Teaching the generations

Steve Corbett published a must-read portrait of the four generations learning today:

• "Traditionalists (Born between 1920 - 1945). They are also called the Silent Generation, the War Baby Generation, or the WWII Veteran Generation.
• Baby Boomers (Born between 1946–1964). They are also called the "Me" Generation because their Traditionalist parents wanted to give them a good life.
• Generation X (Born between 1965–1980). This generation is the children of both Traditionalists and Baby Boomers.
• Millennials (Born between 1981–2000). They are also called Generation Y, Generation ME, Generation WE, or Nexters."

He created a Venn diagram summarizing the generations' learning styles, saying that it's a generalization. But much rings true.

I recognize myself as a typical GenXer:

• "the first high technology generation"
• "independent. Will work in teams when absolutely necessary, but would prefer to work alone"
• "Like to use technology as a means for access and sharing information."
• "Entrepreneurial – Prefer to build portable skills. ... Prefer solving problems on their own."
• "Informal Learners - Prefer to be engaged in their learning, instead of being passive recipients. Dislike structured environments."

The points of conflict I see with the Baby Boomers, our older colleagues:
Baby Boomers tend to be

• "Team Oriented - Embraces a team based approach to everything"
• "Competitive - Value peer competition"

The points of conflict I see with Millenials:
Millenials tend to be

• "Collaborative - Team players with a capital T."
• "Structure Driven - Prefer structure in the classroom and are accustomed to following rules."

How about you, do any of these issues ring your bells?

Thank you to Neal Davis.