GEN Y expecting knowledge to be given to them.
Having taught at a career school for several years now, I have noticed that Gen Y seems to be unique in that the majority of the them expect knowledge to be GIVEN to them in class and they seem to scoff at the notion that they should be reading a textbook, researching articles, or have to "learn" something outside of the classroom. They seem to expect the instructor to deliver it all during class; they seem to "check in" and "check out" of their learning when they walk into and out of the classroom. This is partly due to their attitudes and the fact that most of them have WAY TOO MUCH going on in their lives to really devote the proper amount of time to their education (kids, work, church, etc). Keep in mind this is a GENERAL observation and that there are always plenty of exceptions; I see them in every class.
I agree. Often it seems as though Gen Y students seem to be "checking a box" as it rates to assignments, and/or their educational development.
Hi Cheryl
I have found that the Entitlement Mentality is especially pervasive in Generation Y because of the Instant-On nature of today's technology. We used a Card Catalog; Gen Y uses Google. We write full sentences; Gen Y uses text-speak, even in non-140 character writing environments. Gen Y is not used to long-term goals in research; where we have to exercise patience. While courses like this tend to take the positive slant and be more politically correct in the text, the psychology of Gen Y is also understood as being less willing to put in the time that we did. As the text said, they don't know of a world without mobile phones or the Internet.
I don't see Gen Y as "lazier" but I do see them as less patient. They also seem to be more extrinsically motivated, needing smaller rewards to keep them engaged. Just like accumulating Xbox Achievements for games, if they don't see those smaller wins, they can lose focus.
We, in the post-secondary education sector may still have to aid in the growing up process for many of these kids. We have to do some additional parenting to help them along. But if we can show them both the short term and long term benefits of what they are doing, it will go a long way to helping them forward.
-R
There are different strategies you make want to try to get gen y students to take notes. 1- If students are allowed to use notes while taking a test my experience is they will take notes. 2- One instructor that I know had paper table covers put on the desk and the students were encouraged to take notes on it and use the notes for any test throughout the semester. 3- Have the students keep a note book and turn it in at the end of the class for a grade. 4- Give out controlled notes where the student just has to fill in a would or a phrase as you lecture or demonstrate a procedure. I am sure there are many more but these are some of the ones that I have used or seen used.
I have been using the same analogy for years .When a student complains about an assignment I remind them that they are paying me to make sure that they understand the material to the best of their ability and this assignment will help. I then use the example of hiring a personal trainer and getting mad when he asks you to work harder. This always puts things in perspective and they seem to understand.
I also agree with the comments posted and feel like you are reading my mind. I am an instructor at a manual (hand) drafting and technical 2 year college. I am also a graduate from this college. This makes it extremely hard for me not to picture myself as one of the students I am teaching. I remember sitting where they sat and being excited about the lessons and drawings we were working on. I get very disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm or overall respect for authority or rules. They seem to feel that the knowledge will magically enter their mind simply because they signed up for and paid for or worse the taxpayers paid for their education. They want to do as little work as possible and are quick to blame the school when they have failed. They spend more time thinking of excuses then getting the work done and are not responsible for anything. Fortunately, there are also many exceptional inspiring students in my classes and I have intelligent, dedicated fellow instructors. I love to see the ah-ha moment when someone just learns something. I let my students know learning never ends and it doesn't only happen in classrooms. I remind them that the internet is a wealth of knowledge once you get passed facebook and cat videos.
I too believe there is a difference in students of traditional colleges and career colleges, but I'm not sure what drives it or how much is different. Both groups use technology extensively and both have an end goal in mind, but I believe their socialization experiences were quite different, and I would hypothesize that MOST career college students come from a less-advantaged upbringing. I would also hypothesize that parents have more influence on the education paths of traditional college students - MORE of these students are pressured into a particular career and held to higher standards. Again, what great ideas for social research.
I can agree with this observation, and I would like to explore the "why" further. Why do they feel "entitled" to be given the information and not be required to seek it out? Much of this phenomenon is discipline-specific and a good deal of information must be given to students from any generation for them to build a foundation, but once the foundation is set, students should feel empowered to seek out information and learn for themselves. In fact, many do; the very structure of online learning (any perhaps why online learning is not for many students).
It is important to examine the only world that Gen Yers know - one of instant gratification and the ability to find out anything at anytime with connection to the World Wide Web in the palms of their hands. They have never had to go to the library to use a card index or a journal index. They expect the invormation to be available.
Has this situation stunted their growth or are the capable of synthesizing the information they seek out again and again? It would be a fabulous social reseach project.
Cheryl,
very true. I tend to present my class in the same way we hire a fitness coach/instructor. I pay them to yell at me, cause me pain, make me sweat & work hard (no, I'm not suggesting we yell at our students or cause them physical pain). Yes the students have paid for the course, but they have paid to be challenged & rewarded with hard work & effort.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree with your comments regarding the students attitude "I paid for this class, now give me the information...." So many students want to be spoon-fed or only want to know "what will be on the test".
Students also do not want to read the textbook and expect all information to be conveyed during lecture and class discussion. Often, I find that we cannot even have a good classroom discussion because the students have not read the assignment.
How much of this is laziness or disinterest? How much of this is due to work and family commitments and/or lack of time? I'm not sure, but as an instructor, it is challenging to keep everyone's attention in the classroom.
We went to a library, and looked stuff up the old-fashioned way. I love the fact that students can find info on the spot without having to go to a library to do it, but I find myself getting frustrated that they have so much information available to them that they use it more to talk to friends, than to actually learn.
Teresita,
These are great truths to put in front of the students & the more we can apply them to life experiences the more meaning they will have.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
It is really interesting to see that expectation from students. The students really get disappointed when I begin to ask "why and how and prove it". My explanation is that the ultimate objective of the teaching-learning experiences in any field is for the student to develop into "thinking machines" who can analyze, and evaluate life stuff critically; unlike robots which are spoon-fed.
Speaking of the average Gen Y students, the observations of Jason Munn and Richard Weil were very much the same experience I noticed in the career college associate program setting . Most challenges to the teacher were absenteeism, complacency, and lack of interest specially with the general education subjects. In this regard, my response is to make them realize that, first of all, they (students)want to pursue a higher degree that needs academic courses and that any associate program in any college requires for them to take them. Secondly, my focus is for them to realize that they (students)have other life experiences to share with the class that relates to the topic of learning. The focus of my activity should be to enrich these experiences by setting them integrated in the problem solving activity or class presentation. Like one of my students who works as pipe fitter presenting a problem in measuring the lengths and curves of pipes in fractions of inches which relates to the topic of adding and subtracting fractions. When a student can apply what he knows how to do to the concept and process of adding fractions, the learning is better impressed in his memory.
Tom,
so true & this is what we are trying to emphasize at my school. This kind of work (post-secondary) should be challenging & rewarding; not easy.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I have to agree that sometimes the Gen Y student seems to want to "download" the information from a class and not have to work for it. They also expect to master a physical challenge on the first try. I think it's our job as educators to drive home the value of practice and research.
This is so true. The understanding of priority is very much in question with Gen Y students. The phrase, "WAY TOO MUCH" going on is where more technology is involved, you are doing more. Just look at the need to be stay connected all the time with their friends. How did we cope when we didn't have Internet back in the day?
With my experience for 20+ years, Generation Yers are reluctant to take notes. They want to take out their cell phones and take a picture of the notes I wrote on the board. Many times, I feel I am doing all the work for them, while they clearly see that I am making them work by giving them so many notes to study. Really interesting!!!
Having just completed the ED 116 class I can agree. The feeling of many is, "I paid for this class, now give me the information, but don't expect me to think deeply about it, question it, or expand on it." Obviously this is a generalization, and traditional 4 year colleges can be different from career schools. (I also teach at a university and the students work like crazy.)
But that sense of entitlement is present today, and in ways it was not before. Perhaps it is because people don't do hands on work in the same way; someone went to trade school having already worked with engines and tools--that sort of experience is largely gone and I'm not sure that handling apps and programs is the same. Technology can also socially isolate people from each other--when your friends are on another continent there isn't much to talk about at home.
Indeed, the sense of "me first" could be deep. As just one anecdotal case, when my wife got her MBA at a good business school all the younger people in the class--now this was 30 years ago--wanted one thing out of the required ethics class: to learn how to avoid going to jail.
Jason,
this is a good observation & unfortunately all too true. I agree with you that they have way too much going on, that for most of them (again generalizing here), is not really that important. It's up to us to try & get them to stay focused on their education.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
