1. The Marvelous Millennials
A Novella
on the Las Cruces Campus
NMSU
Through the eyes of a Baby BoomerThrough the eyes of a Baby Boomer
Terry CookTerry Cook
Born between 1946-1964Born between 1946-1964

2. Act I: Those Who Came Before
 Generation X: Born 1965 – 1982
 Baby Boomers: Born 1946 - 1964
 Matures, Silents: Born 1900 – 1946
Many people are born on the cusps of two
generations, and do not “fit” their
“generational type”

3. GEN X

4. Act II: The Marvelous Millennials
Born 1982 – 2002
also called “Generation M or Y,” “Echo Boomers,” or
the NET Generation
roughly 30% of the American population
children of Baby Boomers or early wave members of
Generation X
the most diverse generation in our history – 34% are
nonwhite or Latino

5. World Events/World View
 Child focus (Sylvan Learning Centers)
 Oklahoma City bombing
 Busy, over-planned lives (more than 75% of time spent in structured experiences)
 Stress
 Malfunction at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant caused a near meltdown
 Iranian students took 66 people hostage at the US Embassy in Tehran
 US boycotts the Olympics in Moscow
 President Regan shot
 The Equal Rights Amendment passed (though not ratified)
 The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts
 The Exxon Valdez spills more than ten million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound

6. World Events/World View
 The Berlin Wall demolished
 Persian Gulf War
 Four white police officers accused of beating Rodney King were acquitted
 Shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado left 13 students and one teacher dead
 Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 10,000 for the first time
 It took more than a month to declare a winner of the presidential election because of ballot
("hanging chad") disputes
 Four US planes were hijacked in attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,
killing more that 3000 people leading the US into an ongoing fight against terrorism
 The Space Shuttle Columbia exploded upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all
seven astronauts on board.
 War is waged against Afghanistan and Iraq

7. Millennials

8. The Tree of Your Life

9. Experiences & Their
Results, Fruits, Outcomes

10. Millennials Priorities

11. I Wonder?

12. Act III
Now that we know…
What Should We Do To Facilitate Experiences to
Support Their Success?
 How do millennial students prefer to learn?
 What strategies promote student learning?
 How can we engage and motivate today’s students to
promote academic success?

13. Characteristics of Millennials
 used to being consulted in decision-making by their parents
 typically strong bonds between these students and their
parents, particularly with their mothers, and they stay
very connected even when they go away to school
 expected to excel by their parents
 highly scheduled and sheltered in childhood

14. Characteristics of Millennials
 identify with their parents’ values
 are fascinated by new technologies
 1 in 5 have at least one immigrant parent
 gravitate toward group activities
 grew up in a time of economic prosperity
 went to “play groups” and played soccer from the age of 3
 the most protected generation in terms of government
regulations on consumer safety
 often indulged as a result of changing child-rearing
practices
Diana Oblinger (Understanding the New Students, EDUCAUSE Review, July/August 2003)

15. Digital Natives
Today’s college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, over 10,000
hours playing video games and 20,000 hours watching TV

16. Now that we know…
What Should We Do To Facilitate Experiences
to Support Their Success?
 Actively engage them with material we are trying to teach
 Find ways to help students create meaning between their life experience and the material
 Foster a sense of a learning community
 Build rapport with students
 Promote student to student connections
 Facilitate student participation
 Create a safe, welcoming, inclusive classroom atmosphere
 Provide High, Clear Expectations
 Offer individual feedback
 Engage with/through technology where appropriate
 Utilize group work: collaborative learning techniques
 Incorporate self-reflection

17. Major Challenge Ahead

18. Encore

19. Encore
WHY HAVEN’T YOU FRIENDED ME ON MYSPACE OR POKED ME BACK
ON FACEBOOK, AND HOW COME YOU’RE NOT FOLLOWING ME ON
TWITTER?
BECAUSE I REALLY DON’T LIKE YOU.
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?