For both Adjunct Faculty Development Day and Faculty Development Day, Jo Clemmons and Gayle Sollfrank presented to PLNU faculty three areas of concern brought forward in Jean Twenge’s research on iGen students: Unpreparedness for the Rigors of College, Addiction to Cell Phones, and Anxiety. Through their own teaching experience, reading, and research, Jo and Gayle have brought together some of the best teaching strategy resources for addressing these three issues. Many of these strategies can be tailored to fit your own discipline. Feel free to use them!
Teaching Strategies for Today’s Students (iGen or GenZ)
Preparing Students for the Rigors of College
Today’s Emerging Adults (a term coined by author Jeffrey Arnett, 2015) are growing up more slowly, and often lack the self-discipline and skills needed for college. The methods they used to get by in high school are no longer successful in the college classroom. So, how can we be proactive in our approach to helping students become successful in our classes?
Resources
Empowering Students to Stop Cell Phone Addiction
Students are glued to their cell phones, instantly connecting them to the internet and social media. In addition, today’s students want to use their laptops in class, contributing to their constant drive to be “connected,” but taking away from their concentration in tasks related to class. What are some techniques we can incorporate in our classrooms to help students develop technology self-governance?
Resources
Helping Students Learn Despite their Anxiety
Hand-in-hand with cell phone addiction comes a dramatic rise in depression, loneliness, and anxiety among Emerging Adults. Anxiety in particular affects nearly 60% of our students. Our job as teachers is to create an environment where students can become connected, feel successful, formulate intrinsic values, and ultimately learn. How can we accomplish this seemingly impossible task?
Resources