Millennials and the Impact to Today’s University Classroom.

Generation Millennials and the impact to today’s university classroom.

Who are the millennials? They are those born between 1977 and 1997. Today’s university students. A unique generation that are old enough to know how the world works and young enough to believe they can change it.

So why is it important to understand this generation in relation to our teaching? “Understanding the characteristics, beliefs and expectations of different generations working together at school or in the workplaces can help achieve the objectives that will otherwise be jeopardized if we fail to pay attention to such an important part of our social fabric”.(Huertas,M.&Rivera,B.(2006).

So what are some of their unique characteristics? They possess technological sophistication, they are connected 24/7, they are more community oriented, can multi-task and they have strong connections to family.

So knowing these unique characteristics, how can teachers engage their learning within our institutions? One way is by putting our students in control of their own learning, technologically, collaboratively and by becoming team oriented. “Allowing students to teach each other puts them in control of their own educational journey, getting students involved in the learning process with a hands on perspective”.(Cutler,Z.(2014).

Using technology to shift the focus from teacher oriented to student oriented. The use of technology is the key. Faculty should include technology within their curriculum’s to match millennial specific learning styles.

References:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zach-cutler/how-millennials-impact-education_b_5604865.html

http://www.nyu.edu/frn/publications/millennial.student/Challenges%20and%20Implications.html