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
Each Generation
• Consists of approximately a 20-year span (not
all demographers and generation researchers
agree on the exact start/stop dates)
• Has a unique set of values
• Reacts to the generation before them
• Looks at their generation as the standard of
comparison
• Looks at the next generation skeptically “these
kids today…”
• Those born on the “cusp” may have a blended
set of characteristics
• They are either idealistic, reactive, civic or
adaptive
The Veterans (also known as the Silent Generation or
the Greatest Generation) 1925–1942 (adaptive)
• Some faculty and few students (age 67-84ish)
• Children of the Great Depression and WWII, this
generation decided not to attack the institutions
created by the generation before them, but instead,
as global thinkers, they chose to focus on improving
and refining them so that they could be good for
everyone, not just a select few.
• The overall goal was not to change the system, but
to work within it.
• While economically very successful, they were also
the inventors of "the midlife crises" probably because
they didn't get a chance to enjoy the freedoms of
their youth.
The Veterans Childhood
• Raised by the GI Generation
(civic)
• Large families (3-5 children)
• Strong sense of extended family
(same town or home)
• Grandparents in the home
• Average 10-year-old spent 4-6
hours daily with a significant
adult role model
• Rural society
• Apprenticeship businesses and
farming
• Perception of the world as “safe”
Core Values
Dedication
Hard Work
Conformity
Law and Order
Patience
Delayed Reward
Duty before
Pleasure
Adherence to Rules
Honor
How They Learn
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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
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•
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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
Veterans Came Home from
World War II
• And gave birth to the next generation
• The Baby Boomers 1943–1964 (the
largest generation, idealist)
The Babyboomer Childhood
• Divorce reached a low in 1960 of 9%
• Families moved due to GI Bill, GI housing
and industrialization
Core Values
• First generation to live miles from
Optimism
extended family
Team Orientation
Personal
• Family size smaller (2-3 children)
Gratification
• Few grandparents in the home
Health and Wellness
Personal Growth
• Moms stayed home – no daycare
Youth
• Children spent significant time with
Work
adult role models (mostly mom)
Involvement
• Perception of the world as “safe”
Baby-boomer Results
• Very idealistic - banned together and walked
through life with their fists held high
• Generation gap occurred between them and their
parents
• Captured phrases like “why be normal” and
“question authority”
• They weren’t friendly toward authority figures
• Did not get along with their parents and swore
they would not raise their kids like they were
raised
How Boomers Learn
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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
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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 overanalyzed – 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”
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
The Late Veterans and Early Boomers Gave
Birth to the Next Generation
• The Gen Xers 1965–1982
• A Lost Generation…
A Nomadic Generation…..
• Half the Size of the Baby
Boom (reactive)
The Gen X Childhood
• Divorce reached an all-time high
• Single-parent families became the
norm
• Latch-key kids were a major issue of Core Values
Dedication
the time
Hard Work
• Children not as valued – looked at as
a hardship
Conformity
• Families spread out (miles apart)
Law and Order
• Family size = 1.7 children (many onlyPatience
children)
Delayed reward
• Perception of the world as “unsafe”
Duty before
• Average 10 year old spent 14 ½
pleasure
minutes a day with a significant adult
Adherence to
role model
rules
• Parents looked around and said – we
Honor
need to do this better
Generation X
• This is the conscientious, extremely pragmatic,
self-sufficient generation that has a ruthless
focus on the bottom-line.
• Born and raised at a time when children were
at the bottom of our social priorities, Gen Xers
learned that they could only count on one thing
- themselves. As a result, they are very "me"
oriented.
• They are not active voters, nor are they deeply
involved in politics in general.
• Are hands-on – like to get physically involved
How Xers Learn
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•
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•
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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
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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
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
Late Boomers and Early Xers Gave Birth
to Generation Next (civic)
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, civic).
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.
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 (in 07-08, 50% were under 30)
• Parents need to know about FERPA
What Do Universities Do With Parents
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•
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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
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:
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–
–
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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.
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)
• 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
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
• 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
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
• 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”
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 – 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
• 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 – 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
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.)
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:
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–
–
–
–
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
• 25 years old, college graduate – moved to
Charleston to live at the beach (working in
whatever to live).
• Graduated in pre-med in May 08 (23 years
old) – moved to Hawaii …. surfing.
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
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://www1.cpcc.edu/millennial
• Click on presentations and workshops
• Title: “Teaching Strategies for Diverse
Generations”