How to deal with the Millennial Generation
Being a Professor for some many years it gives you the academic experience, but that experience not always gives us the necessary skills to deal with this generation of students, this is the time in which we have to face our blind spots. Our “customers” are very different each other, they come from a varieties of environments therefore they become unique and we have to be prepared to face the challenges of that excitement generation. Today our Millennial Generation is extremely intelligent; technology has been part of their lives since birth so we can not promote technology as an innovation. They have high moral standards, they care for civic duties, they are optimistic about their future, they live in an ageless society, text messages are the most important way to communicate between them, they are highly competitive and they need to be challenged and captivated. They are convinced that knowledge is directly related to success. For us, Generation X Professors is really a challenge!! It is a win-win paradigm; we are blessed with this generation.
Kathy,
Too many folks depend on tecnology to take the place of the teacher in a traditional classroom. It is far more effective when the classroom is flipped and the technology provides the instruction outside of class and the teacher facilitates application and enrich activities while the students are on campus.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I think sometimes technology gets in the WAY of learning.
I often find power points less effective, because staring at a screen can be a trigger to turn OFF your brain. (TV, computer games, etc.). Starting something by writing on the board and then having the student get up and continue it makes them think!
Or having students create something with their own hands. I recently "taught" the Endocrine system by lecturing briefly and then handing my students some play-do and asking them to create a game to "teach" the system to others. They put in all the work and learned better than I could have lectured!
John,
A lot of folks think this is the second age of enlightenment. Students have access to so much information. What are one or two of the ways you try to get students to use technology for "light?"
Jeffrey Schillinger
As Neil Postman muses in "Amusing Ourselves to Death" technology is not friend to intelligence. After the printing press was invented (that would be the age of the Reformation and Enlightenment for you education majors) there was a saying that described the flowering of knowledge,Post Tenebras Lux (after darkness light). After the invention of the Television to which much of our more recent technology is an extinction it appears that we out to say "after light darkness."
James,
Thank you for sharing this post. I like to train my teachers to lead "guided discussions" rather than lectures so that students are involved throughout.
Requiring and rewarding interaction in small groups really helps most students. keep looking for specific activities that keep them involved. You can find tons of ideas by looking up "active learning" on the net.
Honestly i can,t sit and listen for hours to someone talk so i dont expect my students to have to do that. I try to involve them in the conversation without focusing on one of them to much.I feel that they may learn more from interaction betweem each other. There are so many resources availiable today for information based on peoples personal experiences there should be no reason to make a mistake that cost you if you do your homework.I do my best to relate my personal mistakes you seldom remember the triumphs but always remember the errors.
"...we can not promote technology as an innovation".
Wow! I've(a Generation X'r)never thought of it like that! I will remember this. I catch myself all the time speaking in past tense 'innovative' terminology in regards to technology.
I do believe it is essential for faculty to keep up with technology as well.
I wish more faculty workshops/training were available for technology rather than emphasis and accomodations for corporate Ethics training etc.
Steve,
You make a good point. Many of us that are not technologically savvy look at those who are savvy with some degree of envy. I doubt that intelligence levels have changed much over the years.
What has changed is the way students prefer to receive and process information. As educators, we need to develop lessons and use strategies that allow students to receive and process information in the ways that they learn best.
I have been in higher education for over twenty years. I am not sure I would agree that our Millennial Generation is extremely intelligent; I would argue that they are extremely technologically savvoy. Big difference.
Well said Joe. The classes need to be interesting and new techniques used to make it fun. The genration Y group will not embrace the puritian style of teaching, and I don't blame them one bit. Get the class involved and stop speaking to hear yourself talk. They don't care how smart you are, or think you are, they want to learn and be entertained at the same time.
Joseph,
This is a great point. Interaction with this generation is very important, and discussions allows everyone to share their opinions and ideas. Technology is very important for this generation as well.
yes, we are blessed with this generation, but we should not diss reguard there learning styles. the old puritian style of teaching sucks, and instructors need to be more interactive with there students.let them talk if they want, some times very interesting things and ideas come from that.
Great point, Teresa, as our customer's needs change, we must change how we deal with them. What worked for students before is not going to work with Gen Y. We have gone through many hours of training at my campus to adapt to this change in customer.
