THE MINDSET OF TODAY’S STUDENTS
 Computers are not just “technologyâ€
This is true for middle class students and above. I found my lower socioeconomic students needed help integrating computers into their lives. (Or just learning to type.)
 The Internet is better than TV
I would agree with them here. The internet is available whenever I am.
 Reality is no longer “realâ€
This is not a mindset of students but a result of postmodern philosophy. I disagree with it and I argue against it in my classroom.
 Doing is more important that knowing
Some things are more important to do than to know. It certainly doesn’t help the person choking if I know the Heimlich maneuver and don’t do anything.
 Learning resembles Nintendo more than logic
Hmm. Fun, fast, involving… I certainly would prefer that they thought that.
 Multitasking is a way of life
This I doubt. I had students (high school, but still) within the last five years who complained because we had literature and grammar and vocabulary all in the same class on the same day. It was too many disparate subjects. They couldn’t handle it.
 Typing is preferred to handwriting
Since up to 20% of a grade can be lost due to poor handwriting, I would certainly agree with them. And as a teacher, it is far easier to grade typed papers than handwritten ones.
 Staying connected is essential
To what or whom? Tinto says that students need to be connected to the university/college in order to stay in school. So I would think getting our students connected and them staying connected would be good.
 There is zero tolerance for delays
Er, no. I think they have plenty of tolerance for their own delays. They just don’t want anyone else to be slow. True? True.
 Consumer and creator lines are blurring
I can buy, therefore I can make? Hmm. Ron was talking today about designers. He said there are three levels. The highest can create. The second highest can appreciate, even things they don’t like themselves. The third can appreciate what they like. BUT the second group tries to become the first. Perhaps this is what he means?
(Jason L. Frand, “The Information-Age Mindset: Changes in Students and Implications for Higher Education,†Educause Review 35(5): 14-24, Sept.-Oct. 2000.)
Via Danielle Mihram’s Creating an Objective-Based Syllabus.