How Today’s Students Are Different Than Those Who Went Before - (This Is Not Your Father’s Classroom)

Terri M. Manning, Ed.D.Central Piedmont Community College

Veterans - How They Learn• New is not necessarily better• Not innovative with new ideas• Like structure, schedules and procedures• Brain processes new ideas into old

mental framework• Some refuse to work with technology

(too overwhelming a learning curve, others jump in)

• Want clear expectations and guidelines• Must memorize the basics

School Experiences for Veterans• Hard work• Respected their elders• Children were to be seen and not heard• Felt an obligation to make the grade• Performance based on individual ability• Little feedback unless negative• More intrinsic reward for good performance• Learned from history (other’s experiences)• Small class size, one curriculum for all• No special ed (students no where in sight)• Virtually never tested with standardized tests – less

comparison to others

College Experiences• Lucky to be there – few able to attend until the GI Bill

then campuses and centers opened all over the place – more competition

• Traditional teaching/learning environment• Associate new learning with previous learning• Sequencing of knowledge and skills• Education is a process – must memorize the basics• Seek to become content experts• Faculty = “sage on a stage”• Experience of mentors is relevant• Take time to really understand material• Taught by processing through formulas – have to

understand why things work – not that they “just do”

Values of Faculty/Staff in this Age Group

• Loyal to employer (company man) and expect the same in return

• Believe they should be rewarded for tenure

• Work ethic = efficiency and hard work• Stable, thorough and detail oriented• Don’t buck the system but work within

it• Uncomfortable with conflict and

disagreements• Not change oriented

Did you ever use one of these???

How Boomers Learn

• Want things to fit into the “big picture”• Want recognition for how well they have

done• Team oriented, work well in groups• Like to explore and analyze, look at

different views• Follow instructions well• Good with content

Boomer’s Educational Experiences

• Overwhelmed the school system, large class sizes• Ability grouped (red birds and blue birds)• Question authority but respect position• See life as an adventure (and school)• Emphasis on team work (cohort education)• Need silence to concentrate• Were told “you are lucky to be here, others are

standing in line to get in.”• Want to feel valued• No special ed students in school but honors courses in

a few subjects • Rarely tested and not for school performance (PSAT,

SAT)

College Experiences• Attending more common – boom in 60’s and 70’s• College campuses a reflection of turbulent times –

faculty often rebels – Kent State Massacre, etc.• Emphasis on self-exploration, mind expansion, lots of

philosophizing in classes - content over-explained and over-analyzed – deep thinkers (not necessarily critical thinkers)

• Aspire to intellectualism• Some career emphasis but still heavy general

education and classics-based• Left home and never looked back• Emphasis on memorization and skill built upon skill• Taught by process and to be content experts• No technology – print by mimeograph machines

Boomer Faculty/Staff Values• Majority of faculty and significant number of

students (age 45-66ish)• Always share personal experience – “what has

happened to me is relevant to you” • Value stability and respect• Like to see their successes• Tend to “workaholism” and have difficulty balancing

their lives, working 40 hours is “slack.”• Are competitive• See themselves as the standard of comparison• Appreciate technology because of how easy it makes

their work – still fear they might “break it” and may have a “back-up plan”

Finish the lyric

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz…….

Remember these……

Your experiences tell your age…

• What brewery did Lavern and Shirley work for?

Boomers at Work

•Ethic = long hours show commitment

•Team oriented and relationship builders (don’t like conflict – can’t we all just get along)

•Not budget minded •Sensitive to feedback

How Gen Xers Learn

• Task oriented – like to learn new skills• Speed is important• Self-paced learning, independent

learning• Want to have fun while they learn• Informal learning environments are

best• Hate group work• Want feedback from teacher

Educational Experiences• Learned to rely on self (don’t like group work)• Distrust authority• Seek challenging environment (career education

emphasis)• Want feedback on progress• Want to do things their way – like no rules and

freedom on assignments• Had special ed classrooms in school but separated• Had honors programs• Funding cut to education• Testing “mania” began with them• First daycare centers arose with them• Many latch-key kids

College Experiences• Numbers dropped from 60’s and 70’s• More emphasis on career education• Technology began to emerge (Eric Silver

Platter, FAX machines, PCs [Apple and Tandy], calculators)

• More extracurricular activities• Some self-paced learning• Costs increased, more financial aid• More structure and group activity• Experiential exercises emerged • Began “learning on my own” due to technology

What was the name of Dudley Do-Right’s trusted horse?   

Gen Xers as Faculty/Staff• Significant number of faculty and significant number of

students (age 28-44ish)• Cynical and pessimistic• Want work-life balance• Think globally and seek independence• Like technology and want an informal work environment• Don’t want the boomers’ work ethic• Communication is important and talk to adults as

friends/peers (not impressed with authority)• Believe reward should be based on productivity not

hours worked• Want control of self, time and future• Loyalty to people not a company• Impatient with poorer people skills

Remember these…..

Was this your first video game?

Was this your first calculator and cell phone?

Millennial School Experiences• Many private schools, charter schools, magnet

schools – all to meet the needs of the individual child –many, many choices

• School uniforms, child safety, high performance standards, character education, cooperative learning and community service

• Goal oriented – outcome based education (what’s in it for me)

• School is a means to an end – one must endure until the next level

• Interactive, participatory and engaging – are consulted by adults

• Everything 24/7 and available electronically

Millennial School Experiences

• No “grunt work” - must do “meaningful work”, participate in decisions

• International flavor, celebrate diversity, different is okay

• Motivated by working with bright, motivated and moral people

• Student makes judgments about truth and believability of what is taught

• Classroom mainstreamed – multiple levels based on ability and interest

• Constantly tested and compared to peers (learned to take tests so now of little use for college admissions)

• Feel pressure for high achievement

How Millennials Learn

• Try it their way – always looking for better, faster way of doing things

• Prefer graphics before text, reading of excerpts

• Like small and fast processing technology – best when networked

• Want instant gratification and frequent rewards (spot)

How Millennials Learn

• Focus on skill development – not memorization of what they perceive they don’t need to know

• Productivity is key – not attendance – so make class worthwhile or they won’t come

• Have different critical thinking skills based on their high tech world not thought processing (need help here)

• Rely on teacher to facilitate learning• Group think and interaction

What product was Max Headroom the spokesperson for? 

Millennial College Experiences

• Multiple options – state, private, proprietary schools, community colleges, dual and concurrently enrolled, middle college, etc. (Where does one start and another begin?) make the choice by “what’s best for me.”

• Fast paced learning• Group activities (learning communities, peer tutoring,

service learning, supplemental instruction)• More assumed responsibility from colleges for the

social issues of students (before, faculty weren’t concerned)

• Don’t want or need silence to concentrate – freaks out the librarians

Millennial College Experiences

• All possible content is on the internet – need process and skills-based

• Get out as fast as you can• Stay home as long as you can – are

protected and mentored• Get “do-overs” often• Lots of technology, no tolerance for delays• Are not hardy, drop out and quit easily• Dislike ambiguity – “just tell us what we need

to know”

This is what they grew up with?

Millennials - Not Very Hardy• Our parents told us “when the going

gets tough, the tough get going” and “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

• Their philosophy “when the going gets tough, it means you should try another route” and “if at first you don’t succeed, maybe you shouldn’t be here.”

• They have trouble staying in classes with rigid teachers who offer them no flexibility or encouragement.

Millennials - Not Very Hardy

• Seems like the tougher you are, the quicker they quit

• Have no preconceived ideas about expectations

• See a lack of consistency among faculty

• Have to tell them more than the generation before them and we resent it

5 minute table activity #1

• Have you noticed any differences in how the various generations learn?

• Discuss what changes you have had to make to keep students engaged?

Cognitive Psychologists and Learning Styles

• Cognitive psychologists such as Kolb, Honey and Mumford, Jung, etc. who have done the major work on learning styles recognize four basic styles:– Concrete Experience (feeling)– Active Experimentation (doing)– Abstract Conceptualization (thinking)– Reflective Observation (watching)

• Those probably don’t change dramatically with generations. What may change are the perceptual modalities such as preferences for print, aural, interactive, visual, kinesthetic, and olfactory

What We Do Know

• Faculty tend to teach in the same style by which they prefer to learn.

• We also tend to teach by the methods we were taught – “if it was good enough for me, it is good enough for them.”

• Students prefer faculty who teach according to their learning style.

• The key is to learn to address all styles of learning.

In the 1985 movie “Back to the Future” what make of car was used as the time machine?

5 minute table discussion #2

• What are the biggest issues you deal with in regard to cheating and plagiarism?

• What are the differences between cheating today and the cheating you observed 10-15 years ago?

Issues for Discussion• Cheating – vague meaning for students

– Much easier now, we had to work to cheat.– Electronic toys.– Online sites (paper mills, etc.).– Too much focus on the end point (grade in

class) than learning. Have to help refocus them.

Cell phone wrist watch

Issues for Discussion• Plagiarism

– What is it– Don’t assume they understand it– Be careful with sites like “turn it in.com”– Create materials for them with samples– Discuss ownership of creative works– Get the library involved– An issue for all ages

What was the name of the detective agency in the 1980’s ABC hit Moonlighting? 

5 minute table discussion #3

• Do you have parents calling you wanting to talk to you about their son/daughter?

• Do parents show up for teacher conferences or to help their son/ daughter enroll?

• What should the college do to “head off” parents?

Issues for Discussion - Dealing With Parents

• The last group of millennials will begin college in 2020.

• We need to begin to be proactive now.– Orientation for parents– Materials for parents– Communication with parents via

newsletter or emails– Help them learn how to help their student– Help them understand what it takes for a

student to become independent and help themselves

Dealing With Parents

• FERPA only limits us from talking to parents about student progress, attendance, grades, etc. but nothing else.

• We feel we shouldn’t have to deal with parents – because our history indicates our average student age has been about 30.

• Not so today – most rapidly growing group is under 25 and will continue to be so for a while (in 07-08, 50% were under 30)

• Parents need to know about FERPA

What Do Universities Do With Parents• Parents organization – great help with

fundraising• Parent orientation• Parents’ weekend (or other events)• Mail to parents to purchase care packages

during finals week, etc.• Parents pay for services for their children• Could be a great group of volunteers for us• But it takes staff to coordinate them

5 minute table discussion #4

• How many emails do you receive a day?

• Can you keep up with them?

• What policies should your department or the college have about communication?

• What would help you communicate effectively with students?

Issues for Discussion

• Communication policies – How soon can they expect a

response from you– When are you available for

email– What will you accept emails

about– Email is official communication between the

student and the teacher – should look like official communication

– Other casual communication devices– Connectivity and communication are two of their

strengths and areas they abuse– You are your own worst enemy

Issues for Discussion

• Cell phone policies– Faculty are divided down the

middle on this– Don’t make such a big deal

out of it– Be fair but don’t let them

disrupt class– Connectivity is very

important to them– They will not turn them off

but will silence them

According to the label where does Carnation Milk come from? 

5 minute table discussion #5

• Do we have to change our way of teaching for them or do they have to adjust to our way of teaching?

Quote….

• “Once being a professor meant (among other things) possessing, by dint of years immersed in library mineshafts, refinements on knowledge that were effectively inaccessible to the unlearned person. Now, most of that esoterica is available instantly on Wikipedia.”

– Louis Menand, Harvard Professor, 2010, The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance in the American University.

Quote….

• “A pressing pedagogical challenge right now is the problem of adapting a linear model for transmitting knowledge – the lecture monologue, in which a single line of thought leads to an intellectual climax after fifty minutes – to a generation of students who are accustomed to dealing with multiple information streams in short bursts.”

• Louis Menand, Harvard Professor, 2010, The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance in the American University.

Methods of Teaching

• What world are we preparing them for?– The one we grew up in???– A future world unknown to many of us– Critical topics

• Information literacy• Language (bilingual a necessity)• Technology that does work for them• Critical decision-making• Dealing with change• Globalism, world economy• Rapid disbursement of information around the

globe• Get ahead with process skills, applied knowledge

Top Ten Skills for the Future

• Work ethic, including self-motivation and time management.• Physical skills, e.g., maintaining one's health and good

appearance.• Verbal (oral) communication, including one-on-one and in a

group• Written communication, including editing and proofing one's

work.• Working directly with people, relationship building, and team

work.• Influencing people, including effective salesmanship and

leadership.• Gathering information through various media and keeping it

organized.• Using quantitative tools, e.g., statistics, graphs, or

spreadsheets.• Asking and answering the right questions, evaluating

information, and applying knowledge.• Solving problems, including identifying problems, developing

possible solutions, and launching solutions.The Futurist Update (Vol. 5, No. 2), an e-newsletter from the World Future Society, quotes Bill Coplin on the “ten things employers want [young people] to learn in college”

Learning Outcomes for the 21st Century

Students in the 21st Century will need to be proficient in:• Reading, writing, speaking and listening• Applying concepts and reasoning• Analyzing and using numerical data• Citizenship, diversity/pluralism • Local, community, global, environmental awareness

• Analysis, synthesis, evaluation, decision-making, creative

thinking• Collecting, analyzing and organizing information• Teamwork, relationship management, conflict resolution and

workplace skills• Learning to learn, understand and manage self, management of

change, personal responsibility, aesthetic responsiveness and wellness

• Computer literacy, internet skills, information retrieval and information management

(The League for Innovation’s 21st Century Learning Outcomes Project.)

Quote…

•“Sheer information is no longer a major piece of the value-added of higher education.”

• Elizabeth Renker, The Origins of American Literature Studies: An Institutional History, 2007.

Methods of Teaching

• Teamwork – play to their strengths• Lifelong learning – critical for them

to survive – must learn to teach themselves

• Ability to have input into assignments and grading (they are negotiators)

• Team oriented assistance – learning communities, supplemental instruction, peer tutoring, mentoring

• Culture of civic engagement – this is a civic generation – get them involved

5 minute table discussion #6

• How are the males doing?• How are minority males doing?

Boys Issues in K-12

For Every 100 Girls Who….

Number of Boys

Enroll in Kindergarten 116

Enroll in Ninth Grade 101

Enroll in Twelfth Grade 98

Are Suspended from K-12 250

Are Expelled from K-12 335

Diagnosed with Learning Disability

276

Enroll in the gifted and talented program

94

The Boys Project. http://www.boysproject.net/statistics.htmlThe Boys Project. http://www.boysproject.net/statistics.html

Boys Issues Beyond K-12

For Every 100 Girls Who….

Number of Boys

Graduate from High School

96

Enroll in College 77

Enroll in 2nd Year of College

71

Earn an Associates Degree

67

Earn a Bachelors Degree 73

Earn a Masters Degree 62

Earn a Doctorate 92The Boys Project. http://www.boysproject.net/statistics.html

College Graduation Projections (numbers in thousands) (61% of degrees will go to women)

250

350

450

550

650

750

850

950

1050

Assoc. Degree MaleAssoc. Degree FemaleBach. Degree MaleBach. Degree Female (37.4%)(37.4%)

(62.6%)(62.6%)

(40%)(40%)

(60%)(60%)

5 minute table discussion #7

• What deficiencies do they have?

• What great strengths do they have?

Issues for Discussion

• Handwriting– Lost art “cursive”– They have been typing papers on computers

since they learned to read– Have horrible handwriting– May have never turned in a handwritten

paper– How much time does the average person

spend writing things down by hand today• Outlook, text messaging, email, calculators, iPods,

etc.

Methods of Teaching

• Too much reliance on technology (spell check, Excel formulas, calculators, grammar check, etc. (is this really a big deal?)

• Poor basic skills in 30-70%• Less prepared from K-12 (what issues?)• Poor technology skills in 30-40%• First generation students (gen 1.5)• Immigrant families (language issues)

Instead of Complaining – Do Something• Complaining about their lack of preparedness

helps no one – we have to develop an approach

• Some are gifted students – smarter than we can believe, others need serious help

• May need to:– Create special programs– Modularize some courses to work a step at a time– Special labs for skills we used to take for granted– Workshops and tutorials as certain course

requirements– Typing help (don’t learn it in high school now)

Focus on Retention • “Ambitious yet aimless” characterizes this

generation– They work for a while until they save enough

money to live for a while, then quite – play for several months and then look for work again.

– They know at the age of 21 that they may have to work until they are 70 – 75. So why hurry into a career job now.

– They have the same attitude with school.– They stop out regularly and see if things work

out. They appear to be in “no hurry.”– They swirl….

They Want to Experience Life• 26 years old, college graduate – moved

to Charleston to live at the beach (working in whatever to live).

• Graduated in pre-med in May 08 (25 years old) – moved to Hawaii …. surfing.

• Both plan to go back to school in a year.

Suggested Teaching Techniques

• Set up real-world assignments where they use skills from the course to solve a real problem or sell a real product. Bring businesses/agencies in as clients. Do work for an actual client (e.g. write grants for community agencies).

• They do best in groups if you (as the faculty) structure them. Create questions or guidelines for the group work and they perform well.

• Keep them constantly informed of their progress including class means, medians, running point totals, etc.

• Take a personal interest in them and their work.• Offer a variety of activities and make it fast paced• Options, options, option.

Things That Work

• They like technology and understand it but don’t expect everything to be delivered via technology.

• They do like things posted so they can access it and being able to communicate with their teacher via technology.

• Remember they are civic and like to do things in groups – get along well with other generations.

• Use interactive learning technology• Learning by discovery• Watch their “attention deployment.” They stop

paying attention to things that don’t interest them.

Things That Work – Teaching Thinking• Students need the ability to sift, analyze, and

reflect upon large amounts of data in today's information age.

• Use scenarios where they must reach a conclusion, determine what flaws and limits might be embedded in their approach, what they know with certainty, what do they not know.

• Give students a controversial problem that can and should be approached from several perspectives. Help them to come to a reasoned conclusion.

• Put the students in charge, allow them to lead and don’t butt in too much.

Things That Work

• Mini learning communities in class– Break up first time and in the same group

for the entire semester– Exchange phone numbers, emails, etc.– When one is absent, someone from the

group calls– Engages them in the group and thus in the

class

• Teacher conferences– Get to know the student and student get to

know the faculty – makes a difference

Teaching How to Be a Student• We assume students know “how to be

here, how to be a college student.”• Their K-12 experience was different –

more active learning, changing of activities. Every thing was done for them.

• They don’t know how things work – withdraw from classes, when to enroll, how to apply for financial aid, take notes, study for tests, etc.

• We need to make sure they have these skills.

Interested in Things That Matter

• Want to have an impact on the world• Interested in careers that matter• Show them aspects of a field or career

that has an impact on society• Will be attracted to the mission of the

community college as faculty – are beginning to join our faculty ranks (oldest are 26-7).

• But soon they will be the least of our problems because someone is already coming behind them… Gen Z

Copy of Presentation:

• http://www.cpcc.edu/millennial• Click on presentations and

workshops• It is under “keynotes for higher

education”• Title: “Teaching Strategies for

Diverse Generations”• terri.manning@cpcc.edu