Abstract
The university instructor experience around leading a course learning experience that includes multigenerational students with different levels of subject matter knowledge and understanding, as well as different levels of life experience, is the focus of this qualitative multiple case study. In addition to the university instructor participants, a student participant was also engaged in the study. The relational, international differences, similarities, conflicts, and strengths, as reflected through the participant interview reflections, resulted in discussions focused upon the primary themes of course design, course engagement, instructor collaboration, instructor community in-course efforts, assessment considerations, instructor-sustained emotional engagement or support, the journey through differentiated instructional efforts that may be impacted by generations intermixing within the course learning environment, as well as the potential generational differences and similarities between the university instructor and the course learners.
TopBackground
To back up a bit, it is appropriate to bring forward the discussion around the impact of generational differences in learners, that has been a point of discussion for quite a while, with intriguing findings associated with online learning experiences amongst learners within their own generational labels. Traditional versus nontraditional students, face to face instruction versus hybrid, flipped, and online learning environments. Even inter-team group generational differences and potential impacts upon team success. Yet, an intriguing consideration is to expand beyond the focus upon learners coming together from different generational labeling structures towards equally viable considerations associated with the dispositions, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats associated with instructors who derive from different generations than many of the learners. What are the reflections of different generations of learners, who have the opportunity to work with instructors from generations that may be different or similar to their own generation? What must it be like, for a Baby Boom generation learner to learn from a Generation X instructor? What must it be like, for a Millennial or Y generation learner to learn from a Baby Boom instructor?
Perhaps an intriguing consideration, is the mixing and matching of different generations of learners coming together in a university course experience that may or may not be instructed by someone from a similar generation. Equally intriguing, are the experiences of instructors while working with students in courses from multigenerational course experiences? When considering a university course experience, what are the similarities, differences, conflicts, strengths, and additional experiences within this experience, on the part of the learners as well as the instructional leads? These are the intriguing guiding questions that will be supported through a multigenerational qualitative case study reflective approach. The authors of this manuscript coalesce as critically analytic participants who share their own experiences associated with the articulated generational labels that are bound within: The Silent Generation (1928-1945); Baby Boom Generation (1946-1964); Generation X (1965-1980); Millennial Generation or Generation Y (1981-1996); Generation Z or iGen (1997-2010); Generation Alpha (2000 and beyond) (Cottrell, 2023). Clearly, the university instructors will be from older generations due to the time constraints that impact earning degrees so as to represent a viable university course instructor; however, the multigenerational reality of university course experiences highlight the traditional and non-traditional students that are welcomed into learning experiences, from traditional undergraduate students through retired elders who enjoy learning and involving in the energy and intellectual intrigue of university coursework experiences.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Emotional Support: From the university instructor’s perspective, this is the level of interactive support that the instructor shares with the learner in the course experience. The fears and concerns around learner ability are natural concerns within a course experience, with the university instructor offering verbalized support as well as a reflective listener towards supporting the learner’s course success.
Emotional Engagement: From the university instructor’s perspective, this is the level of emotional effort put forth towards developing a connection with each learner in the course experience. This may be motivational in nature, self-regulatory in nature, embracing the development of a learner’s self-efficacy, or innumerable other levels of supportive engagement so as to engage the learner’s course success.
Course Design: The way that a subject matter expert, many times this is the course instructor, lays out the course information and subsequent learning progression of information. This occurs throughout a specified time allocation, with clarification associated with the course goals, learning objectives, course units of instruction, assessments, as well as the course information that may include textual, audio, video, interactive simulations, team group assignment efforts, and other resources to support the course experience.
Collaboration: The ability to work together towards a common goal, a common conclusion. Within the bounds of this discussion, the collaboration is a representation of the university instructor’s efforts towards learner engagement and retention, with a motivational focus that undergirds the learning experience.
Learning Environment: The space within which learning occurs. This may be a face to face environment, a hybrid face to face and online environment, or a fully online learning environment. The learning environment may be a formal course experience or an informal opportunity to learn new information.
Course Engagement: This refers to the ways that the course instructor designs efforts towards creating interactions and interactive activities within the learning environment. The focus of course engagement is towards supporting the learner’s engagement and associated understanding of the subject matter information. Equally impactful is the importance associated with relational engagement of learners within the course experience.
University Instructor: The person hired to instruct a university course. The university instructor must attain all levels of required expectations in order to be hired to instruct a university course at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral course levels of study.
Assessment: The evaluation of student learning within a formal or information instructional environment. Assessment is an opportunity to understand the extent to which a person has learned the appropriate information and can appropriately reflect the learning as a competency-based approach that is normally aligned with the designated learning objective.
Community: A group of people who coalesce or come together, with the conjoined mission towards a similarly agreed upon end. Within the bounds of this discussion, a community is the learning community that includes an instructor and the learners who have enrolled in a course experience.