FOCUSOn the Millennial Generation

Presented by David J. Sorrells, Ph.D.Coordinator of Assessment

QEP Chair

THE MILLENNIAL BOOM . . .

o Millennials were born between 1980 and 2000, and the birthrate peaked in 1990.

o Millennials are the largest generation of Americans – with over 112 million people.

o Millennials make up 36% of the population.

o 31% of Millennials in the US are from minority groups. (Brown, 2011)

BIRTH TRENDS OF MILLENNIALS Baby Boomers chose to become

parents (or to become parents again) at an older age in the 1980s.

Early Gen X moms reverted back to earlier birth-age norms.

Thus, two generations were having babies at the same time.

Most Millennials have older Baby Boomer parents.

The average age of first-time mothers was at an all-time high of 27 in 1997.

DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS Smaller families: about 10% of Millennials

come from families with only one child. More parental education: 1 in 4 Millennial

students has at least one parent with a college education.

Kids born in the late 1990s are the first in American history whose mothers are more educated than their fathers, by a small margin.

TRENDS – CHANGING DIVERSITY

Increase in Latino immigration The largest minority is Latino/Hispanic, who speak

another language, thereby helping to create a bilingual world for American students.

Nearly 35% of Millennials are nonwhite or Latino 20% of this generation have at least one parent who

is an immigrant

Millennials are the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in US history.

BABY BOOMERS AND EARLY GEN-XERS AS PARENTS

Boomers and early Gen-Xers rebelled against the parenting practices of their parents.

They made conscious decisions not to say “Because I told you so” or “Because I’m the parent and you’re the child.”

Strict discipline was the order of the day for boomers.

BABY BOOMERS/EARLY GEN-XERS AS PARENTS

Boomers and early X-ers wanted their children to be able to understand the pros and cons of situations, be able to make sound decisions, know not to talk to strangers, not to believe everything they read, etc.

They explained actions, consequences, and options to their children rather than choosing for the children.

BABY BOOMERS/EARLY X-ERS AS PARENTS

Boomers and X-ers allowed their children to have input into family decisions, educational options, and discipline issues.

This coupled with the popularity of computer software and games that changed the ending based on the decisions children made (role-playing games).

WE NAVIGATED OUR WAY THROUGH . . .

THEY NAVIGATE THEIR WAY THROUGH . . .

THE RESULT?

Millennials have become “a master set of negotiators” who, at a young age, areCapable of rational

thoughtAble to make complex

decisions They will negotiate with

anyone, including their teachers.

Some call this “arguing.”

THERE IS NO I IN TEAMWORKMillennials have done everything in teams . . . They played soccer or

took dance together since the age of 3.

They went to play

groups. They participated in

all kinds of groups Scouts Sports Extracurricular

activities

Millennials work extremely well in teams and with diverse individuals, with no fear or preconceptions.

MILLENNIALS WANT TO LEARN . . .

With technology

With each other

Online

In their time

In their place

Doing things that matter

. . . BUT THEY HAVE SOME ISSUES.

Diversity of needs, backgrounds, and experiences

High drop-out and failure rates (average 3 of 10)

Poor class participation

Typically underprepared

Have difficulty relating to authority figures using traditional communication techniques.

WHICH GROUP DO YOU THINK CLAIMS TECHNOLOGY AS DISTINCTIVE AND UNIQUE TO ITS GENERATION?

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

1. Silent Generation

2. Baby Boomers3. Gen-Xers4. Millennials

TECHNOLOGY IS A MUST

When asked what makes their generation distinctive and unique:

24% of Millennials say TECHNOLOGY more than any other answer.

12% of Gen-Xers cite technology as generationally distinctive.

Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation generally don’t cite technology as distinctive in their generations.

(Pew Research, “Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next,” 2010)

WHICH GENERATION DO YOU THINK IS SMARTEST?

1 2 3 4

0% 0%0%0%

1. Silent Generation

2. Baby Boomers3. Gen-Xers4. Millennials

WHO IS SMARTEST?

In the same Pew Research Poll cited above, each generation defined itself as smarter than the others:

Millennials: 6%

Gen-Xers: 6%

Baby Boomers: 5%

Silent Generation: 13%

TECHNOLOGY IS A MUST FOR MILLENNIALS AND LATE GEN-XERS

This generation has been plugged in since they were babies.

They grew up with educational software and computer games.

TECHNOLOGY AND THE MILLENNIAL STUDENTS

Students of the Millennial Generation are accustomed

To using keyboards rather than pens or pencilsTo reading information from computer screens

or mobile devices rather than from printed textsTo being connected with friends in digital

environments

The same can be said about late Gen-Xers, too.

WHAT DO YOU WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0% 0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

1. Place or answer calls

2. Text3. Play games4. Surf the internet5. Read a book6. Play with apps7. What’s a

smartphone?

MILLENNIALS USE THEIR SMARTPHONES FOR:

Texting Taking pictures Going online Downloading apps Email Recording video Playing music Playing games

What is missing?

Talking on the phone and listening to messagesPew, 2011

24/7

Millennials want and expect services 24/7.

They do not live in an 8-5 world.

They all have cell phones and expect to be in contact 24/7.

"More than 8 in 10 [Millennials] say they sleep with a cell phone glowing by the bed, poised to disgorge texts, phone calls, e-mails, songs, news, videos, games and wake-up jingles.” (Choney, 2010)

EMAIL? ARE YOU KIDDING?

• The average college student reads 2.4 emails a day

• 25% of students use email ONLY to sign up for social networking sites

• 36% use email to receive email alerts to keep up to date on their social

networking sites (Carol Phillips, 2008)

• 90% of all email is spam (Cisco’s Annual Security Report, 2009)

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Millennials Boomers Silents0

20

40

60

80

Have Created a Profile on Social Networking site

Have Created a Profile on Social Networking site

• 75% of Millennials have a Social Networking site profile

• 30% of Baby Boomers have a profile

• 6% of Silents have a profile

Pew, 2011

OMG – ROTFLMAO – HTH <3 18- to 24-year-olds send or receive over 1,400

text messages a month (Oct. 2010) 63% of Millennials feel a sense of

connectedness when they receive text message feedback

58% feel an increase in confidence from the feedback (Bentlage, 2011)

“Messaging isn’t just a new technology; it’s also a new language.” (Forbes, 2006)

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

What About First-Generation/Working Class Millennial Students?

Not all Millennial students will be proficient with technology:

o their experience with technology may be limited to television, movies, and games

o they may not have had exposure to educational uses of technology

o most of these students have cell phones that have texting capability

o all of these students have access to on-campus technology

WHO ARE OUR STUDENTS?

According to IE Director Nancy Cammack’s Fact Book, on average in 2009-2010:o 1385 LSCPA students were 24 years old or

youngero 756 LSCPA students were 25 years old or

older

Simple observation on campus will tell us that by far the greatest proportion of our student body is made up of Millennials and late Gen-Xers.

WHAT WORKS AGAINST YOU Trying to appeal to every single person in the

classroom

Trying to appeal to all generations in the same assignment

Not allowing students with experience to bring that into the classroom, including technological savvy

Ignoring generational differences completely

Not asking students to stretch beyond their comfort zones

WHAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE Emphasizing active learning

Requiring participation in some way for each class period

Changing activities often Encouraging discussion and cooperation between

generational groups

Using team or group activities often Enforcing individual accountability for group

projects Assigning group roles for the first few

team/group projects Giving individual work in addition to group work

Tapping into the technological savvy and interest of Gen-Xers and Millennials

COMPARATIVE DATA

USE OF DIGITAL DEVICES (PEW, 2011)

  Millennials Gen X Baby Boomers

Silent Generation

All Online Adults

M+G/B+S

Cell Phone 94% 89% 81% 70% 83% 91.5/75.5

Desktop Computer 55% 67% 61% 48% 57% 61/54.5

Laptop Computer 70% 63% 53% 32% 56% 66.5/42.5

iPod or MP3 Player 69% 57% 30% 10% 44% 63/

20

Game Console 63% 63% 28% 8% 42% 63/18

e-Book Reader 12% 14% 13% 6% 12% 13/8.5

Tablet, like iPad 12% 9% 7% 2% 8% 10.5/4.5