Move Over, Millennials...It's Gen-Z's Classroom Now!

The challenge of teaching and meeting Gen-Z learners’ needs is one that can stupefy educators, trainers, and instructional designers. Our presentation and reflection time will explore the obstacles associated with Gen-Z learners and their frustration with the way they are being taught. We will furnish examples of successful, effective, and engaging assignments and activities that will result in more meaningful experiences for learners and educators.

We will challenge session participants to learn about the Meme Generation (not to be confused with Millennials who were often called the Me Generation). Memes, a viral form of humor, allow them to contextualize information in a coded language built on a ever-changing world of relevant pop-culture to them. Because they can be quickly spread and disseminated amongst peers, Memes serve as a dual-level shibboleth, identifying if a person speaks to either the ideas in the meme itself and the pop-culture undercurrent message. Much like the knowledge of the world required of Gen-Z, pop-culture is itself constantly changing and evolving. Gen-Z is able to unite those two seemingly parallel thoughts together in cohesive ways, relating facts and ideas abstractly with humor and commentary. This is an example of how the interconnected mind of Gen-Z functions. This why education must consider how to reconnect ideas, or facilitate opportunities for students to connect these ideas in a language of their own, which may, in fact, seem foreign to prior generations.

This presentation asks participants to consider the research that indicates how other generations take for granted the ubiquity of the digital landscape today and how the permeance of technology has affected the mindset of Gen-Z. But this goes beyond mere technology. On a cultural level, Gen-Z is different from the superficially similar Millennial. Both groups would be considered digital natives. But Millennials grew up in a world where technology was a world of possibilities and opportunities. Gen-Z doesn’t see through those same kind of rose-colored glasses. Gen-Z were raised to recognize the dangers of oversharing, though are themselves just as likely to share. Gen-Z were raised to see the value of multiculturalism, but are likely to consider said multiculturalism to be expected, not something deserving extra attention, recognition and praise. Gen-Z may mutli-task in the same way that Millennials might, but Gen-Z is also more likely to go deeper into ideas in those small multi-tasks. It isn’t enough to scratch the surface, so much as scratch as much as possible as to make a mark.

During this session, participants will explore innovative assignments that allow for autonomy, such as designing video discussions, creating websites with intentional purposes, using social concepts, such as memes, to convey understanding, and more. We will share innovative tools that can be used to deliver these assignments in ways in which Gen-Z learners will effectively engage.

There will be opportunities for interactivity during this session through innovative and unique activities using gamification platforms and collaborative learning opportunities that will have participants questioning their own thoughts and misconceptions about Millennials and Gen-Z. Participants will discuss questions about the differences in these generations, try to identify which character trait fits best with each of the generations, challenge their own generational beliefs, and more.

Session Goals:

Individuals attending this session will be able to:

• Differentiate between Millennials and Gen-Z

• Explore innovative assignments designed specifically for Gen-Z learners

• Discover how to create effective and engaging assignments

• Discuss relevant literature on Gen-Z and their instructional needs

Structure for 5-minute individual reflection and 10-minute Q&A/group discussion:

• Guiding Questions for reflection/group discussion:

  • What misconceptions did you have about Millennials, Gen-Z, and the differences between the two?

  • Thinking of activities you currently utilize, which would appeal to Gen-Z learners? How can you modify the activities that don’t?

  • Do you feel it the job of educators to adjust their delivery and facilitation methods to the needs of the audience?

  • Or do students need to learn to think in the manner the material is being taught?

    • Does this make students more adaptable or less interested?