The Characteristics Of Generational Differences In The Classroom

Life experiences shape the way people learn. The following characteristics, which have been attributed to Generation Xers, offer insight into new ways of learning and highlight the need for new approaches to teaching:

In school everyone learns differently; however, according to the article The Myth of Learning Styles, “The idea of learning styles is based on a theory… developed in the early 1980’s.” (pg 1.) A lot has certainly changed from the 1980’s as we learn new more material in every class we take. With this being said, someone the scientists referred to in the article “assumed” that learning styles challenged the way of the educational system when in reality, it is simply a myth. Students, like myself, only prefer to process information that they find useful or interesting to him or her. Thus giving us the problems of that teachers may take too long to cover one idea, and students may miss out out on information because he or she did not prefer that learning style.

Over the last decade there has been a steady rise in college and university enrollments. The vast majority of the enrollees are from the 25 to 40 age bracket, and this trend is only expected to continue into the foreseeable future. The trend has been recognized and embraced by colleges and universities all of the country, and as a result the traditional educational methodologies have been adapted to accommodate the adult learners of today.

“Just as students have different personalities, they also have different ways of learing (Slavin, 107).” Learning styles are another important factor to incorporate when implementing the best learning environment. Learning styles are defined as an individual's mode of gaining knowledge. The most common learning styles addressed are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory leaners understand information through hearing. Visual learners need more visual aids in the learning process, such as diagrams, webs, or pictures. Kinesthetic learners learn better by using manipulatives or by being physically involved in the learning process. Learning styles is a piece of the “backbone” of differentiated learning. Both are used to individualize instruction to help students achieve the most success.

To travel more smoothly along their educational journey, it is also helpful to students to have a good understanding of their personal learning style. For example, I have discovered that I learn best by reading, audio or demonstrational video. In sitting through a lecture, I find myself easily distracted by the presenter’s mannerism or style. Having good reading resources, listening to recorded lectures, or viewing technical videos allows me to productively maintain my focus. Others may not be as comfortable with reading, and would prefer learning in a live lecture environment. Knowing their learning style and using it to their advantage will provide the student with the assurance that they will learn productively and stay on track with their goals.

For decades there has been extensive research on generations to better understand characteristics such as personalities, motivations, and work ethics to help current and future employers better understand how to engage targeted demographics. As a result, in recent years there has been a lot of dialogue around Generations X and Y as employers have tried to understand what attracts, retains, and engages these individuals in the workplace. It’s evident that not understanding and respecting these differences can lead to misunderstanding, miscommunications, mixed signals, and possibly the loss of talent within an organization. Over the next couple of paragraphs I will elaborate on each generation and highlight their values as it is important to

Today, four generations of Americans are represented in the American workplace: the so-called "Matures" who were born between 1900 and 1945, "Baby Boomers" who were born between 1946 and 1964, Generation Xers, born between 1965 and 1980 and the Millennials whose cohort began in 1981 and continues to the present. The purpose of this paper was to gain a better understanding of an individual from the Baby Boomer generation, in order to explore the patterns and markers that are significant to this generation. In addition, a discussion concerning a common conflict that occurs in the workplace between members of the Millennial Generation and the Baby Generation is followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Education benefits individual mentally, emotionally and physically by placing them in better place than they were previously before. Everybody would agree that learning something new would take place throughout the life. Learning style defined as "A term that describes the variations among learners in using one or more senses to understand, organize, and retain experience" (Reid, 1987, p. 89). Furthermore, Felder and Henriques (1995, p. 21) explained learning styles as "the ways in which an individual characteristically acquires, retains and retrieves information". However, different learners possess different characteristics and different preferred learning styles to perceive, process, take in and understand information.

From the beginning of my studies I wanted to help children and adolescents with their family issues. I came from a difficult childhood, and thought that this was my area of expertise. Thereafter, my feelings began to shift some recognizing that I too made many mistakes with my own children that I began to see that most of the home issues are born of generational situations that have evolved to present issues. Consequently, it created a desire and inclination to lead a family group. Probably the most difficult issues that a family group can present are the generational differences and establishing trust in the members. Having a son talk to his father in a group setting could be beneficial to their confrontation, rather than trying to deal with

Age related changes affect the teaching learning process in a variety of ways, but one main aspect that tends to outshine the others is performance. Performance in different tasks differs with age. For example, younger adults generally learn more quickly and memorization is easier for them. However, they are not as well equipped to apply new knowledge to life as are older adults. They do not have the background, experience, and education to integrate learning with life as effectively.

Most people have a learning style that mirrors how they were taught when they were younger. It should be noted that there is not a one size fits all method when it comes to learning. The key to being able to appeal to each of the different generations is to offer diversity in teaching styles in order to satisfy the different preferences. As of now, there are four generations that are in the workforce and those four generations are: The Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. This paper will examine the characteristics of these four generations, how their learning styles differ, and what to

Learning styles is one of the ways schools have changed over the past couple of years in regards to diversity. The varieties of learning styles of students have become more

The workplace of today involves interactions among people from four different generations often causing much conflict for leaders and organizations. Each generation represented has its own set of different values and beliefs. These differences can easily lead to conflicting barriers within the workplace. This can pose a significant problem for those in leadership. In order to combat this issue, leaders and organizations can effectively deal with these issues by offering different programs such as executive mentoring, town hall meetings, and leadership seminars for those in leadership.

SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE “UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE WORK PLACE” ( Cited from Kapoor and Solomon 2011)

“We didn’t have birthdays like you growing up.” I was gripped from the beginning of this interview to learn about the generational differences between me and my grandmother. Donna McGuire, my grandmother, has led a very different life than mine own due to multiple generation gaps and geographical differences. This interview really enlightened me about the struggles that people went through in previous years and how their childhoods were so drastically different than ours. What was really eye opening about this interview was that not only how technology has changed how we live but the evolution of society that makes older generations seem so distant even though the difference in years is only around 60 years.