Millennial Challenge_by AJS

Millennial Challenge:Effective Generational Teaching and Learning

In the Classroom and the Workplace

An SBBC Faculty In-Service Event

Facilitator: A.J. Schuermann

Ventura Campus April 11, 2014

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• In-service education has as its major goal the updating of teachers in (1) subject matter, (2) curriculum concepts, (3) new theories and techniques of instruction, and (4) new educational media.

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• The most common activity is a lecture by an outside speaker on a subject related to curriculum, the institution, or a societal issue.

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• Our purpose today is to better understand our students and ourselves along generational lines, and to begin creating something new, exciting, and accelerated in the classroom.

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• The first part of today’s In Service is an informational presentation, with some recommendations for success.

• The second part of today’s In Service is a learning activity to foster awareness and understanding of the different generations alive today.

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• Some other answers to this question...

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• We are going to do things quicker and better in our classrooms.

• We will need to adapt and improve.

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• And get ready for the unexpected.

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• We’ve done it before…

• Why are we here at this In Service?

• For instance, let’s say you suddenly were given the task of teaching a class in half the time you were accustomed to, and without a textbook…how would you adapt in order to meet the needs of the students we serve?

3 Things we will have to give up…

• Lecturing is not going to cut it anymore...

• We will likely be engaged in crafting collaborative exercises that can accomplish course objectives utilizing LIRN and a web-enhanced platform for curriculum delivery.

3 Things we will have to give up…1. Relying on the Lecture and the Book

• Stop using the textbook as a restricting format and platform.

• Start using learning activities that encourage self-directed understanding and application of curriculum objectives through teamwork and learning modules.

3 Things we will have to give up…1. Relying on the Lecture and the Book

• Recommended to implement assessments that direct students to turn in responses by a particular deadline, rather than scheduling assessment activities at particular dates and times.

• The classroom becomes a dedicated forum for learning experiences that are meaningful and challenging.

3 Things we will have to give up…2. Taking up precious class time to administer tests and quizzes.

• We will have no time to waste in covering our objectives.

• We will need to compel the students to attend and participate as scheduled by making our classes busy and interactive and on-task each day or evening with relevant work for them to do.

3 Things we will have to give up…3. The Luxury of Time

Remember “The Elements”

1. Engagement

• Engagement is about creating an environment that motivates all of us to become psychologically invested in what we are doing...and in the case of 5-week modules, this means we need to grab their attention and keep the students psychologically invested with meaningful, challenging activities.

• “Gamification” through simulations and role-playing.

• Leadership development and mentoring.

• Letting students “figure it out as they go along” as an avenue to foster meaningful, challenging, and self-directed learning.

1. Engagement

• Teamwork and group activities with meaningful and challenging outcomes presented in class at the end of the evening and/or end of term.

• Increased follow up opportunities for guest speakers and community resources.

2. Collaboration

• A learning environment that allows students to share their beliefs, views, opinions, and prior experiences.

• A learning environment that empowers students with the responsibility of their own learning in the class, and their accountability to classmates.

2. Collaboration

• Teacher as a task setter:

• “What is essential is that the task lead to an answer or solution that can represent as nearly as possible the collective judgment and labor of the group as a whole.”

-- Kenneth Bruffee, A Short Course in Writing

2. Collaboration

• Teacher as a classroom manager:

• Employ tasks that match the students needs, goals, and abilities. Manage the activities toward consensus. The tasks should be clearly worded and workable, so that the students know what to do and how to do it.

2. Collaboration

• Teacher’s role during group work:

• Help students gain authority over their knowledge and gain independence in using it.

2. Collaboration

• Teacher as synthesizer:

• Help the students make sense out of what they have learned, and lead the class to consider similarities and contradictions in order to unite them all, if possible.

2. Collaboration

• Begin with heuristics and end up with critical thinking exercises.

2. Collaboration

2. Collaboration

• “Consistency” where a person responds to a situation in way that allows them to remain consistent. There is value in reflecting on consistency as an approach to understand rules, procedures, expectations.

• Heuristic: experience-based techniques for problem-solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a solution.

2. Collaboration

• “Working backward” allows a person to solve a problem by assuming that they have already solved it, and working backward in their minds to see how such a solution might have been reached.

• Heuristic: experience-based techniques for problem-solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a solution.

2. Collaboration

• “Absurdity and Common Sense” is an approach to evaluate the practicality or appropriateness of a particular approach or solution. It can be applied to decisions where the right and wrong answers seems relatively clear cut…however…

• Heuristic: experience-based techniques for problem-solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a solution.

2. Collaboration

• …all three examples of consistency, working backward, and common sense as “go-to solutions” can also be challenged by particular circumstances that require more critical thinking to arrive at a “right” or “wrong” answer.

• Heuristic: experience-based techniques for problem-solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a solution.

2. Collaboration

• Again, this is a suggested approach to foster collaborative learning and consensus—i.e. begin with heuristics and end up with critical thinking exercises.

• Heuristic: experience-based techniques for problem-solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a solution.

• Technology will help facilitate our aims of Engagement and Collaboration, in order to improve the teaching and learning networks for our students, our faculty, and our community.

3. Technology

• We are going to adopt web-enhanced classroom tools and move away from a textbook-centered curriculum.

3. Technology

• We will incorporate technology after we have overhauled our platforms and timelines.

3. Technology

• This means we have to be ahead of the game and lay the groundwork to incorporate technology as it arrives in the future.

3. Technology

3. Technology

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vsCAM17O-M

• We must sustain ourselves as educators and our relevance by preparing for the future.

4. Sustainability

• We must sustain the interest of students who feel that our classes go on too long.

4. Sustainability

• We are appealing to the demands of the market, largely determined by the wants and needs of millennials.

• And this is a generation that has not been inundated with “mass culture.”

4. Sustainability

• We know they want an experience that is meaningful and challenging, and it’s up to us to discover how to best facilitate those opportunities.

What do they want???

• They want their classes to move quicker so they can graduate quicker, and so that they do not feel bored and/or wasting time.

What do they want???

• They want to discover things on their own but also want to have clear expectations set up for them with concrete goals and rewards.

What do they want???

What do they want???

• They want to “find themselves” in the meaningful purpose they have discovered.

What do they want???

• They want coaches.

What do they want???

• They want independence but don’t know self-reliance.

• Then again, they know how to work in teams better than many of their elders.

What do they want???

• They want clear, frequent feedback.

What do we do???

• Current trends in the workplace reflect a growing awareness of what have become recognizable characteristics of the millennial generation, plus an increase in helpful hints related to a successful integration of this younger generation into the workforce.

What do we do???

• Provide structure.

• Provide leadership and guidance.

• Encourage self-assuredness.

• Take advantage of their comfort level with teams.

What do we do???

• Be prepared for demands and high expectations.

• Provide challenges with structure, and follow up with additional challenges.

• Draw out and respect their ideas.

• Show them where they are headed in their careers.

What do we do???

• We are compelled to be on the forefront of modeling current trends in education and the workforce, as our end-game is always about gainful employment opportunities for students who have successfully turned into the professionals they were meant to be.

What do we do???

• The task before us is re-inventing the business of education for a brave new world—taking what we have taught and learned in the past and creating something new, exciting, and accelerated in the classroom.