Millennial teachers for Gen Z students
Noralyn C. Pineda
INCREDIBLE technology changes are defining our current reality, impacting the way our society functions and breaking new ground in various areas, including education. This can be seen in Generation Z (Gen Z) students who are equipped with different technological skills — a fact which greatly affects the teachers of today. Fortunately, there’s a match for Gen Z learners in the classroom: millennial teachers.
Students from this generation have a different learning style compared to students from the previous generation. They are known to lose interest in a discussion if new technologies, such as projectors, tablets, smart phones, etc., are not used. Moreover, they easily lose interest if they see long hand-outs and few graphics in the discussion.
Millennial teachers can help this generation of students learn in ways they respond to.Millennial educators can easily relate to Gen Z learners because the age gap between them is not that far. The teachers are also known to be flexible in terms of the teaching strategies they use for their students. In addition, teachers from this generation can also adapt to Gen Z students’ preference for the digital.Millennial educators are able to adapt and vary theactivities or games that they incorporate in the teaching and learning process.
Furthermore, millennial teachers are also more likely to use a different classroom management system that allows the students to actively participate in class. For instance, they usually assign group work which enables students to share their ideas and build relationships with their classmates. This is effective in educating the learners, since Gen Z students are known to be outspoken and want to be heard.
Lastly, millennial teachers are more understanding and show more empathy. They tend to understand the basic needs that determine the student’s ability to focus in the classroom. Therefore, it allows the teacher to understand the students more, which in turn results to an effective teaching and learning process.
All in all, millennial teachers are equipped with the set of competencies that is needed in teaching Gen Z students. The students will be efficiently educated by these teachers since they can easily relate to each other, thus making the process easier. In the end, millennial teachers are the best in successfully influencing and preparing Gen Z students for lifebecause they can give them a classroom that is filled with understanding and effective interaction.
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The author is Teacher I at City of San Fernando West Integrated School