As I prepared to teach my first-year
orientation class this fall, I realized that I am 44 years older than my youngest
students. Our window of shared experiences is small. They’ve always had iPhones
and been able to text and use Instagram, and most are familiar with Google Classroom.
They don’t know that Springsteen is “The Boss,” haven’t heard of Roy Rogers, and
never waited excitedly for Saturday morning cartoons. Gen Z or iGen students,
as we’ve named them, are now taking our classes. Here are four goals I have for
my work with the bright, energetic young people who show up in my courses.
1. Attune yourself to generational differences
No student group should be stereotyped. Nonetheless, many
in this group share characteristics, and generational research provides
background on this particular student group. As a campus, our faculty read Jean
Twenge’s iGen (2017) and discussed it. Another book I found helpful in
my attempts to understand those in college is Generation Z Goes to College
(Seemiller & Grace, 2016). Events that shaped older generations, such as
the September 11 attacks, are not part of today’s 18-year-olds’ lived memory;
what these students know of the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, decades we may vividly
remember, is largely shaped by pop culture.
Interest inventories given early in the semester can provide insights into these students’ interests, knowledge, and experiences. We don’t have to listen to their music or watch their favorite Netflix series, but knowing a bit about their world helps us see things from their perspective. We don’t always speak the same language. I have never once said “my bad” or called a water bottle a Nalgene, but I am a keen listener, and if I hear something I don’t understand, I ask students to inform me. When they see me exercising at the rec center or attending an on-campus event, we have some shared experiences we can build on.
2. Learn technology together
Although Gen Zers have had
screens in front of them since preschool, their mastery of technology may not
be as advanced as we think. When I told my first-year students that Microsoft
Word was very compatible with Canvas and that they should upload their papers
in that format, I saw nothing but blank stares. When I asked, “What have you
used?” they answered, “Google Classroom. Is that compatible?” Even with search
engines, there is a lot that we can teach about how to search and determine
whether a site is trustworthy. Amazon.com is not a research site! Baby
Boomer and Gen X professors have good research skills, and we should be sharing
them with students.
It was several years ago when I finally realized that students’ textbooks were on their phones. Given how tied our students are to their phones, we may as well use them in class. Poll Everywhere is a great way to survey students, and we can also use their phones to teach those valid research skills.
3. Make invisible expectations
visible
Did you know that those who
belong to Gen Z report higher levels of stress about a range of issues than
adults as a whole (American Psychological Association, 2018)? All who work in
higher education need to be aware of the emotional needs of these students and
their heightened stress levels. That doesn’t mean we water down our material,
but our course planning can help students cope with the pressures of college.
Allowing ample time for assignments, practicing problems in class, and
providing timely reviews support student achievement and reduce their anxiety.
My institution assigns incoming
students Teach Yourself to Learn (McGuire, 2018) as required reading.
Today I now find myself teaching students how to study, what’s involved with
being a successful a student, and how to grow and mature into a responsible
young adult. I never dreamed that this would be part of the job.
But I’ve also found that when
I make my expectations highly visible, my students are appreciative. They take
notes in my courses, and I’m explicit about when and how they should take
notes. In lower-division classes, I talk about specific study strategies, such
as making useful notecards and what to do with them when studying for exams. My
syllabus details how grades are determined, but I also take class time after
the first exam or paper to review the grading system, showing students how they
can determine their current grade any day of the semester. Clarity on these
issues helps students tremendously and keeps more of my office hours free for
conversations about course content.
4. Share expertise and
experience
As a professor of teacher education,
I am often asked why I became a teacher. I answer that it was destiny as I was
born the year that Sputnik was launched. Again, blank stares on every face.
It’s a teachable moment in a class of future teachers. I explain how the Soviet
Union’s launch of Sputnik spurred the United States to focus more on math and
science education, getting schools to jump-start what we now call STEM—science,
technology, engineering, and math. I talk about the New Math books I used
throughout elementary school because of Sputnik. My experience and expertise
are there for students to learn from.
Today’s college students want
to be successful—in their classes, in their future jobs, and in life. Because I
am 44 years older than them, I can mentor, counsel, advise, and guide them
toward these goals. I have worked with other professors who taught well past
age 70. They are my role models. By accepting the next generation of students,
learning about them, and growing with them, we can enhance their college
experience and our teaching expertise.
References
American Psychological Association. (2018). Stress in America: Generation Z. Stress in America™ Survey. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2018/stress-gen-z.pdf
McGuire, S. Y. (2018). Teach
yourself how to learn: Strategies you can use to ace any course at any level.
Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
Seemiller, C., & Grace, M.
(2016). Generation Z goes to college. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Twenge, J. M. (2017). iGen:
Why today’s super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more
tolerant, less happy—and completely unprepared for adulthood. New York, NY:
Atria Books.
Mary C. Clement, EdD, is a
professor of teacher education at Berry College. She is the author of First
Time in the College Classroom (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010).
