Those born in 1980-90 (millennials or millennials) are a generation that particularly strives for self-improvement and self-knowledge. Now they become parents of schoolchildren (zoomers, alpha generation) and actively choose options for children from a variety of learning formats.
More than 50% of organizations named the ability to collaborate and communicate as their most valuable employee skill, according to a survey of 2,000 employers by ManpowerGroup. Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that managers value honesty, reliability, and perseverance most in job applicants.
In this context, the majority of millennials (74%) stopped seeing the diploma as the main reason for successful career development. This is confirmed by the VTsIOM data.
The new generation of parents want their children to gain real knowledge and skills that will benefit them in practice. Harvard University has proven that in today’s world this advantage is due to the development of social skills, which account for 85% of business success. At the same time, according to the results of a survey conducted by the international education company Yaklass, only a third of students today have an idea of what social skills are.
Studies show that millennials spend more time with their children, preferring to be more involved in different areas of their lives, but are encouraged to be more independent. Therefore, it is important for parents to increase their motivation to learn. In other words, it should be interesting so that children are happy to receive new information and complete tasks on their own, and not spend time working late at night with adults.
In addition, millennials place an important role in the psychological health of children, mutual respect and trust. According to an HSE study, 70% of parents want their children to study on the education platform in addition to the school curriculum, and 88% want to have the opportunity to consult teachers online and receive instant feedback.
Modern parents see certain problems in education.
Most, regardless of their economic status (95% high-income and 87% low-income), believe that they should make extra effort to ensure that their children receive a quality education. At the same time, 63% of those with a high socioeconomic status and 71% of those with a low socioeconomic status state that not only the students themselves and their families, but also the school is responsible for the mediocre results in knowledge assimilation.
The teacher no longer has unquestioned authority. Unsatisfactory grades can be perceived as teacher bias, lack of understanding between the parties to the educational process, and uninteresting presentation of the material by the teacher.
Generation Y children, who are generation alphas, have different ways of interacting with the world. The personality of modern schoolchildren is largely formed under the influence of gadgets. This leads, on the one hand, to zoomers multitasking, and on the other hand, to have petty thinking, which makes it difficult to concentrate and absorb information in ways familiar to the former.
The monotonous and boring presentation of the material does not arouse in schoolchildren a desire to understand it. Also, many children understand the purpose and consequences of learning as direct assessments, so they focus not on active knowledge acquisition but on the fear of making mistakes.
All this becomes one of the main reasons for cheating, which in turn has a number of negative consequences. For example, it leads to a decrease in self-esteem, the emergence of difficulties in understanding subsequent issues, the loss of the ability to analyze information, see contradictions and, as a result, independently draw correct conclusions.
In addition, the workload with teachers’ reports and homework checks makes it possible to judge student performance by grades alone. Many people do not have time to find an individual approach to children, to understand their needs, to take into account the speed of knowledge, the degree of perseverance, attention and other important factors.
Millennials are digital people who value engaging presentations. They do not see the point of memorizing the material, because with modern facilities it is not difficult to find almost any information. At the same time, work ceases to be a task as soon as modern schoolchildren have the interest and opportunity to acquire knowledge in an interactive form that is understandable to them.
Technologies promoting online platforms help generate interest. They use video and audio formats as well as gamification in the learning process. Studying turns into an exciting activity when students compete with each other, score points, and move up in the rankings.
Game mechanics promote the release of dopamine in the brain’s mesolimbic pathway. This area is responsible for both enjoying and increasing motivation and purposefulness.
Gamification minimizes the risk of stress. It has been experimentally proven that focusing on game elements is so engaging, allowing you to forget about worries and fears. Children no longer focus on the final assessment, the process itself becomes important to them.
The game approach requires the systematic completion of tasks and provides immediate feedback. As a result, students receive regular achievements. Studies show that it’s the frequency, not the size of the wins, that causes the brain to stop being afraid of failure and try to find a solution and still succeed. As a result, the desire to write is minimized.
Technological platforms help push the boundaries and go beyond the usual lessons. They make classes more diverse, help visualize information more easily. All this contributes to a deeper immersion in the subject, improves the perception of the material, helps to develop the ability to think critically and analyze.
The educational process can be made even more interesting when gamification is included. For example, many interactive and VR games have been developed to pull up Russia’s geography and better navigate its architectural heritage. A virtual tour allows you to be in the Kaliningrad Cathedral and view a complex of historical videos, take a VR tour of Vyborg, the only historical settlement in the Leningrad Region or Altai – visit a large biosphere reserve to look at the reserved village Yailyu, Teletskoye and Dzhukukul lakes, Bele and Baygazan cordons, Korbu waterfall, Uchar waterfall and Kyginsky Bay.
Algorithms also allow teachers to minimize the amount of paperwork: optimize activities, automate routine procedures such as checking assignments and compiling reports, leaving room for a more mindful approach to students as a result.
It also generates statistics for each student in the process of interacting with the educational material and presents it to the teacher. And in some cases, they independently adapt the tasks to the characteristics of the student.
Also, with the help of information technology, parents can control the learning process, track their child’s progress and, if necessary, instantly connect. It also equalizes opportunities to acquire high-quality knowledge regardless of progress, financial and regional situation.
It is important to understand that time does not stand still. Children’s thoughts and accordingly the way they perceive information change. Modern schoolchildren are more willing to complete tasks using Internet resources and online educational platforms. Therefore, in order to increase the effectiveness of knowledge assimilation, it is necessary to change learning approaches using the potential of technology.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.