Abstract:

The next generation classroom will be comprised of Generation Z students. In fact, ranging in age from about 10 to 25 years, they already dominate higher education. Because most university instructors are either Millennials or Baby Boomers, it is important that educators understand this new cohort, and seek out examples of engaging them in higher learning.

Learning Characteristics of Gen Z;
Gen Z is also labeled Digital Natives, descriptive of their early development. Many Gen Z babies grew up playing with their mothers’ mobile phones. Fast-forward 20 years, and those babies spend an average of nine hours a day on their own cell phones. They, too, are the first generation to watch favorite programming when and where it is convenient to them. This early exposure to, and reliance upon, mobile technology impacts how Gen Z learns: not by reading and listening, but by observation and practice. Being in a wired environment since the womb also impacts their attention spans, measured at eight seconds. While literature on effective teaching strategies for this cohort is not yet prolific, it is no surprise that active learning utilizing new technology is recommended. For the next generation classroom, new technological resources must be acquired, and faculty trained to use them, to fully engage Gen Z students.

Example Projects: Using Tech Tools for ‘Observation and Practice’:
For an Introduction to Hospitality class at Augusta University (Augusta, GA, USA), video glasses provided active learning using new technology in two difference projects. These look like regular black framed eye glasses, yet they can record both video and sound. These glasses are just one example of new technology universities can acquire. With some brainstorming among academics, active learning projects involving this tech tool that result in teaching by observation and practice would surely emerge. Two such current projects are briefly outlined below.
Hospitality Engagement Assessment. Students were to generate goodwill and recognition for the sponsoring organization of a major festival by operating and staffing the organization’s informational booth. Prior to the event, students were coached about desired behavior (i.e., smiles and body language) appropriate to engaging passing crowds of people with said mission. This behavior, however, is often easily understood but harder to constantly deliver. Students were inconspicuously videoed using the glasses as they interacted with the crowd. The video was played back during a subsequent class period. Students were highly engaged, viewing their own behavior as it was practiced.

Wayfinding Demonstration:
Augusta University provides a variety of medical services on a sprawling urban campus. Doctors were frustrated by patients showing up late or missing appointments. It is known that finding parking and doctors’ offices here is a challenge. Eighteen student teams visited various doctors’ addresses, with team members signing up quickly to wear the video glasses to record their wayfinding experiences. Hence, active learning with technology recorded the impact of poor wayfinding experiences on customer satisfaction, allowing doctors and administrators to literally “look through the lens of the customer,” experience patients’ frustrating journeys, and potentially be motivated to create a more positive patient wayfinding experience.

Keywords:

Generation Z, Technology, Video Glasses, Active Learning, Next Generation Classroom.