Facing the Challenge: Meet the NetGen Learner

Created by Theresa Rowe (Oakland University) on April 4, 2008

Net generation learners approach learning differently, or so we are hearing from our peers. We are engaging in a professional discussion across all campuses about these learners, and new teaching and learning approaches are needed to make higher education valuable to this age group.

We are now engaging in a campus discussion to try to characterize our own students. We have collective knowledge and experience that has not been tapped. We have our traditional University Senate faculty committees engaged in the discussion. I recently met with our Forecast Council, where we are starting to review a body of material about the future student. Our group was small and representative:

Cathy Cheal, Assistant Vice President of E-Learning at Oakland University

Tamara Machmut-Jhashi, Interim Assistant Provost & Associate Professor Art History

Julie Voelck, Dean, Kresge Library

Pieter Frick, Dean, School of Engineering & Computer Science

George Preisinger, Assistant Vice President Classroom Support & Tech Services

Theresa Rowe, Chief Information Officer

We also expect a new committee on campus to engage in the discussion, as a "Future Student Characterization Group."

In our Forecast Council brainstorming discussion, we agreed that critical thinking was still a goal we wanted these students to achieve through their learning process.

We created a model that we thought described our learning environment:

Sound-bites ==> Transformed by

Time investment

Perseverance

Information literacy

Connections

YIELDS: Critical Thinking

I'd like to explain each piece, with credit to its source:

Sound-bites, offered by Cathy Cheal, expresses our perception that students want to learn in small bites, with delivery timed to a point when the sound-bite is meaningful. Our students are continually challenged by many activities competing for their time and attention. For our population, work is a significant competing challenge, even for traditionally-aged students. Small bites of timely learning are more appealing.

Given our experiences working with students who have many things competing for their attention, we all agreed that investing time into learning was required by students to achieve the goal. This is particularly difficult for students to do. With time investment we also need perseverance to face and overcome obstacles. We've noted that students seem to give up faster than previous generations. Julie Voelck thought this was part of the Google effect, of asking a question and instantly getting thousands of answers without any effort at digging. A young staff member, Eric Merrill, recently described this to me as return on investment – if a particular effort didn't quickly yield some positive results, new learners are more willing to quickly change directions and try something else, rather than to keep in pursuit. For those of us used to teaching through a gradual unfolding of method, we may not reach an audience that expects a quick return on their time investment.

Information literacy must be pervasive throughout and is even more important if time and perseverance are critical factors. Our students can't waste time and effort on information that they perceive as having little consequence or value.

Through this, students will make connections, what we use to call "things learned en-route to seeking other things." George Siemens presents this very well in Connectivism learning theory.

This is just the start of the discussion. We'll try to post footprints and we'd appreciate any comments. I'm also going to post this on the Wiki, so that we can edit and develop the thought.

Some background you may find helpful:

Net Generation Learners http://www.educause.edu/NewLearners/5515

Learners 2.0? IT and 21st-Century Learners in Higher Education, ECAR Report, Moore, Fowler, Jesiek, Moore and Watson of Virginia Tech

Connectivism, George Siemens, http://www.connectivism.ca/about.html

The Horizon Report, 2008 Edition. http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ELI/2008HorizonReport/45926

Teaching and Learning

Theresa's blog
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		Facing the Challenge: Meet the NetGen Learner Created by Theresa Rowe (Oakland University) on April 4, 2008 Net generation learners approach learning differently, or so we are hearing from our peers. We are engaging in a professional discussion across all campuses about these learners, and new teaching and learning approaches are needed to make higher education valuable to this age group. We are now engaging in a campus discussion to try to characterize our own students. We have collective knowledge and experience that has not been tapped. We have our traditional University Senate faculty committees engaged in the discussion. I recently met with our Forecast Council, where we are starting to review a body of material about the future student. Our group was small and representative: Cathy Cheal, Assistant Vice President of E-Learning at Oakland University Tamara Machmut-Jhashi, Interim Assistant Provost & Associate Professor Art History Julie Voelck, Dean, Kresge Library Pieter Frick, Dean, School of Engineering & Computer Science George Preisinger, Assistant Vice President Classroom Support & Tech Services Theresa Rowe, Chief Information Officer We also expect a new committee on campus to engage in the discussion, as a "Future Student Characterization Group." In our Forecast Council brainstorming discussion, we agreed that critical thinking was still a goal we wanted these students to achieve through their learning process. We created a model that we thought described our learning environment: Sound-bites ==> Transformed by Time investment Perseverance Information literacy Connections YIELDS: Critical Thinking I'd like to explain each piece, with credit to its source: Sound-bites, offered by Cathy Cheal, expresses our perception that students want to learn in small bites, with delivery timed to a point when the sound-bite is meaningful. Our students are continually challenged by many activities competing for their time and attention. For our population, work is a significant competing challenge, even for traditionally-aged students. Small bites of timely learning are more appealing. Given our experiences working with students who have many things competing for their attention, we all agreed that investing time into learning was required by students to achieve the goal. This is particularly difficult for students to do. With time investment we also need perseverance to face and overcome obstacles. We've noted that students seem to give up faster than previous generations. Julie Voelck thought this was part of the Google effect, of asking a question and instantly getting thousands of answers without any effort at digging. A young staff member, Eric Merrill, recently described this to me as return on investment – if a particular effort didn't quickly yield some positive results, new learners are more willing to quickly change directions and try something else, rather than to keep in pursuit. For those of us used to teaching through a gradual unfolding of method, we may not reach an audience that expects a quick return on their time investment. Information literacy must be pervasive throughout and is even more important if time and perseverance are critical factors. Our students can't waste time and effort on information that they perceive as having little consequence or value. Through this, students will make connections, what we use to call "things learned en-route to seeking other things." George Siemens presents this very well in Connectivism learning theory. This is just the start of the discussion. We'll try to post footprints and we'd appreciate any comments. I'm also going to post this on the Wiki, so that we can edit and develop the thought. Some background you may find helpful: Net Generation Learners http://www.educause.edu/NewLearners/5515 Learners 2.0? IT and 21st-Century Learners in Higher Education, ECAR Report, Moore, Fowler, Jesiek, Moore and Watson of Virginia Tech Connectivism, George Siemens, http://www.connectivism.ca/about.html The Horizon Report, 2008 Edition. http://connect.educause.edu/Library/ELI/2008HorizonReport/45926 Teaching and Learning Theresa's blog Login or register to post comments 479 reads
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