B RIDGING THE GAP : H OW TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE M ILLENNIAL STUDENT Mary Ann Blitt MCC-Maple Woods

W HO ARE THE STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASSROOM ?

G ENERATIONS AND INFLUENTIAL EVENTS Baby Boomers ( ) Generation X ( ) Millennials ( ) Liberation Movements (Civil Rights, Women’s Lib) Roe vs. WadeTechnology WoodstockMTVClinton/Lewinsky Kennedy and MLK assassinations Fall of the Berlin Wall School shootings Vietnam WarDesert Storm9/11 attacks DPO&M Diversity & Inclusion Business Council

B EST PRACTICES ACROSS GENERATIONS Baby Boomers ( ) Generation X ( ) Millennials ( ) Communication Ask, don’t tellBrief, pertinent info only Keep it real, interactive Development Acknowledge accomplishments Let them run itGroup learning Feedback Formal, periodic, documented FrequentImmediate Work Do it allDo it with helpCut and paste DPO&M Diversity & Inclusion Business Council Bonner, Fred. Teaching and Advising the Millennial Generation in Higher Education Texas State University

M ILLENNIALS : W HO ARE THEY ? Approximately 75% of degree-seeking students Most diverse generation in history Grew up protected Connected to parents Focused on achievement Technology is the norm Paula Gleason ( Meeting the needs of Millennial Students In Touch, CSU Long Beach, winter 2008) Diana Oblinger ( Understanding the New Students, EDUCAUSE Review, July/August 2003)

M ILLENNIALS : I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Students know each other and work in groups Christy Price Why Don’t My Students Think I’m Groovy: The New “R”s for Engaging Millennial Learners E-xcellence in Teaching, Vol.9, 2009

I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT : S OCIAL

M ILLENNIALS : I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Students know each other and work in groups Learning is relaxed, enjoyable and fun Christy Price Why Don’t My Students Think I’m Groovy: The New “R”s for Engaging Millennial Learners E-xcellence in Teaching, Vol.9, 2009

M ILLENNIALS : I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Students know each other and work in groups Learning is relaxed, enjoyable and fun Use of multimedia Christy Price Why Don’t My Students Think I’m Groovy: The New “R”s for Engaging Millennial Learners E-xcellence in Teaching, Vol.9, 2009

I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT : M ULTIMEDIA

M ILLENNIALS : I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Students know each other and work in groups Learning is relaxed, enjoyable and fun Use of multimedia Relevance Christy Price Why Don’t My Students Think I’m Groovy: The New “R”s for Engaging Millennial Learners E-xcellence in Teaching, Vol.9, 2009

I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT : R ELEVANCE

M ILLENNIALS : I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Students know each other and work in groups Learning is relaxed, enjoyable and fun Use of multimedia Relevance Interactive, participatory Christy Price Why Don’t My Students Think I’m Groovy: The New “R”s for Engaging Millennial Learners E-xcellence in Teaching, Vol.9, 2009

I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT : I NTERACTIVE

Our task as educators involves far more than teaching the content of our courses. We need to teach students how to become effective learners and guide them in honing their critical-thinking skills. (Angela Provitera McGlynn, psychology professor Mercer County Comunity College)

D ISCOVERY LEARNING What is discovery learning? Through guided discovery learning the student builds knowledge through an active process with the guidance of the teacher.

I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT : I NTERACTIVE

M ILLENNIALS : I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

When using guided discovery learning and creating examples for student analysis consider the following: Present one thing at a time Have a number of examples for the students to observe a pattern Present the examples in meaningful context Carefully structure questions that will guide students to come up with the rules I DEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT : I NTERACTIVE

M ILLENNIALS : A SSESSMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS Graded Relevant Frequent Structured, clear Christy Price Why Don’t My Students Think I’m Groovy: The New “R”s for Engaging Millennial Learners E-xcellence in Teaching, Vol.9, 2009

Millennials: Assessments and assignments

C LOSING D ISCUSSION Something I currently do that seems to reach my millennial students is... Something I’d like to do differently to reach these students is...

R EFERENCES Bonner, Fred. Teaching and Advising the Millennial Generation in Higher Education PowerPoint presentation Texas State University DPO&M Diversity & Inclusion Business Council Castronova, Joyce. Discovery Learning for the 21st Century: What is it and how does it compare to traditional learning in effectiveness in the 21st Century? Gleason, Paula. ( Meeting the needs of Millenial Students In Touch, CSU Long Beach, winter 2008) Howe, Neil and William Strauss. Millennials go to College: Executive Summary AACRAO and Life Course Associates, 2003 Oblinger, Diana. ( Understanding the New Students, EDUCAUSE Review, July/August 2003) Prensky, M. (2001) Digital natives, Digital immigrants. On the Horizon. Vol. 9, No. 5: NCB University Press. Price, Christy. Why Don’t My Students Think I’m Groovy: The New “R”s for Engaging Millennial Learners E-xcellence in Teaching, Vol.9, 2009