A Generation of Students "Born with a Chip"

Despite the fact that we know more about our students’ brains and intelligences, how to teach effectively, how students learn, and the technological applications to learning than at anytime previously, about 50% of college students are unmotivated, disinterested, and disengaged from classroom instruction now more than they ever have been. While in class, they may IM or text their buddies while taking notes on their PCs, Web-surfing, scanning an iTunes playlist, and reading The Color Purple (Carlson, 2005).
Where’s the disconnect? Why are they disengaged? Is this generation of students in school right now really that different from previous generations? Today’s undergraduate and graduate students who are part of this generation comprise the majority of students in higher education.
The burgeoning technology alone has had a profound effect on this generation, unlike any previous one. They were “born with a chip.” Are they significantly different? You bet! These students have grown up with Sesame Street, MTV, reality TV, the Internet, PCs/Macs, video games, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, Skype, iPods, iPhones, PDAs, and TV/DVD remotes as appendages to their bodies. How über cool is that? They carry an arsenal of electronic devices with them. They are key ingredients in their world. Their use of the technology focuses on social networking, music, videos, TV programs, and games. They live in a world of media overstimulation and absolutely love it. As the lyrics to the Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle hit song from Aladdin tell us, we are entering "A Whole New World."
The technologies provide a window into this world. The students’ world is not better than or inferior to ours; it’s just different. When the students cross the threshold of the classroom door, they enter culture shock. They’re numb with understimulation. How can any professor possibly compete with their world? They can’t. Therein lies the disconnect and it will worsen as there stimulation accelerates with the cultural manifestations of the technology in the future. That’s the problem. How do we address it? Future blogs will address this issue and whether all Net Geners are tech savvy.

COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

"Everything Is Boring!"

“School is boring. Everything is boring.” Ring a bell? You have probably heard the “b” word from your students and your own kids many times unless you have been living in a snow globe. Who hasn’t? UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute has conducted a national survey of nearly 250,000 college freshman at more than 500 colleges and universities for the past 44 years. One of their findings is that 40+ % of the students report “they are frequently bored in class” (Pryor et al., 2009). Unless the content is on their radar screens, it’s likely to be rated “boring.” That percentage keeps climbing every year in the U.S.
Our students are not the only ones bored. A survey of 211 British university students indicated that 59% found lectures boring in at least half of their classes and 30% find most or all of their lectures boring (Mann & Robinson, 2009). The least boring methods were found in seminars, practical sessions, and group discussions, where students could interact and actively participate. The use of PowerPoint® slides was the most important factor contributing to boredom. This has prompted some educators to “teach naked,” that is, without any technology (Young, 2009). However, this “throw the baby out…” mentality doesn’t seem totally warranted.

COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC