INSTRUCTING ACROSS THE
GENERATIONS
Grant Wilson, M.Ed., CST
Surgical Technology Program Director
Calhoun Community College
Instructor’s Forum
WORK ISSUES:
Veterans Boomers Gen X Gen Y
Hoe to the end of the row.
Hoe to the end of the row.
Lifestyle first. Lifestyle first.
Loyal to employer. Loyal to employer. Loyal to self. N/A
Not technically savvy.
Technically challenged 30%
Technically savvy 80%
Technically savvy 100%
Follow the leader. Lip service to mission.
Must have mission.
Must have mission.
Strong chain of command
Chain of command
Individual Individual
LIFESTYLE ISSUES:
Veterans Boomers Gen X Gen Y
Work hard. Save money. What is play?
Work hard. Play hard. Spend hard.
Work hard if it doesn’t interfere with life too much. Save money.
Good grades. Make others pay. Save money.
I like it.
It’s okay.
Do you really like it? Will others like it?
I like it! I don’t care what others think.
Who are you anyway? You are OLD!
Buy a house. Buy the most house you can afford
Reclaim the inner city.
I like living with my parents.
VETERAN’S:
Are not quitters and have a hard-work ethic.
Practice command and control.
Are logical.
Coined the phrase “no news is good news”
Are icons of the traditional American values.
Expect work environment to be formal and disciplined.
Are conservative and frugal.
Have been described as the “Greatest Generation”
Are respectful of authority and hierarchy.
BOOMERS II
Born 1955 -1965
Coming of Age 1973 -1983
Beginning to loose trust in government and optimism of the
boomers I.
Narcissism with a focus on self-help.
Skepticism over media and institutions.
Did not have the jobs, opportunities, housing of the boomers.
Beginning of the shadow of Boomers I shared with the GenX.
BOOMER’S
Are eager to please and good team players.
Originators of the term “workaholics”
Are into self-gratification and value personal growth.
Express themselves creatively.
Grew up in a healthy, flourishing economy.
Have popularized every phase they have gone through in life from hot flashes to face lifts.
GENERATION X
Born 1966 – 1976
Coming of age 1988-1994
Latchkey kids – Lost Generation
High level of skepticism
Highly educated with 29% having a bachelor degree or higher
Very pragmatic
GENERATION X:
Many were raised as latchkey children.
Witnessed their parents labor for long hours which lead to disillusionment with values of corporate America.
Their reply to workaholics: Get A Life!
Are self-reliant and skeptical.
Have a casual approach to authority.
Are adaptable, hi-tech and creative.
GENERATION Y, ECHO BOOMERS,
MILLENNIUMS
Born 1977 – 1994
Coming of age 1998 – 2006
Largest cohort since boomers
Sophisticated and technology wise
Immune to traditional marketing pitches.
More diverse group
Less brand loyal.
Flexible and quick to change.
GENERATION Y
Newer to the workforce.
Grew up in a “child-focused” age.
Have strong levels of self-confidence.
Are practical, tenacious, and multi-task oriented.
Have a heroic spirit.
Are technologically literate.
GENERATION Z
Born 1995 -2012
Coming of age 2013 – 2020
Most diverse group ever.
High levels of technology
Technology significant component of K-12 Education.
Growing up in highly sophisticated media and computer
environment.
WHAT SHAPES EACH GENERATION:
Values
Life’s “defining moments”
DIFFERENCES
Typical Instructor
Landline rotary phone on party line.
Simple more predictable world.
Ample flex time.
Minimal/Controlled Media.
Mechanical/Delayed/Fixable.
Communication face to face.
Typical Student Personal/individual mobile phone.
Complex unpredictable world.
No flex time.
Continuous diverse media.
Electronic/Instant/Disposable
E-Communication and E-Emotion.
CHALLENGES
Time
Communication barriers
Value differences
Cannot read cursive
Do not read syllabus
Poor time management. What day is this?
It isn’t an experience, it is just information.
Do not like negative feedback.
5 stars or a 10 rating.
Not personally responsible.
Life education and experiences are minimal and in a number of ways non-existent.
Need good mentors that are accepted and acceptable.
Shortest attention spans ever with no hope of change. Ex. Vines.
WHAT IS AN INSTRUCTOR TO DO?
Be open to differences.
Initiate communication. Be willing to communicate in various methods.
Remember that you are an educator. Look for different teaching methods, try different teaching methods and adjust.
Powerpoint is not what we all thought it would be.
Mentor, mentor, and then mentor some more.
Teach the soft skills (employability skills).
Professionalism and communication
Teamwork
Resumes and interviewing.
Help them to understand and connect to various perspectives, the whys and experience.
They have not had the experiences that you have and they often really just do not know and are afraid to ask.
THE INSTRUCTIONAL METHOD MIX
There are many instructional theories and resources.
Consider various resources and how they could be implemented
in your classroom.
Remember that not all new ideas are the best ideas.
SEVEN WAYS OF LEARNING
Ask “What do I really want my students to know/do”?
Select Instructional methods that fit the desired outcome and
objectives of the course.
SEVEN WAYS OF LEARNING
Goals and Objectives
GOAL #1 - BUILDING SKILLS
Way of learning – Behavioral
Methods – Task or and procedures practice exercises.
Learning skills that where accuracy and precision and efficiency
are important and based on a routine set of mental or physical
operations.
Can be broken down into steps and performed in a right or best
way.
These skills are best learned when tasks are broken into concrete
steps and practiced by students with support of precise and timely feedback.
GOAL #2 – ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE
Way of Learning – Cognitive.
Methods – Presentations, explanations.
When students need to learn new ideas, terminology, or useful theories.
Must figure out how something functions or understand and retain information.
Based on how people the psychology of how people pay attention to. Process, and recall information. Instructors use cognitive learning effectively to get students attention, help them see overall concepts and connections, relate new information to prior knowledge, and make meaning out of information.
GOAL #3 – DEVELOPING CRITICAL ,
CREATIVE AND DIALOGICAL THINKING
Way of Learning – Inquiry
Used when there is a need for students to be aware of and improving their own thinking.
Have a need to criticize information, evaluate arguments and evidence, or reason.
Involves creative thinking and appreciating other people’s thinking.
Involves the instructor asking probing questions to model and make the thinking process visible.
Instructors must understand the thinking process and its many elements, provide opportunities for students to practice thinking through meaningful discussion and provide well targeted facilitation.
GOAL #4 CULTIVATING PROBLEM SOLVING
AND DECISION-MAKING ABILTIES
Way of Learning – Mental Models
Methods – Problems, Case Studies, Labs, Projects
Use when students need to learn to solve problems or make decisions.
For goals that involve finding and defining problems, generating solutions, and evaluating and choosing among solutions.
When students need to weigh the value of different options and predict outcomes.
To effectively use this way of learning, set up appropriate practice opportunities, help students identify and apply mental models to make decisions, and though their facilitation keep the focus on the process rather than just the outcome.
GOAL #5 EXPLORING ATTITUDES,
FEELINGS, AND PERSPECTIVES
Way of Learning – Groups and Teams
Methods – Group activities, team projects.
Use when learning outcomes involve changing opinions, attitudes, or
creating an awareness of multiple perspectives.
Use to help students to deal with feelings or cultivate empathy, to
build team work skills or collaborative skills.
Based in human communication and group counseling theory,
learning through groups builds on the dynamics formed by teams.
It is most effective when instructors carefully design, orient, prepare,
monitor, and help interrupt the learning that occurs within groups.
GOAL #6 PRACTICING PROFESSIONAL
JUDGMENT
Way of learning – Virtual Realities
Methods – Role play, simulations, dramatic scenarios, games.
Use for students that need to develop professional judgment within a variety of context that are best practiced in a safe environment.
For students that need to gain confidence and competence in complex situations.
Can range from simple role play to high-tech simulations.
Instructors carefully design or select the roles, scenarios or games that have the most potential.
Virtual realities often run themselves, but the instructor must suspend, support and debrief the experience.
GOAL #7 – REFLECTING ON
EXPERIENCE
Way of Learning – Experiential
Methods – Internship, service learning, study abroad.
For students that need to get immersed in real-life work, service,
or travel.
Use when learning goals involve reflecting on and making
meaning out of such an experience.
Cognitive neuroscience findings show that learning is a natural
multisensory process that emerges out of experience.
TRY SOME NEW TECHNOLOGY
Limit implementation to 1 or 2 new technologies per semester.
Do not stop trying or experimenting.
Use technology that makes information available 24/7 and preferably in a format that work on a smart phone.
Keep media short and focused on one topic –short clips.
Use as an investment of your time. It can be very helpful for explaining a difficult concept that needs repetition to learn. Instead of the instructor having to repeat the instruction over and over, the student review as often as needed.
My favorites – Doceri, Explain Everything, Tegrity, Google Drive.
Example of Gown and Gloving, Annotated with Explain Everything, Converted to a pdf and uploaded to Blackboard.
The Pedagogy Wheel V2.0
ENCOURAGE PRACTICE AND
SELF/PEER EVALUATION
Consider revamping skills sheets to encourage practice and
self/peer evaluation.
Chevron Process Under Smart Art in Office Documents.
Consider the trend to over rating and a dislike for constructive criticism.
0 1 2 3 4 5
TEACH SOFT SKILLS
Employers want employees that have better professional and soft
skills.
Do not short topics such as communication, conflict
management, teamwork, professionalism, resumes, interviewing.
Help to bridge the perspectives of the student and the employer.
TRY JOURNALING OR BLOGS
Academic Journals, Blogs, or Discussion Boards can be a good
route of helping students to empathize, connect, and broaden
their perspective.
Before and after journaling can assist a student in seeing a
difference in what they learned from an experience or
educational endeavor.
Journals can provide an opportunity for the instructor to gain a
better understanding of the students writing and communication
ability as well as their depth of understanding.
SAMPLE JOURNAL RUBRIC
SAMPLE JOURNAL TOPICS
SAMPLE JOURNAL
ENTRY
Students given a scenario and
asked pretend that they are a
patient with a significant post-op
infection. They are then to
describe the D’s of infection and
how they would be affected.
THROW IN SOME CREATIVITY AND FUN
LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Creative Assignments add variety to the instructional mix.
Helps the student to differentiate what the know and describe
the information in a less formal format.
Removes some of the restrictions of an assignment which allows
for a greater freedom to demonstrate knowledge.
SAMPLE A&P
ASSIGNMENT
Hand Draw and Label Biliary
System.
A&P ASSIGNMENT
Hand draw a person or stick person
label with directional terms.
This is after lecture but prior to
studying.
Hand draw person and label
directional terms.
After studying.
BE A BRIDGE FOR THE GENERATION
GAP
Mentor students and provide other good mentors.
Help younger students to connect to your generation by being “real” with them while maintaining professional respect.
Use talking opportunities to help younger students understand the value of experience.
Give some insight on how the older people think and why.
Possible reading assignment
The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead: Dos and Don'ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life by Charles Murphy
