Tena Crews

Traci,

I prefer putting people together that are different so they can learn from each other and learn how to get along with others. But, just my preference. We all know that no matter what we do, there can always be issues with groups no matter how you group them. ;-)

June McEldowney

Traci, as you state, "putting people together that are different so they can learn from each other. . . ." is an important part of all learning environments, not just online. I

n my experience, students tend to gravitate toward others who are similar to themselves. In doing so, they may reinforce their comfort zones but also may miss out on opportunities to learn about people who are different from themselves.

In the past, students have said the being grouped with students from other generations actually helped to improve their relationships with their parents and children by enhancing their understanding of other generations!

Russell Faulk

Traci,
This is a great question. By mixing the generations, we model in our classes the real world, where teams are often made up of employees from all of these demographic groups. It's also likely that our students will need to function in virtual meetings in their careers,so our classes can help prepare them for these virtual meetings as well.

Russell Faulk

Tena Crews

June and Traci,

Thanks for emphasizing the learning across all generations and learning from each other. I do it every day in my work and teaching.

Tena Crews

Russell & Traci,

Thanks for jumping in on this conversation. The more input and more opinions we get, the more we see the importance in asking the question. Thank you.

Dennis McGuckian

This is a very good topic and I personally prefer to mix thing up - I appreciate most of us seem to end up in groups of our peers if left to our own devices but I feel mixing things up is making the class like the "real world" and it also broadens their horizons [I hope] and can motivate discussions and creative thinking. Dennis McGuckian

Tena Crews

Dennis,

As you can see from the discussion, we all have our preferences and have all justified why we do what we do. We're as varied as our students and that's OK.

kelli archie

I try to include multiple generations in my groups as well. However, sometimes it can be more beneficial to the students to find group mates who share life experience and whom they can stay in contact with after the class. For this reason sometimes keeping the groups more homogeneous in relation to age can be beneficial.

Tena Crews

kelli,

We've had much discussion about setting up groups. There are advantages t both. Thanks.

Marshall Lloyd

I have been fortunate with older students able to reach out an provide some leadership in the class in terms of directing group projects or offering a moderate voice on issues.

Tena Crews

Marshall,

Ah - the leadership, and many times, calming attitude they bring, speaks volumes. Good point.