What Happened to My Students? (The Psychology of Millennials and Zoomers)

What Happened to My Students? (The Psychology of Millennials and Zoomers)

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Presenter Bio

Dr. Alicia Bower is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Berklee. She holds a PhD in Positive Developmental Psychology and focuses on studying human change over time, learning from experience for better outcomes, and using games and technology for engaging learning environments. Her research spans topics like positive social development in parent-child relationships, mindfulness on college campuses, and validating the "luck of the draw" card game as a way to apply the concepts of introductory genetics. She recently received a Berklee Inclusive Teaching and Learning Grant for her work in creating inclusive courses.

Presentation Description

"I can barely get students to pay attention. I don’t think they are making it through the basic material and getting them to work in groups was like pulling teeth! I have so many students needing accommodations…” After a year of studying millennials and Gen-Zers, I've have gleaned incredible insight about our students! Let's explore the evolving culture, technology's influence, pandemic impacts, and learning research to understand our students better. Join me in brainstorming ways to meet them where they are and improve our learning environment.

Pre-Session Materials

My presentation will discuss how human sensitivity to the environment changes how we interact with the world. Although developed for students in my Adult Developmental Psychology course, these videos introduce how sociocultural changes over the past few centuries have influenced our genetic expression, leading to a significant increase in the average lifespan in developed nations. It also explores the concept of "adolescence" and "emerging adulthood" as evolving stages in the lifespan, considering sociocultural changes and the impact of technology on career opportunities for younger generations. When considering "What does it mean to be an 'adult' in our society, and how can we help students navigate this path?", these presentations are the prequel to the sociocultural changes of the past 20 years (think the internet, phones, social-media, AI), and how these developmental pressures have influenced the ways in which are students are navigating the world, and may put us in a better position to prepare them to enter a blended, hybrid, automated workforce (aka, "industry 4.0 and 5.0").

Post-Session Exercise

Please reflect upon these starter questions for our group "debrief" next week:

  1. What teaching methods do you find most effective for this generation of students?
  2. What are some areas you could use support in to better meet the needs of students at this time?
  3. What concerns do you have about using your technology in your courses?
  4. Assessment issues?
  5. How can Berklee support you in creating more inclusive designs? How might this look at the level of the department? Division? Institution?

Keywords

developmental psychology; millennials; gen-z; student generations

Publication Date

10-16-2023

Campus

Berklee Online

What Happened to My Students? (The Psychology of Millennials and Zoomers)
Presenter Bio

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