Relevance
It was somewhat of an epiphany for me to see that, with access to all of the internet, these younger students need to understand the relevance of what they're learning. How do I communicate the relevance of something when what we're discussing is very basic/foundational and the explanation involves concepts and techniques that they won't even understand yet?
It would be nice if your question provided a concrete example of what you are talking about. It feels like an analogy might help your students accept that they must exercise patience and trust before they will be able to discern the relevance of what they are learning. And if there is any virtue that Gen Y students need to attain, it's patience.
So much so in my group that the residents get frustrated with building blocks of the end product.
