty of other businesses that will - and they're the ones that survive in this economy.
Hi Geni,
This is a good point and one that non-traditional learners need to be reminded of. Often times they feel they have nothing to offer coming back to school yet they have a lot of life experiences that they can share if they are encouraged to do so.
Gary
I find that it's sometimes helpful to highlight the need for "soft skills" in leadership positions and have them relate to leaders they have interacted with in the past. Do they wish that their previous (or current) leadership had better communication? Reinforce that it sometimes isn't strictly about what technical skills they bring to the table.
Hi Tim,
Good strategy and good advice to share with students. They need to be shown that it is not easy to be successful but it is possible if they will put forth the effort. Keep up the good work that you are doing with supporting your students.
Gary
I teach culinary arts and I get the same kind of thing sometimes. They can cook the food but lack the professionalism required to survive in the industry. I've found the only thing I can do is not give up on them and constantly reinforce the message by making them work with more professional students, staying on them at all times, and letting them know that our industry, like yours, is not just about the service we provide it's about hospitality; making people feel comfortable and happy. Like you said this is just as if not more important than the service, really you can't have one without the other.
Hi Rebekah,
There are two strategies you can use that might work with your students. One, put them in work/learning groups for a period of time, say a month. During that time they (3-4 students) will have to work together to complete problems or do case studies. Then a different person from each group will report out the results. Make the problems or case studies so that each person has a specific task to complete in order to finish the assignment. This way they will work together.
Another strategy is to do have them do role playing in working with clients. Have a grading rubric worked up so you and they can see where they earned and lost points as they work through a role play situation. Have the "clients" be of different ages so they not only work with different age groups but they learn how to treat the different age groups as customers/clients.
Other questions along this line let me know.
Gary
