2. The Teaching–Learning
Experience from a Generational
Perspective
• Generational Perspectives of Faculty and
Students
• Generational Considerations for
Educators
3. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• Faculty consists mostly of:
– Veterans (born 1922-1945)
– Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964)
– Generation X (born 1965-1981)
– Generation Y (born 1982-2002)
4. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• Many health care programs attract a
wide group of students:
– Traditional students who enter nursing
programs right after high school
– Older students who have worked after high
school and may have families
– Seasoned students who are pursuing
careers after raising families or are changing
careers
5. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• The Veterans
– Cultural Setting
• Known for patriotism, loyalty, and duty
• Cultural diversity was not the norm.
• Most Americans lived in homogeneous
communities.
• Family farms were still a way of life.
• Often isolated from outside influences
• Taught not to question those in authority
6. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• The Veterans
– Characteristics / Work Ethics / Learning Styles
• Known to be team players
• Group must surpass individual desires
• Expectation of retirement security
• Deference to established rules
• Usually follow status quo
• Not usually tech savvy
• Heavy emphasis in education on reading,
writing, and arithmetic.
7. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• The Baby Boomers
– Cultural Setting
• Buy now, pay later mindset
• Health insurance was expected employment
benefit
• Digital immigrants (They needed to catch up
and learn the technology.)
• Learners were taught in highly structured,
teacher-centered environments.
• Most people did not have access to computers.
8. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• The Baby Boomers
– Characteristics / Work Ethics / Learning
Styles
• Mistrust authority figures
• Often seen as idealists
• Equate work with self worth
• Uneasy relationship with authority
• Committed lifelong learners
• Solve problems by action
9. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• Generation X
– Cultural Setting
• Many children were raised by single parents
or by working parents.
• Exposed to high level of violence in movies,
music, and video games
• Exposed to mass marketing commercialism
• Internet was introduced in this generation.
10. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• Generation X
– Characteristics / Work Ethics / Learning
Styles
• Friends are seen as extended family
members
• Expect instant gratification
• Consumers of education, but mistrust
authority figures (faculty)
• High value on individuality
11. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• Generation Y
– Cultural Setting
• Most have never known a time before the age
of digital technology.
• Most children born in this generation were
planned and wanted.
• Parents are criticized for being overly involved
(helicopter parents).
• High value on family relationships
12. Generational Perspectives of
Faculty and Students
• Generation Y
– Characteristics / Work Ethics / Learning
Styles
• More sociable than X ers
• More optimistic than X ers
• Have highly structured, scheduled lives
and are much closer to their parents than
X ers
• Comfortable in group settings; feel
isolated if they do not have access to
friends through technology
14. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Educational Expectations of Teachers
• Educational Expectations of Students
• Barriers to the Teaching-Learning
Experience
• Parallel/Mosaic Thinking Patterns
• Strategies for Teaching Among the
Generations
15. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• What factors influence each generation
involved in educational settings?
• What are the typical characteristics for each
generation?
• How do my generational preferences and
characteristics merge or differ from the
newer generations?
• What are the best teaching strategies to
engage each generation of learner?
16. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Could generational differences simply be
maturity issues?
• How does technology affect the new
learner?
• Do digital natives think differently than
other learners?
• What strategies can engage the new
generation of learners?
17. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Educational Expectations of Teachers
– Education has become more student-centered.
– Hospital-based apprenticeship model has
moved to colleges and universities
– Faculty members must clearly define acceptable
behaviors.
18. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Educational Expectations of Students
– Education has become a commodity.
– Education is no longer seen as a revered
institution, incapable of being criticized.
– Boomers appreciate mentoring relationships
with faculty.
– X ers feel they can teach themselves.
– Y ers are the most grade conscious.
19. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Educational Expectations of Students
– Generation X ers and Y ers expect faculty to be
experts and to have recent relevant experience
in the subjects they teach.
– They expect rationales as to why material has to
be learned.
– They like personal attention and expect
immediate constructive criticism for their
performance.
20. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Educational Expectations of Students
– Generation Y ers expect support and nurturing
from faculty.
– Experiential learning is an expectation of both
Generation X ers and Y ers.
– Despite addiction to new technologies, younger
students prefer to read about the subject first,
then hear an expert’s lecture.
– X ers value doing over knowing.
21. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Barriers to the Teaching-Learning
Experience
– Typical Y er will have trouble sitting and
reading for long periods of time.
– Multitasking is second nature to Y ers.
– Newer generations learn differently from their
predecessors because of the excessive amounts
of visual stimulation they have received
throughout their lives.
22. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Parallel/Mosaic Thinking Patterns
– Mosaic thinking is a consequence of visual
symbols and images that are found in the media
today.
– Parallel thinking is the ability to process
information from a variety of sources
simultaneously.
– Both have reduced student attention spans.
23. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Strategies for Teaching Among the
Generations
– Understand your own personal biases, learning
styles, and preferred methods of teaching.
– Adult learning theory rests on the principle that
learners will retain and retrieve information
when meaning is associated with it.
– Adults want to learn what is applicable to them
at the moment.
24. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Strategies for Teaching Among the
Generations
– Understand the generation you are teaching to
– Faculty creativity is important
– Open and honest dialogue & availability
– Xers want their time guarded, want to know
what they need to know to pass
• Learn to finish the task, not just to learn
25. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Strategies for Teaching Among the
Generations
– Yers learn best when there are multiple choices
for obtaining information
• E.g. detailed notes, recorded lectures,
PowerPoint lectures, and videotaped lectures
• Enjoy discovery
• Appreciate being asked their opinion
26. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Strategies for Teaching Among the
Generations
– Using classroom clickers enhances classroom
participation while avoiding embarrassment to
the students who choose the wrong answers.
– Virtual clinical experiences and lab practices
are becoming more affordable and reliable.
27. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Strategies for Teaching Among the
Generations
– Use the technology already available to prepare
future professionals
– High-fidelity simulation labs – use standardized
patients and human-like computerized
manikins to mimic real patient clinical
situations are more prevalent
28. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Strategies for Teaching Among the
Generations
– Narrative pedagogy is a way of interpreting
information from different perspectives
– using a deconstruction (analytical) approach
may work in classes that welcome and
encourage student participation, analysis, and
dialogue
– Concept maps use parallel/mosaic thinking to
promote clinical reasoning (Vacek, 2009).
29. Generational Considerations for
Educators
• Strategies for Teaching Among the
Generations
– Reflection and critical thinking can be powerful
and generationally relevant for promoting
clinical thinking by experienced faculty.
– Edward de Bono’s six hat game (de Bono, 1999;
Kenny, 2003). This encourages parallel thinking
processes by looking at a problem from six
different perspectives and discussing them.
30. Conclusion
• Faculty reluctance to change or
generational unawareness will affect
communication and learning.
• Connections between teachers and
learners will always be the most
important factor in educational success.
