MILLENNIAL STUDENTS: A NEW GENERATION OF LEARNERS

The author is Teacher Pampanga

RACHELLE R. PAMINTUAN

The millennial students have arrived and are in your classrooms, cafeterias, hallways, and athletic training clinics. They are also referred to as Generation Y’s, born after 1982, and are quite a contrast from their Baby Boomer parents and early Generation X. Defining the characteristics of the millennial student assists in revealing how they best learn in and out of a classroom. Their collective personality, thought processes, and educational tendencies are unique to traditional classroom practices and educational environments.

It is known that millennial students are technologically savvy. List serves and electronic communication with the whole class provides an opportunity for students to post questions that facilitate discussion among their peers (with professor guidance) and teaching students how to learn, understand, apply, and critique the subject matter by engaging the student in the value of the content, rather than repetition. Students have immediate access to vast amounts of information, but often do not have the tools to use technology to extract the depth of information needed to develop critical thinking. You can engage their interest by using technology in the classroom and applying information learned to “real life” situations.

By understanding today’s learners it is evident the role of the educator must change. No longer is education given to the students for recitation through a text and lecture style model. This generation is a collaborative and social generation that has a focus on understanding and building their knowledge through various forms of medium to discover the answers. It is for the educator to provide an arena for engagement and discovery as well as be a content expert and mentor.

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III at San Roque Elementary School, Magalang,