Serving Millennial Students:
Teaching Strategies and
Classroom Methods for a New
Generation
Terri M. Manning, Ed.D.
Central Piedmont Community College
The Echo Boom/Millennials…
The Millennials are the children born between 1982 and
2002 (peaked in 1990), a cohort called by various names:
The Millennials are almost as large as the baby boomsome say larger - depending on how you measure them
(approximately 81 million).
Echo Boom
Generation Y
Millennials
Net Generation
Things Began to Change for This Generation
• Abortion rates peaked in 1980 and began a slow
decline.
• Poverty rate for children peaked in 1983 and began a
slow decline (Medicaid began).
• US divorce rate peaked in 1981 and began a decline.
• Homicide rate against children peaked in 1982 and
began a decline.
• They were born into a better world, a more
optimistic world than the generation before them.
What We Know
• 35% are non-White
• 1 in 5 has at least one
parent who is an immigrant
• Have the best educated mothers in history
• Have better educated parents
• Came out of the infertility era – were very
wanted as children
• Grew up during a monumental financial boom
• Safest generation we have seen
What We Know
• Born to older parents and raised in smaller families
(lots of only children) – many have never shared a
room
• Been plugged in since they
were babies
• Expect technology to be free
• Think it is cool to be smart
• Have had cell phones since they were children
• Expect to have 4 or more jobs in their lifetime
• Are as interested in where they live as what they
do – so cities are working to attract them
Millennials – What We Know
• This generation is civic-minded, much like
the GI Generation (WWI).
• They are collectively optimistic, long-term
planners, high achievers with lower rates of
violent crime, teen pregnancy, smoking and
alcohol use than ever before.
• This generation believes that they have the
potential to be great and they probably do.
We are looking to them to provide us with a
new definition of citizenship.
Their Generation Will Be Needed to Fill a
Worker Shortage
4,500,000
births
4,300,000
4,100,000
3,900,000
3,700,000
3,500,000
3,300,000
3,100,000
(Millennials)
(Boomers)
2,900,000
(Xers)
2,700,000
19
40
19
52
19
55
19
58
19
61
19
64
19
67
19
70
19
73
19
76
19
79
19
83
19
86
19
89
19
92
19
95
19
98
20
01
20
04
2,500,000
Entering a Different Work World
100.0%
White
87.9%
African American
Other Minority
Male
85.0%
Female
73.9%
80.0%
60.0%
54.0%
40.0%
46.0%
15.0%
20.0%
16.3%
11.6%
0.0%
5.0%
1900
9.8%
2000
Who Is Working Today?
Veterans
Boomers
Gen X
Millennials
1,000 die per day
Youngest are 5 years old
14%
33%
Half the size of the
generations on either side
of them
10%
43%
7,198 turned 60 every day in
2006
Influenced by Customer Service Movement
• Expect what they paid for
• Everyone should be concerned that they are
satisfied and happy
• If they are not happy with your answer, they
will go over your head
• Expect colleges to bend over backwards to
please them
• Not the way it works in higher education
• Savvy consumers and will stay under your
radar as long as possible
Parents Are Different
• This generation is being parented by welleducated, over-involved adults who
participate in “deliberate
parenting.” They have
outcomes in mind.
• Boomers were the first
generation to be thrown
out in to an unsafe world
as adolescents.
• The 60’s and 70’s were very scary and many of
us felt unprepared for it.
• We were naïve and didn’t have enough tools in
our tool box to deal with it.
Baby Boomers as Parents
• Boomers rebelled against the parenting practices of
their parents.
• Strict discipline was the order
of the day for boomers.
• They made conscious decisions
not to say “because I told you
so” or “because I’m the parent
and you’re the child.”
• Boomers became more
“friendly” with their children.
They wanted to have open lines of
communication and a relationship with them.
Baby Boomers as Parents
• They explained things to their children, (actions,
consequences, options, etc.) – they wanted them
to learn to make informed decisions.
• They allowed their children to have
input into family decisions,
educational options and
discipline issues.
• We told them “just because
it is on television doesn’t mean
it’s true” or “you can’t believe
everything you read.”
• We wanted them to question
authority.
The Result
•Millennials have become
“a master set of
negotiators” who are
capable of rational thought
and decision-making skills at
young ages.
•They will negotiate with
anyone including their parents,
teachers and school
administrators.
•Some call this “arguing.”
Helicopter Parents
• Helicopter Parent (n) A
parent who hovers over his
or her children.
• Or Snowplow parent: Parents
who clear the way for their
children
• ……these (echo) boomers
are confident, achievement-oriented and used to
hovering "helicopter" parents keeping tabs on their
every move. (Anthony DeBarros, "New baby boom
swamps colleges," USA Today, January 2, 2003)
Baby Boomer Parents have been their
Biggest Cheerleaders
•Millennials expect and need
praise.
•Will mistake silence for
disapproval.
•Millennials expect feedback.
•They want it from teachers
and bosses.
•They want mentoring.
Talk to All Adults as Peers
• Spent a lot of time interacting with adults as
children
• Aren’t afraid of adults and consider
themselves equal
• Faculty think they lack respect
• Won’t hesitate to state their
position and attempt to
negotiate for a grade, to redo
an assignment, etc.
Helicopter Parent go to College
• A new generation of over-involved
parents are flooding campus
orientations, meddling in registration
and interfering with students'
dealings with professors, administrators
and roommates, school officials say.
• Some of these hovering parents, whose numbers
have been rising for several years, are unwittingly
undermining their children's chances of success,
campus administrators say. Now, universities and
colleges are moving rapidly to build or expand
programs aimed at helping parents strike a better
balance.
Colleges Ward Off Overinvolved Parents By Sue Shellenbarger
From The Wall Street Journal Online
Who are your heroes?
• An Associate Press/MTV poll asked
millennials who they looked up to as
heroes?
– 50% said their parents (29% mom, 21% dad)
– 11% named a friend
– 10% said God
– 8% named a grandmother
– 7% a brother
– 5% a teacher or professor
CNN 8/20/07
Perceptions of Parents
• This generation loves their
parents
• Thinks they were great parents
• Share their values, like their music
• Have no desire to “get away” from
their parents when they go to college
like other generations.
• When they need something – they
ask the parents first – go to them for
help
• Parents want to help them and protect them
• College is a new “unknown” and parents are
nervous – we need to waylay their fears
Now We Find Ourselves Having to Deal With
Parents in Ways We Never Have Before
• 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
• 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
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
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
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
– 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
• 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.
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
Methods of Teaching
• Teamwork – play to their strengths
• Lifelong learning – critical for them
to survive
• 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
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
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
• Less prepared from K-12
• 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 Want to Experience Life
• Four friends (24 years old, college
graduates) have jobs – all are saving money
to go live in Costa Rica next year.
• Graduates in pre-med in June (22 years old)
– plans to spend next year living in Hawaii
…. surfing.
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.
• They like to do “real” work” – things that relate to
the real world – authentic assignments
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.
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 about 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 25-6).
• But soon they will be the least of our
problems because someone is already
coming behind them…
Who Are They?
• A new “Silent Generation”
referred to as Generation Z,
Generation Alpha or the
Homeland Generation.
• Starts mid-2000’s until about
2017 to 2020 and will be
considered an
artist generation (like the
veterans)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss_and_Howe
Generation Z
• Will be raised on technology, they will not be scared of
anything, they will be open to new ideas.
• They will be into truth and loyalty and they will not be
not afraid to voice their opinion.
• They will be flexible and open to change.
• They will be fearless and fun.
• They will be the ‘new’ hope for our own future.
• Their great-grandparents belong mostly to
the Silent Generation and the Baby boomers
form the core of their grandparents.
• Their parents are seen as being roughly
evenly divided between Generation X
and Generation Y.
http://www.generationzbaby.com/generation-z.html
For a copy of this presentation:
http://www.cpcc.edu/planning
Click on: “studies and reports”
Contact: terri.manning@cpcc.edu