Communicating Effectively with Students: Research

Learners from different generations have enrolled and graduated from educational institutions for many decades, but educators have been using the same strategies despite what generation they teach in their classrooms. A new generation of students has occupied today’s classrooms who are called ‘Generation Z’ or Gen Z for short, and they are colloquially called ‘Zoomers’. They have unique characteristics and expectations, and they were raised with technology. They are digitally connected all the time, and it is necessary to check the quality of education given to them. Educational quality is a crucial topic worldwide and it is the need of the hour to discuss the quality of educators.

A professor offers some hints on engaging members of Gen Z, who are taking college campuses
by storm.

Abstract: In this paper, we (a faculty member and an educational developer) discuss our attempts to be more mindful in the academy with attention to mindfulness practices in the classroom and the development of a community of practice at our institution as ways to foster community and deepen learning. Included within the paper is an introduction to mindfulness and the benefits of mindfulness and mediation practices--generally and within education. In addition to providing current resources we include details of our own experiences as examples through which others may be able to incorporate these practices into their own classrooms and institutions.

The article discusses the reasons on the prevalence of learning styles beliefs. It explains various claims at the center of learning-styles theory including the claims that different modes of learning in different students could be improved by matching one's teaching with the preferred learning modes, that teachers should take these differences of learners into account, and that learning could be improved by matching the mode of instruction to the preferred learning style of the student. It notes that learning-styles theory has persisted because it has succeeded in becoming a common knowledge and more of its general claims are true. It also explores the reason why college educators need to address the direct costs of the learning-styles myth.

The purpose of the present paper is to examine the unique shaping factors, characteristics, and learning expectations of Generation Z and to provide recommendations concerning how colleges of education can leverage these aspects to better prepare these future education professionals.

 The achievement and equity gap between majority students and underrepresented minority students, first generation college students, and low socio-economic status undergraduate students is a pervasive problem in higher education.  At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, faculty professional development on inclusive teaching has been shown to raise instructor awareness and increase their use of inclusive teaching practices. This focused professional development module could be adapted by other institutions as part of a
campus-wide approach to address educational inequities.