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If you are in your mid forty’s to early fifties your childhood was probably characterized by playing hide and go seek outside with your friends, biking to school, sending letters, and having to wait until you were in the proximity of someone to have a real conversation. Nowadays, kids are equipped with the world at the tip of their fingers. Smartphones give students the power of endless information with little to no effort on their part. With social media apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook, it’s no wonder that kids are having issues staying focused. In a world where instant gratification rules teachers are now faced with a technological dilemma which raises the question asking, how do educators engage with the next generation of future leaders?
Learning is a gradual process. Just like careers aren’t built overnight, subjects are not mastered within minutes. Those born within the mid 1990s to early 2000s are considered to be a part of Generation Z. MediaKix has reported that this group has developed an attention span of approximately 8 seconds. Imagine if you are an instructor teaching math, according to data you literally have 8 seconds to grasp a student’s attention enough to get them to even connect with what you are trying to teach. It doesn’t matter if your material has led to the invention of the very products they hold near and dear to their hearts, if they can’t understand quickly understand how it works quickly then you’ve lost them. Of course, not every student follows this instant gratification style of learning, but amongst those that grew up with technology it’s becoming more and more prevalent. The issue with instant gratification is that it encourages a never ending hunger for stimulation that cannot be truly satisfied. In that case, if teachers are going to have a shot at connecting with their students they are going to have to utilize the desire for technology to their own advantage. One website that could be useful is PolitiPeeps website, for example, where you can also find politics and philosophy tips.
When cellphones first began to pervade school classrooms, many educators tried to combat the distraction by either taking them away from students or restricting their use in the classroom. Nevertheless, restricting students from their technological appliances typically backfires as they will find other avenues to remain distracted in spite of efforts made to help them pay attention. Rather than leaning out of Generation Z’s need for instant gratification it’s time to lean in! If students are already going to be using their phones why not put it to good use. There are many apps such as Cahoot, Quizlet, and TopHat that teachers can use to keep students engaged during class. Instead of making students hide their phones establish a healthy relationship of trust where students can feel like their phone is a resource.
With that said, if leaning into technology use isn’t your style there are other methods of interactive learning that can be used to further engage your students. Teaching lessons in tandem with hands-on activities have been proven to keep students motivated to actively learn material. Considering that several types of students exists in the classroom, this technique can help students even forget they have phones or tablets around them. With a wide array of learning styles encompassing visual, auditory and kinetic senses it’s no wonder why some students feel the need to distract themselves with the latest app on their phone. As a teacher you can implement a simple survey to narrow down what type of learners you have in your classroom so that you can craft lessons and teaching methods that work for each student.
The classroom is typically the first place where students learn to practice the art of mindfulness. Mindfulness can be a great tool to equip students to remain focused on accomplishing their future goals as the world continues to get more hectic. Understanding how they engage with both learning material and presenters can be a powerful tool to give them an advantage in the future. At the end of the day, the goal is to help produce thoughtful adults who are able to interact and contribute to the complex issues that society has to offer. We want to create a society where young people can become civically engaged and feel confident to acquire new skills on their own. It all starts in the classroom. Instructors and educators of all fields can either tap into the technological atmosphere that surrounds Generation Z or discover new ways of teaching that works for this unique subset.
