by Sandra Teft

I was awarded a scholarship to attend the Lilly Conference this past January and I was so grateful for the opportunity. The Lilly Conference is an evidence-based teaching and learning conference attended by faculty and administrators with varying experience and backgrounds. This diversity provides a wonderful opportunity to network and share knowledge and experiences with colleagues that you may otherwise never have had the chance to meet.

The greatest thing I took away from the experience was to be mindful of those you are teaching. Sometimes we can focus so much on the content that we do not consider those absorbing the information and how they are receiving it. This theme came up with a particular focus on the younger generation, or Generation Z as they are being referred to now. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I hadn’t heard of Gen Z and I wasn’t quite sure how they differed from the generation before them, or the rest of us.

The presentation, given by Gladys Childs, Understanding Generation Z, gave a lot of insight into the younger demographic. She stated that this group feels it is not ok to fail and are afraid to take risks. Childs suggests making mistakes on purpose to show them it is ok. I’m not sure I agree with this, as I think it can result in students who do not trust that you are capable of teaching the class. Of course, we are all going to make mistakes here and there, but a better idea may be to give anecdotes on times you have failed in life or to stress how mistakes help us to learn instead.

Childs also discussed how Generation Z reach for devices (tablets, phones, etc.) every 7 seconds, they don’t like to spend time outdoors, and a large percentage (42%) base their self-esteem on their social media presence and approval. I have to say, I questioned many of these “facts”, like I do when I hear about facts related to other generations. We often talk about students as individuals (ex., each person has their own learning style), but then push them into groups (ex., Generation Z students are afraid to fail, terrified of making mistakes), attributing statistics to them that don’t always seem to line up.

The information I found most helpful was in many of the sessions I attended on student engagement. In these sessions we engaged in activities that reminded you not to make assumptions about students, to treat students as individuals with differing perspectives, thoughts, and experiences. I think lumping students together, whether they are young or old, and making broad generalizations about them as a group is not helpful to either the student or the teacher. You can lose the student when they think you are completely overlooking what makes them unique.

Of course, we cannot teach each individual separately. We have to teach to the entire group, but some strategies that were discussed in the sessions on student engagement can quickly help you to get an initial understanding of each of your students and, at the same time, make them comfortable with you as their teacher so that they can approach you when they have a misunderstanding.

Some activities to do this include:

-Having the class take a piece of paper and giving them all the same instructions on how to manipulate it (draw a circle on the paper, fold it, tear off a corner) with eyes closed. When everyone opened their eyes and their papers and looked around the room, everyone’s paper was different. It showed us that even though we can give students the same instruction, they can all interpret what we say differently.

-Having the class look at pictures of two different students and write down our first thoughts based on their appearances. This shows us not to make quick judgments. Our students surprise us every day.

-Having students write their name on a piece of paper. The instructor collects the names and redistributes to the group. The class has to find the person that has their name and ask questions based on likes and dislikes to get to know one another. This shows us how similar we can be, and also how different.

Personally, I thought this was a better approach. These activities help connect the teacher with the students and the students with each other. Everyone can see the similarities and differences we all can have and it makes it easier for all to engage and not feel afraid or embarrassed. The instructor can then teach to the group, keeping in mind the needs of students individually.

The Lilly Conference was a great experience. I learned so much from each session and presenter. It really made me reflect on my teaching, the students, and how best to connect with them to enhance their learning.