To see the difference between the older and younger generations’ ways of taking in information, watch two different commercials: one for a Buick and one for a soft drink. The Buick commercial, aimed at consumers over 50, moves slowly, with few scenes. The soft drink spot, aimed at a young crowd, is frenetic, shifting rapidly from one image to another. So notes Christine Jax de Castillo, PhD, Capella’s faculty chair of K–12 Studies in Education and Early Childhood Education. The jumpier ad reflects the way the younger generation takes in information. They’re IM-ing their friends while doing homework and listening to music. “Their brains are hardwired differently than ours,” says Jax de Castillo, a former education commissioner for the state of Minnesota. “They’ve been stimulated differently than we were, from a very young age. They think and behave differently.” That makes it tough for a teacher relying on instructional methods that differ little from those of the 19th century, standing at the front of a class and lecturing. While some teachers resist and resent the short attention spans that result from the machine-gun-style communications of our era, others, including Jax, say we need adjust our teaching styles to match the new style of taking in information.
Accepting the change in children
“We’re not going to change children,” she says. “We’re not going to change the media.” Once it was enough to have 2 sets of textbooks, the student version and the teacher version that contained all the answers to the quizzes. But when students can Google a topic and instantly show a teacher that a statement is out of date, new methods are needed. Carolyn Rogers, interim faculty chair of Capella’s Leadership in Educational Administration specialization, concurs, and suggests that teachers use the tools that students already capture their attention. “If the children are going to use the cell phone in class, if they’re receptive to that, then use the cell phone to email them questions,” she says. “Use the cell phone to teach them mathematical equations.” And if not every student has a cell phone, apply for a grant to get them, Rogers says.
A challenge that predates cell phones
Roger says that the challenge of keeping student attention began long before cell phones. As schools were integrated following the Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kan. Supreme Court case of 1954, teachers were unprepared for the cultural differences of their students. Students had different backgrounds and different experiences, which required different teaching styles. The technical challenges are just a manifestation of the constant need for teachers to adapt their approach to what works for their students, Rogers believes, even if that means finding new ways to be entertaining. “So if it took standing on your head to show that your feet could go on top to show the role of gravity, then that’s what you had to do,” Rogers says. What’s your view? Is your school keeping up with the technology that is so much a part of students’ lives these days? Should it?
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Alumni, Education, Learners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
