Researchers over analyzed and stereotyped baby boomers, Gen X, and Millennials (aka Gen Y), so now it’s time to do the same to Gen Z. And Adobe is right on the job with a new report on Gen Z in the Classroom.
For the study, they interviewed around a thousand students ages 11-17, plus 400 of their teachers. And what did they discover…
Gen Z students are most likely to describe themselves as “creative” and “smart.”
Gen Z students have mixed emotions when it comes to their future after they finish school – their top emotions are “excited” and also “nervous.”
Both students and teachers feel that Gen Z is only somewhat prepared for their futures after school.
Many students feel uncertain about what they want to do, worried about finding a job and concerned that school has not properly prepared them for the “real world.”
All of which could have been said about any group of teen agers in the US for decades. At 16, didn’t most of us think we were smarter than our parents? Were excited and nervous about the future? And were very uncertain about where we would be in ten years?
Being a technology company, a large part of Adobe’s focus in the survey was about the Gen Z group’s relationship with technology. But even then, most of the results are hardly surprising or particularly unique.
Both students and teachers agree that growing up in the age of technology is the defining characteristic of Gen Z – and technology provides more digital tools and outlets for creativity.
Computers & technology classes are the “sweet spot” – not only a favorite class, but also a top class to prepare students for the future and a top class for creativity.
Most say that increased access to digital tools and technology will make Gen Z more creative and better prepared for the future workforce. Still, some students and teachers think Gen Z’s reliance on technology is holding them back from thinking “outside the box.”
I always wonder when people use that phrase “outside the box”. Who gets to define “the box” and what’s inside or outside? In the case of kids, it’s the adults, of course.
Anyway, my favorite “findings” from the executive summary are in section Insight 3.
Both students and teachers alike agree that Gen Z learns best through doing/hands-on experience (e.g., lab work, creating content).
Both audiences wish that there was more of a focus on creativity in the classroom.
Teachers say that having more opportunities for this type of hands-on learning is the number one way they can better prepare Gen Z students for the workforce. Most feel that the technology is already in place, but the curriculum needs to catch up.
I’m not sure we needed more research to arrive at those conclusions. And I don’t believe they are unique to one generation. Millennials, Gen Xers, even us old Baby Boomers, all learned better through experiences rather than lectures, and most of us would have been better served if we could have had more of it during our time in school.
In the end, some variation of this report could have been written about any group of students from the past sixty years. The question is, why has American education not changed to better meet their needs in that time?
