This spring, a new Teaching Gen Z webinar series delved into the realities and misconceptions surrounding Gen Z students. (Born between 1997-2012, they make up around three-quarters of IU students.) This feature lays out key findings – including common teaching and learning challenges, ways to reframe the learning experience, and recommended strategies for creating better connections with Gen Z students – that support student success.
Kevin Rogers
Principal Instructional Technology Consultant
eLearning Design & Services
Zach Carnagey
Principal Digital Learning Consultant
Digital Education Programs & Initiatives
Why this matters
Gen Z is distinct from other generations – by differences in degree, not quality. We experience generational differences as shifts in cultural norms. Professor of psychology and generational researcher Jean Twenge points to technology as the primary driver behind this generational change, allowing for more individualism (less dependence on others) and a longer, less dangerous life which has extended maturation (i.e., we're growing up slower). For many Gen Z students, technology also has a sizable influence on how they communicate, how they view education, and how they learn.
Key findings: Trends that shape Gen Z's expectations*
Note: As we're talking about an entire generation, it's worth keeping in mind that every individual is unique. It would be inaccurate to assume an individual aligns with any or all of these characteristics.
These are trends based on surveys and census data.
- Digital-first socialization: Overall, Gen Z students report socializing less in person (down approximately 30%) and experience more loneliness and anxiety.
- Longer maturation: Gen Z are engaging in adult behaviors later, including getting a driver's license, working for pay, dating, getting married, and having children.
- Digitally connected: Most Gen Z have no memories of a world without smartphones. Many have had tablets or computers at school through their entire education; technology in the classroom is an expectation.
- Transactional education: While previous generations saw college as a time for exploration (and maybe even transformation), more Gen Z students perceive college as a pathway to a specific career outcome.
- Consumer mindset: In a transactional model, students may feel like 'customers' and approach education with a mindset that 'the customer is always right.' This impacts their attitudes toward deadlines and grades.
- Skepticism toward higher education: Economic uncertainty and shifting job markets lead many Gen Z students to question the long-term value of a degree.
For more concrete examples of faculty engaging Gen Z
Keep reading the Connected Professor!
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Reframing the learning experience
Faculty can address Gen Z's expectations through attention to three overarching needs and a concept that brings together all three.
The first need is engagement: Students need to be actively involved in their learning. Using interactive and real-world applications and self-directed paths demonstrates relevance and provides opportunities for students to be empowered to make their own decisions.
The second need is support: Students need guidance on how to learn in your class or field (each one is different), how to get help, how to address learning gaps, and how to catch up if they fall behind. They engage more when they feel like their instructors are actively supporting their progress.
The third need is community: Students need opportunities to connect, collaborate, and feel a sense of belonging. They need practice working and making meaning in your field.
Intersecting these three needs is transparency: Clearly communicating the purpose for and expectations behind course activities is key. Students want to know why they are learning something, what the instructor's expectations are, and how they are doing relative to their peers.
Three recommended strategies
- Use the TILT Framework for assignments. Based on the approach originally developed by Dr. Mary-Ann Winkelmes, a TILTed assignment includes a purpose, task, and criteria for success. In other words, it clearly articulates learning objectives, assignment expectations, and assessment criteria to reduce ambiguity.
- Engage students in meaningful work and explain why. Clarify how assignments contribute to skill development or real-world applications. This will be especially beneficial during challenging times, giving students a reason to keep going.
- Reach out to students at least three times during the semester. Caring matters, and personalized communication – especially after major assessments – demonstrates that you care about a student's progress. This can significantly impact their motivation and success.
Webinars in the series
Visit the Teaching Gen Z channel on Kaltura for series recordings. For an in-depth discussion of the above findings, be sure to watch the kick-off webinar. The following two webinars – one to help you create Active Learning with Video and one to help you move From Lecture to Learning Experience – focus on using interactive tools like PlayPosit and Top Hat to foster engagement. The final spring webinars are still being planned, so be sure to check the events listings here.
Further reading
The above suggestions are backed by research and informed by the science of learning.
- Scott Carrell and Michal Kurlaender: My Professor Cares: Experimental Evidence on the Role of Faculty Engagement
- Chronicle of Higher Education: Teaching Gen Z series (the inspiration for these webinars)
- Wendy Fishman and Howard Gardner: The Real World of College: What higher education is and what it can be – interview here
- Jean Twenge: Technological Model of Generations – FAQs here and interviews here
- Mary-Ann Winkelmes: TILT Higher Ed