3. What is a generation?
“Peer personality”- shared events in formative
years (ages 10-18) have impact
“We are what we experienced together”
“ A generation is also defined as a series of
birth cohorts who share a common location in
history and a common peer persona that
reflects their collective identity as well as a
sense of having shared experiences” (Strauss
in Lowery, 2001)
4. Current Generations
Birth Years
O Civic (“GI”)- 1901-1924
O Adaptive (“Silent”)- 1925-1942
O Idealist (“Boomer”)- 1943- 1960
O Reactive (“Gen X”)- 1961-1981
O Civic (Millennials or Gen Y)- 1982-2002
O Adaptive (Homeland, Gen Z)- 2003-
current
5. A Timeline of
Generations of College Students
*Note: Those born from 2003 – present are now being considered part
of the “Homeland Generation,” the next Adaptive generation
6. Millennials…aka…
• Echo Boom • Generation Tech
• Generation Y • Boomer Babies
• Generation Next
• Generation Why?
• Digital Generation
• Net Generation • Generation.com
• Y2 Kids • Generation 2000
• Generation 9/11 • Generation XX
• Tell All • The Therapy
Generation Generation
6
7. Critical events, factors, trends in their
formative years (1992 – present)
• 9/11/2001 (The Fourth • Bush vs. Gore Election
Turning?) • Wars (Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq,
• Clinton, Bush, & Obama etc.)
• School Violence (Columbine, • Death of Princess Diana
Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois, • OJ Simpson Trial
etc.) • Rodney King Riots
• Terrorism and Tragedies • Monica Lewinsky scandal
(Tsunami, Katrina, Haiti, etc.) • Capture of Saddam Hussein
• Computers • Death of Osama bin Laden
• The Internet • Government overthrows in
Egypt, Libya, etc.
• Social Networking • Economic collapses
• McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds • The “Occupy” Movement
• Polarization of society
7
8. Characteristics of Millennials
Mainly from the CIRP (Cooperative
Institutional Research Program) study done
by HERI (Higher Education Research
Institute) at UCLA
9. Academics
Philosophy for education
Challenges
O Arrive late, skip, or leave early
O Sleep in class or are bored in class
O Spend less than 10 hours per week
studying
O Text/Tweet/Surf in Class
O Disrupt class with cell phone use
11. Pressure
O Overwhelmed and depressed
O Physical Appearance/Modesty
O Ambitious and driven to achieve
O 76% rate their drive to achieve above
average
O 73% see chief benefit of college as
increasing earning power
12. Parental Involvement
“The ways students learned to fend for
themselves developmentally-by building up
problem-solving skills and coping skills-
have been undermined with the attention to
supporting them and the immediate contact
with parents at all times.”
(Denise Hayes, President of the
Association for University and College
Counseling Center Dirs.)
13.
14. Social Life
O Too busy
O Fear intimacy
O Avoid traditional dating (travel in
groups/packs)
O Casual sexual relationships (not
emotional)
16. High Expectations
O Expect high (often unrealistic) “customer
service”
O Expectations of faculty, staff
O Want things right now (or 5 minutes ago!)
18. Follow the rules
O Not linked with morality
O About not getting caught
O 70% of college students admit to cheating
at least once (Center for Academic
Integrity)
19. Group Work
Millennials LOVE working in groups!!
Task:
If you could redefine the millennial
generation, what would you keep and what
would you throw away?
21. Civic-minded
O Return to this part of the generation cycle
O Believe they can change the world
O Optimistic about future
22. Now what?
How can we work with other generations
and help them understand us?
23. References
Lowery, J.W. (2001). The millennials come to campus: John
Wesley Lowery talks to William Strauss. About Campus, Jul.
– Aug., 6-12.
Pryor, J.H. (2010). The American freshman: National Norms for
Fall 2010. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute,
UCLA.
Spencer, E. (2011). Understanding and working with the
millennials. Blacksburg, VA.
Strauss, W. & Howe, N. (1992) Generations: The history of
America’s future, 1584 to 2069. New York: Morrow.
Strauss, W., & Howe, N. (1997). The fourth turning: An American
prophecy. New York: Broadway Books.
24. Questions?
Feel free to email us too if you have follow
up questions!
kheenehan@vt.edu
jtking@vt.edu
Notes de l'éditeur
Kaitlin
Kaitlin
Jordan (including social awakening/etc from those slides)
Kaitlin- general overview of each
Kaitlin
Jordan- many names (don’t like to be labeled or put in a box)Kaitlin- ask them about strengths?
Jordan- ask them about these and then follow up with discussion about media/role models on tv
Kaitlin- introduce this and explain how we aren’t stereotyping, we are generalizing here
Jordan-Ask, why did you come to college? Link to quizMention that this was why you were late, to prove a point “be a millennial”
Kaitlin
Jordan
Kaitlin- helicopter parents, cartoon, etc.
Jordan
Jordan- ask about texting behaviors- give that stat!
Kaitlin- faculty won’t respond to emails at 3am usually
Kaitlin
Jordan
Both will explain
Kaitlin
Kaitlin
Jordan- lead them in a discussion, Kaitlin will chime in