As a teacher you already know that more than any other generation, the millennial learners have certain traits that learners before them did not have. They were born with technology and take it for granted just as the majority of us took the television and the refrigerator for granted. Smartphones, mobiles, laptops and Ipads are not really gadgets for them but necessities they were born with. Nobody taught them how to use all this technology for information, for socialising, gaming and messaging; they just know how to do it. So how does a school teacher who was probably born two generations before them manage the classroom with this huge information flow this generation of learners have at their fingertips?
Traditional learning outdated
Preparedness is the hallmark of a good teacher but with so much of technology in use it sometimes become a little daunting for the older teacher to deliver a good learning experience. As the learner as well as classroom change you may become unsure about what steps to take in achieving learning goals. Firstly, the teacher must take into account that for generation Y, traditional learning is something that should have died with the dodo. They don’t like books or libraries but love the web with its assortment of hyperlinks. It becomes a huge challenge for a teacher to connect curriculum to this new culture of learning. However, if you want to be successful you can easily use the web to your advantage.
Use the internet
Some forward thinking schools are making use of Skype to interact with school children in other parts of the world, via the many international friends the generation Y has, for language lessons or geography lessons. Not to worry even if there are no international friends there are bound to be some in other states of our country. Tie ups with other schools makes any geography lesson interesting. Webinars are another ‘cool’ way of connecting and gathering information.
‘Blogology’
One teacher has set up a class blog where the children post their stories, poems their art work. This encourages their language skills and spelling efficiencies as they know a blog is out there for the world to read. The sense of achievement is tremendous. Also it will help in warding off usage of short forms like u, gr8, btw, asap, etc, the new generation learners love to use!
Participatory Classroom
According to research millennial learners are team players, they are full of confidence and they have opinions which they want to express. Use this trait to innovate and keep them interested in the classroom. Lead them first into a discussion on the topic you are going to teach. Inform them about the topic in advance, let them research and gather as much information as possible as homework. You could also divide them into groups that will research one aspect of the topic. Let them compete to see which group comes up with the most unique information on the topic.
Extensive travellers
The new learners have probably travelled extensively in the country and abroad. Their knowledge of places is something they have not learnt in text books but something they have experienced firsthand. You can bring that experience into the classroom by giving them projects to do on the places they have visited, ask them to ‘teach’ that visited place to the rest of the class especially if it connects in some way to the curriculum, be it social science or geography. Make the classroom as action filled as possible. Let them prepare a slideshow of the places they have visited according to geography or social studies.
Adopt new skills
To be an effective teacher, learn to intersperse your lessons with technology as these learners want to learn through diverse methods. They do not want a text read or lecture based lesson as they can get all that information from the internet. So equip yourself in using multimedia teaching methods and handling educational aids like computers, projectors, etc skilfully or you could find that you are no longer in control of your own classroom. Make the internet your friend too so you can get ideas about new methods you can adopt to make lessons participatory. Since the learners are so adept at technology it is important that the teacher is seen as having an adequate amount of technological knowhow too!
Changed Relationships
The new age learners do not view the teacher as an authoritarian figure but rather as someone who will facilitate their teaching goals so they believe they are achievers. Since the role of a parent has changed to ‘friend’ the same can be applied to a teacher. Remember they are growing up in an atmosphere where they have educated parents who can as easily guide them. Their parents probably praise them for every success they have, be it as minor as scoring a basket on the basketball court to mastering a piano lesson. Their parents are ready to confront the teacher for any learning gaps and are quite capable of taking on the school for any perceived policy deficiency.
Praise all the way
You have to take that broad hint from their parents and ensure that you are praising your learners (praise is used as an incentive to get more work done even by the corporate sector now) for their smallest achievement even if it is praising an improvement in handwriting. Handwriting today is anyway a big issue with most teachers as the ‘new kids on the block’ probably learnt typing in the cradle while writing with the pencil and pen is a Herculean task. Hold regular five minutes of ‘well done’ time so they can each speak of their achievement of the day. I learnt a new word, I shared my chocolate, I did not scold my younger sister, is all praise worthy and also a great way to teach life skills.
Prepare your lessons well
In keeping with the fast paced learner for whom technology is as natural as eating food come armed with it yourself, make classroom preparedness your goal. Remember that a classroom is not just a question and answer factory but a novel arena which throws a challenge at you to make your lessons as creative and compelling as possible. The new millennial learners will love you more if they feel they are on the right track with a facilitator that will get them exactly where they want to go. Achievement is important as this is what their parents expect from them and they are more inclined to be parent centered compared to the previous generation of learners.
REFERENCE: Singh.S.(2014). Are Teachers Prepared to Tackle the Next Generation Learners?. Progressiveteacher retrieved on 16th June 2016 from http://www.progressiveteacher.in/are-teachers-prepared-to-tackle-the-next-generation-learners/
