Taken from http://www.homesforstudents.org/
How
Different Am I from My College Students?
A Comparison Exercise
By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.
School of English
Faculty of Social Sciences
Universidad Latina de Costa Rica
Monday, April 25, 2016
Post 254
When
I compare myself –in all those years I was an undergraduate student at
Universidad de Costa Rica- to my college students at Universidad Latina, we
seem to be oceans apart. As a matter of a comparison exercise, here I present
you with a short summary of my learners’ main differences if my current
learners are compared to me, a complete different kind of learner.
Classification Mode
|
My University Years as a Student
|
My Current Students in College
|
Generation
|
I’m a Generation X child.
|
My Ss are Generation Y.
|
Ethics
|
Cynical
|
Hopeful
|
Media Preference
|
Direct messaging
|
Social Media-Oriented
|
Feedback
|
Synchronous or
asynchronous
|
Instant and constant
|
Work engagement
|
Preference for working
alone
|
Preference for working
with partners
|
Internet Capacity
|
Savvy and literate
|
Savvy and unconsciously
competent, at times
|
Rewards
|
Search for better salary
and perks
|
Promotion &
recognition of their effort
|
Today
–if compared to what happened in the 80s-, faculty members can become familiar
with their students in very different ways. Professors get to know their
learners by 1) understanding that there is a generation gap that makes us
function in society differently, 2) comprehending the way we react to media
since Generation Y students are more into social networks than Generation X
instructors, and 3) stopping their working and engagement styles where there is
a lot of group and peer work. None of this was present during my college years,
and I bet my old professors had no
clue that 30 years later we had to worry about these variables. None of us
learning in the 80s and who chose to become teaching professionals ever
wondered what education was going to be like today.
If
we had no clue to what education was meant to be today, what about the sources
of motivation for learners today? Motivation comes from very different sources,
and different generations understand motivation differently. Though both types
of motivation, -extrinsic and intrinsic-, may be present for both groups, it
does not imply both understand them equally. And that may be connected to how
members of both generations expect rewards. Instant rewarding for us students
from the 80s was simply unheard of; learners today, our Generation Y students,
expect it now.
And
what seems to be preventing Generation Y students from learning? On the one
hand, their Internet capacity in connection with their social media orientation
makes them be less focused and more into personal rather than professional
life. On the other hand, the way Generation Y students expect feedback to be
provided is not yet a norm in a society where there are more Generation X
members who are not yet willing to make changes in the way they work. The
change is imminent, but not yet here.
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