How to teach Generation Z

Born after 1995

Characteristics: digital native, impatient, creators of future

Location: internet

Aims: success-oriented, natural entrepreneurs, to realize big dreams

The question you have in your mind: Why should I know about them?
Answer: They are our students now

We have probably heard a lot about this generation, as there is a lot of research carried on to find out more about this generation. Actually, they are still students or just entering the work market. So, let’s get to know more about their profile.

Who are they?

This educated, technological and visual generation has an influence beyond their age. These people are creating the future so we cannot underestimate their influence and the potential. These young people tend to feel absolutely comfortable on “come and entertain me” educational environment. They expect the teachers and the lecturers to conduct a fun lesson, and you can easily see their bored faces if it is not so. And this is not the only “strange” requirement they have. They also want to get immediate “right now and right here” answers to the questions they have. Here is one of the best descriptions of Generation Z students I have found: “The brains of Generation Z have become more wired to sophisticated, complex visual imagery, and as a result, the part of the brain responsible for visual ability is far more developed, making visual forms learning more effective” (Rotman, 2016).

This explains the fact of using social media as a source of both serious and fun information. You find them on YouTube, Instagram*, Facebook* more often. Some successful educational institutions are conducting active social media pages. These are the platforms where the students feel at home.

How to teach them?

How to teach a generation who has online dictionaries and digital translators, who can find an answer to the question in a second, who wants you to be a friend rather than a teacher?

Digital assignments and activities

As online school teachers, we are lucky to have abundant resources to use while teaching this generation representatives. And this is good news. However, even if we can provide a variety of digital resources, we also need to explain the aim of what they should do and why what they do is useful. They will be expecting to understand the goal of those fun activities. The bad news is that they do not like and get bored of reading long texts and listening to long audio or watching long video recordings. The rational explanation of this is that their concentration span is short. It will work if you break the content into smaller segments.

Let them express their uniqueness

These people tolerate any deviation of standards. They actually welcome the deviation and that is their self-expression. Unlike the previous generation, they want to stand out and be unique. That explains the big number of different video blogs and clips. They are not shy and want the world to accept them the way they are. They do not tolerate any expression of disrespect. These young people write reviews, give online feedback and influence public opinion.

They need interaction

This generation expects their learning environment to ensure the interaction in the same way as they have in their virtual life. They demand instant information, visual ways of learning, and they prefer interaction to communication. Communication can be one way, when one side gives the message, while the other side accepts it. While interaction is about acting, performing, reacting rather than accepting.

In a nutshell, we as teachers will need to use our critical thinking and set conducive-to-thinking and creative learning environment. We need to trap their imagination, motivation and interest.