Motivating Today’s College Students – The Millennial Generation

Motivating Today’s College Students – The Millennial Generation

Angela Provitera McGlynn

Biography

Professor Emeritus of Psychology, MCCC Author of several books and numerous

articles; regular contributor to The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education

Latest books: see slide towards end of presentation

National Consultant on Teaching and Learning Issues; Trainer for Transformation Associates, LLC

Web site: www.mccc.edu/~amcglynn/index.html

E-mail address: [email protected]

Objectives: Participants will learn:

How millennial students prefer to learn Pedagogical strategies that promote student

learning How to engage millennial students How to keep millennial students motivated

throughout the semester

Question

What is the one thing you would like to learn from today’s webinar?

Who are today’s students?

Millennials: Born 1982 – 2002 Generation X: Born 1965 – 1982 Baby Boomers: Born 1946 - 1964 Matures: Born 1900 – 1946

Many people are born on the cusps of two generations, and many people do not fit their “generational type”

The Millennials – historical context

also called “Generation M or Y,” “Echo Boomers,” or the NET Generation

roughly 30% of the American population children of Baby Boomers or early wave

members of Generation X the most diverse generation in our history –

34% are nonwhite or Latino

Diversity – Opportunities and Challenges

Characteristics of Millennials

Millennials: identify with their parents’ values are fascinated by new technologies 1 in 5 have at least one immigrant parent gravitate toward group activities

Diana Oblinger (Understanding the New Students, EDUCAUSE Review, July/August 2003)

Millennials Gravitate Towards Group Activities

More Characteristics of Millennials

grew up in a time of economic prosperity – how times have changed!

went to “play groups” and played soccer from the age of 3

the most protected generation in terms of government regulations on consumer safety

often indulged as a result of changing child-rearing practices


used to being consulted in decision-making by their parents

typically strong bonds between these students and their parents, particularly with their mothers, and they stay very connected even when they go away to school

expected to excel by their parents highly scheduled and sheltered in childhood


constant social contact with friends via e-mail, Instant Messaging, cell phones, and video games

digital natives (Prensky, 2001) raised in a technological environment accepts that environment as the norm grown up surrounded by digital devices and

regularly uses these devices to interact with other people and the outside world.

Adapted From Digital Native website – www.digitalnative.org/wiki

Digital Natives

Today’s students have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers,

videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age

Today’s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV)

Marc Prensky Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants From On the Horizon (MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)

From Lost in Translation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9oCreated by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.

Multitasking

Multitasking is a way of life for this generation Two tasks at once or cognitive toggling?


often seek information and knowledge by going on-line rather than using a textbook

little tolerance for delays so it is important to let students know when they can expect feedback or a response to their queries

for many, the idea of constructing knowledge within a social community has lots of appeal

(Skiba & Barton (2006)


tend to be conventional, accepting of societal rules and expectations team-oriented achievement-oriented: External locus of

control often Intellectually Naïve, that is,

they need help determining reliable sources of information

Question

What do you see as the major difference between today’s students and those of previous generations?

What challenges do those differences present?

Millennials’ Preferences

want to learn by working collaboratively have a preference to learn in their own time

and on their own terms seem to appreciate structured activities that

permit creativity

Millennials’ Preferences – Working Collectively

Millennials’ Preferences

want to be involved with “real life” issues that matter to them

most millennials are comfortable with technology – plugged in since they were babies (exceptions related to SES)

differences among first generation students in terms of proficiency with technology

Given Millennials’ Preferences, What Makes the Most Sense from a Cognitive Learning Perspective?

Ways to help students create meaning between their life experience and the material Use examples students can relate to Ask students to develop their own

examples Creating multiple connections with

concepts also facilitates the process of retrieval because the more connections we have, the more retrieval cues we have to access the material

Given Millennials’ Preferences, What Makes the Most Sense from a Cognitive Learning Perspective?

All students need to be actively engaged with the material we are trying to teach them

Active engagement promotes deeper levels of cognitive processing and learning because it creates stronger connections

Active learning facilitates long-term memory through the process of elaborative rehearsal that uses meaning rather than rote memorization

General Strategies for Engaging Millennials Provide High, Clear Expectations

Offer individual feedback

Engage with/through technology where appropriate

Utilize group work: collaborative learning techniques

Incorporate reflection and metacognition

Specific Strategies for Teaching Millennials Teaching style— what they want

High Energy Passionate Inventive Humorous Active Entertainment

(Smetanka, 2007)

Specific Strategies for Teaching Millennials Teaching style— what we know

Clarity Organization Feedback Availability/rapport Class time management Engaging

(Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)

Specific Strategies for Teaching Millennials Use focus activities or questions – on the

screen or chalkboard, write an activity or a question that students can begin as soon as they enter the classroom. These focusing activities can relate to the last class, the reading material, or what will take place in the class that is about to begin

Put objectives for the class session up on the screen or board; this will help you and the students to stay on track and will help latecomers to class

Clement, 2009

Specific Strategies for Teaching Millennials The four-step lesson plan

Set goals for each class Focus the students

Present new material Have students apply the material or do

something creative with what they have learned

Review, conclude, and assess Adapted from Clement, 2009

Adding Tools to Your Trade/Art

Given what you know about today’s college students, what might you do to try to engage more of them?

Given what you know about today’s college students, what might you do differently when dealing with them?

Angela’s most recent books by Atwood Publishing, 888 242-7101, www.atwoodpublishing.com

References

Clement, M. June 24, 2009. 10 Ways to Engage Your Students on the First Day of Class, Faculty Focus.

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects student. A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Prensky, M. (2001) Digital natives, Digital immigrants. On the Horizon. Vol. 9, No. 5: NCB University Press. www.marcprensky.com/writing/

References

Smetanka, M. J. (2004, May 7). Millennial students: A new crew enlivens the “U.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune, p. 1.A.

Skiba, D.J. & Baron, A.J. (2006) Adapting your teaching to accommodate the net generation of learners, Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 2006, Vol. 11, Issue 2.

Documents

Motivating Today’s College Students – The Millennial Generation