Change is natural with time and there always seems to be a giant gap between generations of people and the culture that consumes them. If you think about it, the "great" generation of the WWII era gave way to the baby boomer and hippie generations, which gave way to generations "X" and "Y", and now we have the so-called net generation. Each one before likely thought that the next one coming in were a bunch of dysfunctional crazy kids. A good example of this is to think of the evolution of music. Remember when people thought Elvis was a little too edgy? Or how about when grunge and punk bands like Nirvana started to officially close the book on the 80's rock era? (Some of our parents probably want people to forget how they dressed back then). I know I'm getting old when I start complaining about the music that's becoming popular with the younger crowd these days. The point is, it doesn't surprise me to hear the consensus stigma of today's younger generations are that they lack work ethic and motivation. Like Tony Wagner in his 5th chapter of The Global Achievement Gap, I too believe that this is a misguided statement for the apathetic behavior and attitude of students towards school and potential careers.
As Wagner explains, motivating the net generation starts with understanding the environment students are growing up in and what kind of culture is developing among them in contemporary society. In particular, he talks about the fact that teens nowadays are virtually connected all the time, ubiquitously, and on multiple platforms. Whether it's gaming and chatting with friends on consoles or sifting through a slew of apps on their smart phone or lurking on social media while simultaneously playing itunes, there is now a sense of constant digital connection at every turn. With this ever expanding atmosphere of attention-grabbing media and applications comes the growing trend of multitasking among young adults and especially college students. They are learning to cope with heavy flow of information and activities by learning to do multiple things at once. Whether or not this is detrimental or beneficial remains to be debated. Next is the idea that newer generations are also becoming more adept to instant gratification. In an age where devices run at amazing speeds and information is just a click away, it's easy to get impatient and carried away when the process of anything takes longer than the blink of an eye now.
As someone who is caught somewhere in the spectrum of these newer generations, I can relate and therefore agree with many of these observations. Personally, I have a smart phone, laptop, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, 4 email accounts and more among many of my digital connection avenues. On top of this I avidly utilize search engines and specific go-to sites in my down time to search topics that interest me multiple times daily. With regards to instant gratification, I'm guilty of that too. If I need directions or to do a quick internet search I can immediately use my phone and get frustrated when it dies or doesn't work fast enough. I live and breathe my phone and without it I am lost. Spoiled and proud of it.
This brings me to Wagner's suggestions for adapting educational views to meet this new 24/7 digital culture. In order to meet the needs of students in these conditions, teachers need to advocate learning that fits the style. The first being the integration of more multimedia in the classrooms. Students with the current mindset aren't engaged with old school methods of teaching, hence you have to speak their language so to speak to get through to them. One thing these students definitely speak is digital media and social connections. Next is learning through discovery. I for one hate reading textbooks and being told how it is without an explanation of why. Again, students these days would agree that being given the reigns of learning, using more interaction, and utilizing things like a youtube video to learn something would resonate more with them. Lastly is learning through creativity. An aspect that Wagner mentions near the end is the issue of negative influence of parents on their child's creativity. Allowing students to choose their own path to learning and ultimately a career is paramount to motivating them throughout school.
As Wagner explains, motivating the net generation starts with understanding the environment students are growing up in and what kind of culture is developing among them in contemporary society. In particular, he talks about the fact that teens nowadays are virtually connected all the time, ubiquitously, and on multiple platforms. Whether it's gaming and chatting with friends on consoles or sifting through a slew of apps on their smart phone or lurking on social media while simultaneously playing itunes, there is now a sense of constant digital connection at every turn. With this ever expanding atmosphere of attention-grabbing media and applications comes the growing trend of multitasking among young adults and especially college students. They are learning to cope with heavy flow of information and activities by learning to do multiple things at once. Whether or not this is detrimental or beneficial remains to be debated. Next is the idea that newer generations are also becoming more adept to instant gratification. In an age where devices run at amazing speeds and information is just a click away, it's easy to get impatient and carried away when the process of anything takes longer than the blink of an eye now.
As someone who is caught somewhere in the spectrum of these newer generations, I can relate and therefore agree with many of these observations. Personally, I have a smart phone, laptop, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, 4 email accounts and more among many of my digital connection avenues. On top of this I avidly utilize search engines and specific go-to sites in my down time to search topics that interest me multiple times daily. With regards to instant gratification, I'm guilty of that too. If I need directions or to do a quick internet search I can immediately use my phone and get frustrated when it dies or doesn't work fast enough. I live and breathe my phone and without it I am lost. Spoiled and proud of it.
This brings me to Wagner's suggestions for adapting educational views to meet this new 24/7 digital culture. In order to meet the needs of students in these conditions, teachers need to advocate learning that fits the style. The first being the integration of more multimedia in the classrooms. Students with the current mindset aren't engaged with old school methods of teaching, hence you have to speak their language so to speak to get through to them. One thing these students definitely speak is digital media and social connections. Next is learning through discovery. I for one hate reading textbooks and being told how it is without an explanation of why. Again, students these days would agree that being given the reigns of learning, using more interaction, and utilizing things like a youtube video to learn something would resonate more with them. Lastly is learning through creativity. An aspect that Wagner mentions near the end is the issue of negative influence of parents on their child's creativity. Allowing students to choose their own path to learning and ultimately a career is paramount to motivating them throughout school.