Look Whos Coming to College: Engaging Todays College Students

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Look Whos Coming to College Engaging Todays
College Students

• Robert D. Reason
• Penn State University
• Center for the Study of Higher Education
• April 3, 2009
• Hazelton, PA

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Giving away the ending

• Millennials learn differently then previous
  generations
• Technology and diversity are driving forces
• Higher Education must adapt
• But we cant throw the baby out with the
  bathwater
• Learning must be understood as the engagement of
  person with environment

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(Reason Terenzini, 2007, 2008 Terenzini
Reason, 2005)
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National Demographic Trends Summary

• Enrollment increases
• More racial diversity
• Increases in percentage of African American and
  Latina/Latino students
• Decrease in percentage of White students
• More women
• More traditional in other demographic areas
• Full-time status
• Age (this is expected to change soon)
• Residency

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National Trends for Incoming Students(Over last
5 years)

• Increased commitments to social and civic
  responsibility
• Greater participation in community service
• Increasingly polarized in political orientation
• Decrease in interaction across racial/ethnic
  groups

CIRP (2004, 2005)
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(No Transcript)
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More Trends

• Raising a family and succeeding financially rated
  most highly among life goals
• Achieving A averages in high school at record
  high, while boredom increases
• Increasing expectation to work during college to
  help pay for college
• Decreased high school drinking

CIRP (2004, 2005)
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2008 Beloit College Mindset List

• Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on
  their Quidditch team.
• GPS satellite navigation systems have always been
  available.
• Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic
  bottles.
• Students have always been Rocking the Vote.
• Schools have always been concerned about
  multiculturalism.
• There have always been gay rabbis.
• Radio stations have never been required to
  present both sides of public issues.
• There have always been charter schools.

Adapted from http//www.insidehighered.com/news/20
08/08/19/mindset
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Millennial Students

• Special
• High expectations of service and responsiveness
• Intrusive parents
• Sheltered
• Rule following
• Trusting of and reliant upon authority
• Confident
• Negotiation

Howe and Strauss (2000)
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Millennial Students

• Conventional
• Accepting of societal rules and expectations
• Team-oriented
• Lower pressure on individual, maximizes
  collective good
• Achieving
• External locus of control
• Pressured
• Pressure to perform and excel

Howe and Strauss (2000)
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Other Characteristics of Millennials

• Doing is more important than knowing
• Trial and error approach to problem solving
• Think about video game playing
• Staying connected is essential
• But defined differently
• They have zero tolerance for delays
• Blurred line between consumer and creator
• Think downloading

Frand, 2000 McGlynn, 2007
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Other Characteristics of Millennials

• Technologically Comfortable
• These are Digital Natives (Prensky, 2001)
• Dont confuse comfort with competency (McGlynn,
  2007)
• Intellectually Naïve
• Need help determining reliable sources of
  information
• Able to Multi-Task
• deploy their attention as needed

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Educational Expectations

• Education as a commodity
• Limitless academic options
• Desire value added experiences
• Academics as means of acceleration
• Want clear investment outcomes

Based on the work of Stephen R. Merritt,
Villanova University
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Educational Expectations

• Enhanced personal support
• Seamless administrative systems
• Specialized housing, food service and amenities
• Discounted educational costs
• Intensive support, advising counseling

Based on the work of Stephen R. Merritt,
Villanova University
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Educational Expectations

• Integrated information technology
• User orientation
• Access, speed, reliability, portability
• Access to information 24 X 7, worldwide

Based on the work of Stephen R. Merritt,
Villanova University
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Engagement

• The greatest impact on student learning
  appears to stem from students total level of
  campus engagement, particularly when academic,
  interpersonal, and extracurricular involvements
  are mutually reinforcing, and relevant to a
  particular educational outcome.
• - Pascarella Terenzini, 2005

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Engagement

• Two key components
• The amount of time and effort students put
  educationally purposeful activities
• How institutions of higher education allocate
  their resources and organize learning
  opportunities and services to encourage students
  to participate in and benefit from such
  activities

Wolf-Wendel, Ward, Kinzie (2007)
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General Strategies for Engaging Millennials

• High, Clear Expectations
• Provide individual feedback
• Engage with/through technology
• Utilize group work
• Incorporate reflection

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Specific Strategies for Teaching Millennials

• Engage in Meaningful Activities
• Relate to real world
• Experiential Education
• Community Service
• Engage in Group Work
• Emphasize Responsibility
• Relationships
• Provide Structure

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Specific Strategies for Teaching Millennials

• Teach and Require Reflection
• Persistent Inquiry
• E-Portfolios
• Blogging
• Message Boards
• Remain Active
• Limit lecture/passive use of technology
• Supplement lecture with interesting visuals

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Specific Strategies for Teaching Millennials

• Use Technology Effectively
• Let course content drive technology use
• Consider 5 points of connectivity
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Motivation
• Integration
• Creativity

(Smith Potoczniak, 2005)
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Specific Strategies for Teaching Millennials

• Teaching style
• what they want
• High Energy
• Passionate
• Inventive
• Humorous
• Active
• Entertainment
• (Smetanka, 2007)

• Teaching style
• what we know
• Clarity
• Organization
• Feedback
• Availability/rapport
• Class time management
• Engaging
• (Pascarella Terenzini, 2005)

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Implications for all Universities

• Reduce psychological/perceptual size
• Increase opportunities for encounters with
  difference
• Capitalize on out-of-class experiences
• Recognize and capitalize on the synergy of
  students academic and non-academic experiences
  through organizational restructuring

(Pascarella Terenzini, 2005 Terenzini
Reason, 2007)
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Implications for all Universities

• Faculty should interact with students outside of
  the classroom
• Encourage participation in
• Living-learning programs
• Clubs and organizations
• Campus activities
• Create on-campus employment opportunities

(Pascarella Terenzini, 2005 Terenzini
Reason, 2007)
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References

• Aviles, K., Phillips, B., Rosenblatt, T.
  Vargas, J. . (2005, Sept./Oct.). If higher
  education listened to me. EduCause, pp. 17-28.
• Coomes, M. D., DeBard, R. (Eds.). (2004).
  Serving the millennial generation (New Directions
  in Student Services, n. 106). San Francisco
  Jossey-Bass.
• Crone, I., MacKay, K. (2007, Winter).
  Motivating todays college students. PeerReview,
  9 (1), 18-21.
• McGlynn, A. P. (2007). Millennials in college
  How do we motivate them? The Hispanic Outlook in
  Higher Education, 17(25), 34-36.
• McGlynn, A. P. (2007). Teaching todays college
  students Widening the circle of success.
  Madison, WI Atwood.

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References

• Pascarella, E. T., Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How
  college affects student. A third decade of
  research. San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Prensky, M. . (2005, Sept./Oct.). Engage me or
  enrage me What todays learners demand.
  EduCause, pp. 60-64.
• Reason, R. D., Terenzini, P. T., Domingo, R. J.
  (2007). Developing social and personal competence
  in the first year of college. The Review of
  Higher Education, 30, 271-299.
• Reason, R. D., Terenzini, P. T., Domingo, R. J.
  (2006). First things first Developing academic
  competence in the first year of college. Research
  in Higher Education, 47, 149-175.
• Smith, S. E., Potoczniak, A. (2005,
  Sept./Oct.). 5 points of connectivity. EduCause,
  pp. 30-40

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References

• Smetanka, M. J. (2004, May 7). Millennial
  studnets A new crew enlivens the U. The
  Minneapolis Star Tribune, p. 1.A.
• Terenzini, P. T. Reason, R. D. (2007). Bad rap
  or regrettable truth Engagement and student
  learning at public research universities. In R.
  L. Geiger, C. L. Colbeck, R. L. Williams, C. K.
  Anderson (Eds.), The future of the American
  public research university (pp. 165-186).
  Rotterdam, The Netherlands SensePublishers.
• Terenzini, P. T., Reason, R. D. (2005,
  November). Parsing the first-year of college A
  conceptual framework for studying college
  impacts. Paper presented at the Annual Conference
  of the Association for the Study of Higher
  Education. Philadelphia, PA.