GEN "Y" VS. GEN "X" AND BOOMERS
Generation "Y's in a class of mixed generations tend to behave differently. Boomers and Gen "Xer's" tend to be more mature, as they are older, but they are also more accustomed to a school situation and what it means.
Generation "Y',s" on the other hand, may not understand the rules of social and classroom behavior, and don't follow the protocol.
While it is not the case today that the role of instructor follwo in the footsteps of the old headmaster from "Tom Brown's Schooldays" where they caned students for failing lessons, school, however changed, is still a structured environment that needs to be maintained, whether in class or in an online setting.
As a college instructor I am somewhat surprised to see the "entitlement" that the Gen Y's believe they have. I definitely see the instant gratification they desire. I understand it a bit better and hope to be able to handle this in a respectful way for me and the students
Karen,
yes, the entitlement really seems to be a systemic problem, and one that hits us often in the classroom.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree with Karen about the entitlement mentality. I am also a boomer, and teach at a Technical College, however I taught at a local University for 20 years. The "Y" gen attitude started at home and the public school system continued it, and now it seems that the whole world owes them.
Being in a class with multiple generations is an awakening for many of these students. I can understand wanting to adjust our teaching styles to incorporate the different generations, but moderation is a must.
I see this in my classroom. I have a diverse group of students with age ranges of 17-60years old. I see the younger Gen Y seemingly not able to function without their cell phone while the older population becomes frustrated with the time taken to get teh younger students back on track and focused.
This suprises me as well, I have had Gen Y's tell me they are A students and don't understand why I did not "give" them an A. With generation Ys I find that I have to allow them to challenge questions, my technigue has been to tell them to bring me in research that proves their point and I will review the answer to the question.
Pamela,
this is a great approach as it increases responsibility as well as helps them with researching skills. I always tell my students that I did not "give" them any grade, that is what they earned.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
That's the same thing I tell my student- I do not give you anything it is what you earned. I also have student who complain because the instructor is not "teaching" them, I tell them that instrucots provide tools so that they can learn we can not open their head and pour information into it.
Pamela,
and with the technology we have it is a great time to help them learn to learn on their own.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Motivating Gen Yers
There is a direct relationship between their experiences growing up and methods to motivate this group of Gen Y employees. To attain success with this population, you should consider these approaches:
Multitasking. Provide more than one task to accomplish at a time, but without overwhelming them. They are accustomed to multitasking and can most likely sort out what has to be done and when. What's more, they look forward to the challenges of having several tasks to perform at once.
Collaboration. Create work teams or partners to work with, where appropriate. They are accustomed to working in tandem with others.
Structure. Provide structure and clear guidelines, and at times, specific processes or approaches for achieving goals. While they appear confident, they still need input from management.
Technology. Encourage and allow them to use the latest technology in the work setting.
Challenges. Positively challenge their interests, abilities and achievements.
Relationship building. Create a bonding relationship with them so that they feel comfortable asking for input and direction and know they can rely on you as the authority figure when the need arises.
Positive reinforcement. Reward them frequently with positive feedback and citations for successful accomplishments and milestones on the road to longer-term achievements.
Engaged leadership. Set up specific and regular times to meet with and supervise them. Demonstrate your sincere interest in their professional growth and success.
Communication. Understand that they prefer using electronic means to communicate with you as opposed to face-to-face meetings. This generation is far more fluent and comfortable with technology than any other group.
Motivating Gen Xers
So how does this information translate into working with and motivating this group of employees? Smart employers will need to recognize those characteristics mentioned above and provide some of the following:
Room to grow. Offer Gen X employees clear statements of goals, but allow them reasonable latitude on how to achieve those goals. Build on their interest in gaining new skills and knowledge by providing opportunities to grow on the job. Gen Xers tend to have a "work hard, play hard" mentality.
Opportunities to make choices. Since this generation has become accustomed to "fending for themselves," provide options--options for task selection, options for challenges, options to formulate new processes, and options to develop creative yet appropriate conclusions. You also want to allow them the freedom to use their own resourcefulness and creativity to achieve success.
Mentoring. Strong, relationship-oriented mentorships are a great value for young employees. Be careful not to micro-manage them or suggest rigid guidelines for completing projects. Spend time with them and offer clear and frequent feedback on their progress.
I agree with Pamela I tell students i didnt fail you you failed your self. while i understand that there is a new gen and they learn different but they don't have time for details they what the answer without knowning how or why they got it .thats not good no matter what gen you are from.
I teach in the same type of environment. I prefer to have a class that is multi-generational,because the Boomers come with more personal experience and they also can serve as mentors to the younger generations (they set examples on how to behave and study). With that said, there is a level of frustration between the generations. The Boomers do get frustrated with the short attention spans of the Gen-Ys, but I try to engage them with short computerized quizzes and online activities throughout the lectures.
As faculty members expectations should be unveiled to their students on the first day of class. communication, consistency and commitment are the three critical elements.
selinza,
I agree wholeheartedly. We must be ready & willing to communicate these expectations & then hold people accountable.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I teach science-type classes and have gen x-gen y students. My impressions of the gen y students
1. attention span of gnats
2. they don;t seem to get the concept that writing a paper requires THOUGHT before you write, an outline to gather your thoughts and arrange them in a logical manner, actually writing in your own words what you want to say, run a grammer and spell check, reread it to be sure the spell check didn;t miss anything and the words make sense AND FOLLOW THE FORMATTING WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN AT THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. (Gen y students would have quit reading this at the second line)
3. I get the impression that they are "shocked" when they don;t get "A's". My evaluation is as objective as possible. They don;t seem to learn from their mistakes-i am constantly pointing out that it didn;t work before and it won;t work now so try something different.
4. the gen x student seems to get that they have to figure out what works for them. They are much more organized in their approach and are focused on getting things done and on time.
5. I try to give them very specific ideas on how to adjust what they are doing to improve their work. Many just don't adjust what they do.
I teach science-type classes and have gen x-gen y students. My impressions of the gen y students
1. Attention span of gnats
2. They don't seem to get the concept that writing a paper requires THOUGHT before you write, an outline to gather your thoughts and arrange them in a logical manner, actually writing in your own words what you want to say, run a grammer and spell check, reread it to be sure the spell check didn't miss anything and the words make sense AND FOLLOW THE FORMATTING WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN AT THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. (Gen Y students would have quit reading this at the second line)
3. I get the impression that they are "shocked" when they don;t get "A's". My evaluation is as objective as possible. They don't seem to learn from their mistakes-I am constantly pointing out that it didn't work before and it won't work now so try something different!
4. The Gen X student seems to get that they have to figure out what works for them. They are much more organized in their approach and are focused on getting things done and on time.
5. I try to give them very specific ideas on how to adjust what they are doing to improve their work. Many just don't adjust what they do.
Rose Ann,
unfortunately I too have noticed some of these tendencies in the Gen Y students, especially regarding the grading & a lack of ability or willingness to figure things out. I see tremendous opportunity to help them learn to think through problems & decision making.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
