Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Millennials Are Here!

The "millennials" (people born late 1970's to early 2000's) "are the first generation in human history who regard behaviors like tweeting and texting, along with websites like Facebook, YouTube, Google and Wikipedia, not as astonishing innovations of the digital era, but as everyday parts of their social lives and their search for understanding." (Keeter and Taylor 2009) Do they Google "learning" as they need it? Are notebooks and textbooks obsolete? How should education adapt to meet their needs?

The infographic from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Youth Entrepreneur Council points out "this generation prefers on-the-spot recognition to traditional performances reviews." I see the residual effect of this in my classroom. The online assignments I use provide instant feedback as well as multiple tries. In the classroom, though, I am unable to provide continuous individual feedback. Students work for 80 minutes in the computer lab whereas in the classroom their effort level is less intense. The infographic goes on to say, "millennials are natural collaborators, particularly when the group's purpose and goals are understood." [I pause here for effect.]

Technically savvy, desire instant feedback, prefer collaboration, and need a clear purpose, hmmmm, this is not rocket science. The students of this generation are telling us how to help them succeed. With our eyes open and creativity in place, we must produce quality assessments which remain reliable and valid to a clear purpose. We must provide efficient feedback which strikes at the teachable moment. We must involve technology and support collaboration within our assesments. The tools are available to support these things. "Millennial" education must now be real in our classrooms (face-to-face and virtual).

As for cheating (the elephant in the room few wish to talk about), I can only offer an opinion based on a Keeter and Taylor observation, "They (the millennials) are the least religiously observant youths since survey research began charting religious behavior." Yes, I assume a lack of sincere 'religious' behavior can negatively impact ethical behavior. I am open to hear other views on this, but I find it difficult to avoid that connection when I hear of students who do not think cheating is wrong.

Keeter J. and Taylor P. (December 11, 2009). The Millennials.


Buck, S. (June 28, 2012). Managing Millennials: Why Gen Y Will Be Running the Country by 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2012, from http://mashable.com/2012/06/28/millennials-work-jobs/.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Instructional Design


Consider the enthusiasm demonstrated on the first day of school (any first day of school regardless of age). There is a mixture of excitement and hope. In the individual child there lies a burning question, "What will I learn today?" Buried under the social layers of seeing old friends and making new ones, children truly want to learn. "The real motivation to learn," says David Merrill, "comes when students are able to do something they were not able to do before." 

I say, then, instructional design is the process of sustaining positive learning memories directly related to the learner being able to do something they were not able to do before. I conjecture the accumulation of such memories will support learner growth and development as well as encourage them to want to learn for a long time.

As for the disposition of instructional design, I say it is the combination of the art of teaching and the science of design with measures of common sense, compassion and care. Why? Simple, the perfect lesson plan does not guarantee success as does not an overdose of sensible love. There must be an orchestration of events, interactions, and results which move the learner along. Instructional design is this orchestration.

Merrill, D. (2008, August 11) Merrill on Instructional Design. Retrieved June 11, 2008, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_TKaO2-jXA&