Re: communication
In order to communicate effectively the instructor should know the generational category the student is. As it is well documented that each generation has strengths and weakness it is important to isolate which generation you are communicating with so that adaptations can be made.
karen,
You are right. All generations and individual students have their own strengths and weaknesses. They all bring something different "to the table" of learning. Thanks!
I have instructed both Face-to-Face and Online courses, and I have found that in both venues it is important to consider the audience. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses?
One very important point that I always consider with my online courses ... I can't see them (usually) to gauge their age!
I wonder, how effective would an online survey be to help me to gauge the communication experience of my students? Then, as a follow-up, how effective would the results from the survey be in aiding me in (improving) my communication(s) within the course?
Terry,
An audience analysis is important no matter what the situation or environment. I do give an "all about me" survey to students at the beginning of the course. I ask age, gender, experience, etc. to get a good feel for the audience. Thanks for your input.
Fabulous point! I teach in both venues as well. It is difficult to ascertain the age of a student by discussion posts alone, but I try to gauge their generation from their self-intros.
Patty,
Self-introductions or having students create "home pages" in an LMS are great ways to begin to assess their generations. Thanks for your input.
When I communicate, I tend to ignore the generation although I do recognize that people from other generations tend to classify me. I remember when I was a young man, and I classified my father, mother, my grandfathers and grandmothers, and my great grandfathers and my great-grandmothers. They all seemed from a time far away and it was my opinion at the time that they were out of touch with reality, at least my version of reality.
Now that I am older, and hopefully wiser, I have found that younger people tend to classify me just in the same way that I classified the generations that came before me. I do not like it. I think it leads to division, and when people are divided. They can be ruled. I want people to be united. I want to unite people. I want other people to want to unite people. It is the only way to ensure that the collective, and each individual maximizes their talents.
Donald,
Ah as we become older, we hope we become wiser. ;-) We do have to see the students as individuals and understand they all bring something different to the table. We do tend to categorize people and need, many times, to see beyond that classification. Thanks!
Dr. Tena B. Crews
