Managing Millennials: Through the Lens of a Modern-Day Learner

Shiela S. Dela Cruz

In the age of fast-rising technological advancements, educators are faced with the struggle of communicating with the millennials and passing on information without losing their attention. Aside from the distractions that surface with technology, significant changes in the attitude of modern-day learners have also been noted thus, creating a colossal need for the existing methods to adjust so as to keep up with present time.

According to Time Magazine, millennials all over the world share more similarities with one another than with older generations within their nations and this is the result of globalization, social media, the exporting of Western culture and the speed of change. Even in parts of the world where family history is valued more than any individual the internet and urbanization has paved way for creating a generation that is as equally overconfident as the Western people.

There are myriad of strategies to create a better connection with modern-day learners such as:

Create diverse methods of learning

When it comes to learning, millennials have different preferences and areas of expertise. Generating methods of learning that could cater to the visual, auditory and kinesthetic needs of the student grants better acquirement of knowledge in the part of the student (Laskaris, 2016). The variety of learning methods could help keep the interest of the students in the lesson instead of just focusing on one type of method which could cause students to be distracted easily. Allowing them to work with peers also stimulates discussion on the given topics and since millennials are also team oriented, having them work in groups could produce better results instead of having them work individually.

Give feedback and rewards for participation

Validation is highly valued by millennials, thus, giving them positive feedback boosts their confidence and motivates them to do well in their other tasks. On the other hand, providing negative feedback challenges the millennial student to do better and push their limits in the next tasks. Rewarding them for merely participating also encourages them to continuously engage in discussions and activities causing them to be more active in class instead of being idle.

Emphasize the relevance of the lesson

Millennials are highly practical people and take importance the relevance of the lessons that they are studying into real-life situations and they are most likely to retain information that they believe may be useful to them in future events. (Laskaris, 2016) claimed that millennials do not value a piece of information for its own sake but rather for its pertinence to their lives. Merely teaching millennial students the lesson without emphasizing its importance in daily life will cause lack of information retention in the long run.

Utilize available technology

With the number of easily accessible technology at hand, it is much easier to optimize the use of gadgets in teaching. According to training magazine, a hands-on approach to learning is a more efficient approach to get through to modern students instead of the traditional strict lecture-style learning. Since millennials are attached to their mobile devices, allowing them to use their resources and use search engines and research more information on the topic and interacting with them through various social media platforms could be helpful in easily disseminating information to the students.

Take time for mentoring

Training magazine stated that since millennials are always looking to learn from mentors, having a mentoring program for students who are behind in the class could provide opportunities for mutual learnings both on the part of the mentor and the mentee. Because every individual has their own phase of learning it could help speed up the process of learning through peer interaction.

Acknowledging the different capabilities and characteristics of each generation creates a massive impact in understanding the type of teaching method which is best suitable for the given set of learners. Therefore, knowing how to handle the students and cater to their needs will help ensure that the lessons are significantly taught and that the information given was well interpreted and not just vaguely understood so as to help the students in the long haul. Given that there are constant changes in the current generations, it is only relevant that there be innovation in teaching and further research so as to continue providing quality education for every student and making sure that no one is left behind.

--oOo-The author is Teacher-III at Talavera Senior High School