Generation Y: An investigation into what makes today’s students tick
Monday August 16, 2010
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We see them in schools and watch them text, surf the Internet, listen to music on their iPods and hold a conversation all at the same time. Who are these students?
In the year 2000, as an instructor and clinical coordinator for the physical therapist assistant program at Polk State College (Winter Haven, Fla.), I noticed a shift in student characteristics and behaviors. I wondered if the change among students could have a lasting impact on educational programs.
I began to study this generation firsthand, questioning these students, which led me to an orientation to the world of millennials — otherwise known as Generation Y, GenNext, the Google Generation or the Tech Generation. These 76 million individuals were born between the early 1980s and 2000.
Millennials possess a set of common beliefs and behaviors that were shaped and are continuously being reshaped by media, environment and society. In terms of learning, millennial students:
• Learn best in a stimulating learning environment
• Want to be innovators
• Use trial and error as a key learning strategy
• Look for meaning in what they do
• Need flexible frameworks that allow creativity and individuality
• Want to know they are succeeding
• Express who they are through their works
• Have heightened technological skills and ability to access information
• Possess different social skills and standards
• Think that learning should be “edutainment”
• Perceive higher education as job training, not just educational experience
• Prefer to work collaboratively and in teams
These characteristics challenge existing curricular frameworks. A re-evaluation of program design and delivery are imperative. Several actions that can be taken as part of this process are:
• Encourage critical thinking and information appraisal online and face-to-face
• Offer clear rules of social engagement and specify acceptable behavior
• Involve students in decisions about rules and educational frameworks
• While providing prototypes, challenge students to go beyond these
• Use e-mail, websites and public folders to post information
• Create course content that can be accessed anytime and anywhere using various technologies, including portable mobile devices
• Offer private feedback regarding their work
• Require peer reviews before handing in assignments
• Make materials relevant and applicable to their chosen field of study
• Investigate varied groupings and collaborative learning techniques
Instructors must understand the characteristics of this new generation of learners and identify the potential implications to the educational system. Only then can instructors from a different generation take action to address the unique learning preferences of millennials.
Nelson Marquez, PT, EdD
Program Director, Physical Therapist Assistant Program
Polk State College
NMarquez@polk.edu
In the year 2000, as an instructor and clinical coordinator for the physical therapist assistant program at Polk State College (Winter Haven, Fla.), I noticed a shift in student characteristics and behaviors. I wondered if the change among students could have a lasting impact on educational programs.
I began to study this generation firsthand, questioning these students, which led me to an orientation to the world of millennials — otherwise known as Generation Y, GenNext, the Google Generation or the Tech Generation. These 76 million individuals were born between the early 1980s and 2000.
Millennials possess a set of common beliefs and behaviors that were shaped and are continuously being reshaped by media, environment and society. In terms of learning, millennial students:
• Learn best in a stimulating learning environment
• Want to be innovators
• Use trial and error as a key learning strategy
• Look for meaning in what they do
• Need flexible frameworks that allow creativity and individuality
• Want to know they are succeeding
• Express who they are through their works
• Have heightened technological skills and ability to access information
• Possess different social skills and standards
• Think that learning should be “edutainment”
• Perceive higher education as job training, not just educational experience
• Prefer to work collaboratively and in teams
These characteristics challenge existing curricular frameworks. A re-evaluation of program design and delivery are imperative. Several actions that can be taken as part of this process are:
• Encourage critical thinking and information appraisal online and face-to-face
• Offer clear rules of social engagement and specify acceptable behavior
• Involve students in decisions about rules and educational frameworks
• While providing prototypes, challenge students to go beyond these
• Use e-mail, websites and public folders to post information
• Create course content that can be accessed anytime and anywhere using various technologies, including portable mobile devices
• Offer private feedback regarding their work
• Require peer reviews before handing in assignments
• Make materials relevant and applicable to their chosen field of study
• Investigate varied groupings and collaborative learning techniques
Instructors must understand the characteristics of this new generation of learners and identify the potential implications to the educational system. Only then can instructors from a different generation take action to address the unique learning preferences of millennials.
Nelson Marquez, PT, EdD
Program Director, Physical Therapist Assistant Program
Polk State College
NMarquez@polk.edu
To comment, e-mail editorNTL@gannetthg.com.
Monday August 16, 2010