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Show t several effective teaching strategies that cater to these students. "I try to make sure to individualize my responses to student writing," he explained. Emery's classroom is also one of "increased interactivity,' where students share ideas, work together in groups and take turns (just like they were always taught) presenting their own views about class readings and assignments. These methods work because students feel as if their presence in class is important, Emery said. Another teaching strategy that Emery has found to be effective is that of applying the lessons to students' lives. Sarah Creem-Regehr, associate professor of psychology, has also found that students retain information better when she brings in examples that relate to them directly. "When I am teaching about memory," said Creem-Regehr, "I use examples of everyday memory so that it is familiar to students." In her teaching, Creem-Regehr focuses on each student's specific questions and relates the information to them in as many ways as possible. Howe and Strauss list several other suggestions for helping millennial students. They suggest congratulating students frequently for their progress, providing students with a classroom of structure and conducting regular instructor interviews. "The key," write Howe and Strauss, "is feedback and structure," (p. 73). Organization and structure have long had a place in the lives of millennials. Many current university students have been on a schedule since before they joined the soccer team at the age of four. Their summers were a constant rotation between team practice, swimming lessons and piano recitals. (I remember one summer where my activities included not only coach pitch softball, but a children's chorus, a swimming schedule, a weekly movie and even planned out television time.) Now, as they continue their lives, many students find a lack of clear instruction or grading policies very difficult. academic success. In a recent creative writing course, I witnessed several classmates struggle with the absence of a clear, detailed rubric against which each assignment would be graded. The lack of direction was paralyzing, and many students were desirous of more detailed assignment sheets. "Fifty years ago," Creem-Regehr continued, "it wasn't expected that everyone would go to college. Now, many students feel entitled to be here." This feeling of entitlement also feeds the need for structure and personal attention. Organization and structure have long had a place in the lives of millennials. Many current university students have been on a schedule since before they joined the soccer team at the age of four. Their summers were a constant rotation between team practice, swimming lessons and piano recitals. Now, as they continue their lives, many students find a lack of clear instruction or grading policies very difficult. "Its a two-edged sword," explained Creem-Regehr, as she explained that the necessity for constant structure can both benefit and hinder student learning. "A lot of teachers are using PowerPoint presentations when they teach, and it eliminates creativity and spontaneity when teachers are constrained to the slides," she said. But this may not bother many millennial students, many of whom yearn to be constrained to the assignment sheet and are afraid that their own creative deviations would lead to lower grades and less lessons | fall 2007 3 |
