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Have you considered how unique trends impacting each generation may offer meaningful insights into strategies for better supporting our students? Many of today's college students are Gen Zers (born 1995–2012). Although every individual is different, and it’s important to avoid stereotypes and overgeneralizations, understanding the unique factors this generation has been exposed to can help us better anticipate how many of our students may engage with learning, technology, and communication. As instructors, we can use this knowledge to design more effective, supportive, and inclusive learning experiences.

Explore the information below to see how generational trends may influence what students expect from their learning environments and how we can meet them where they are.

Gen Z in the Classroom: Needs, Motivations, and Challenges

Today’s traditional college-aged learners are mostly represented by the Gen Z generation. Many of these students have grown up with smartphones and rely on technology and social media for accessing knowledge. In addition, many in this generation were impacted by the social isolation they experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and may have increased their social media use as a means of connecting with others during this challenging time, while missing out on opportunities to connect with others in person. Finally, these students may have limited experience with traditional classroom settings and teaching methods, as many classrooms were replaced by asynchronous, independent work and highly flexible deadlines during the pandemic.Ìý

As a result of these factors, many (though not all) Gen Z learners arrive to college with the following:

• Comfort and skill interacting with technology
• Using social media to access information
• Have experienced social isolation and potential mental health issues
• Limited experience in traditional classroom settings or teaching methodsÌý

ÌýÌýDownload Slides for Video Here

Reaching Gen Z: Tools for Connection, Clarity, and Choice

For Gen Z, technology is the most influencing element underlying their generation. Related to this, today’s learners want relevancy of application to real-world context, guidance with options and choice, and opportunities to learn with technology that is appropriate and meaningful to the task. Additionally, many Gen Zers have experienced mental health issues and may appreciate courses that emphasize trauma-informed methods and building a classroom environment that supports wellness. Finally, given alterations to teaching and learning during the pandemic, they may need clearer expectations and instructions on how to get to desired goals, while still having their agency supported. The following are some frameworks that can help with designing courses for and teaching today’s generation of learners.Ìý

• : Offers suggestions to incorporate flexibility, choice, and accessibility, while promoting learner agency, that can be applied to any discipline so all learners can access and participate in meaningful learning.
• : Although Dr. Pacansky-Brock speaks to humanizing online course, many of the concepts can be applied in all courses to build trust and community for learners.
• Provides a how-to approach for both designing and teaching your course to support the engagement, motivation, learning, and success of all students. This book is also available asÌý.
• Alternative Grading Techniques: These approaches rethink traditional grading structures to prioritize feedback, student growth, and mastery over points and percentages. They can help reduce anxiety, promote equity, and support learner agency—values that align closely with Gen Z’s educational needs.

Teaching the Whole Student: Belonging, Growth, and Inclusion

Our role as instructors is not only to be content experts. Our responsibility in higher education includes cultivating a sense of belonging to the campus community, faculty, other learners, and the field/discipline they are studying. We need to nurture not only the cognitive and physical dimensions, but also tend to their emotional, social, and ethical growth to develop their whole person while on their educational journey.

• Cultivate a sense of belonging to campus community, to other learners, to faculty, and to the field/discipline.
• Nurture whole person development - cognitive, physical, emotional, social, ethical growth.
• Create an inclusive learning environment - acknowledge identities and represent multiple voices, set clear expectations, opportunities for choice and connection to others.

Supportive Tools to Enhance Your Course

• Inclusive Syllabi Template – A sample syllabus that incorporates inclusive language, community agreements, and transparent course policies to help all students feel welcomed and supported.
• Rubrics– Examples of clear, student-centered rubrics that outline expectations, promote transparency, and support equitable assessment across different types of assignments.
• Working in Groups / Group Guidelines – Guidance and templates for setting up successful group work, including expectations, roles, and conflict-resolution strategies to ensure collaborative learning.
• – A practical tool for reviewing your course design and delivery with a focus on accessibility, inclusivity, and alignment with learning outcomes.
• BUFF Framework – A CU ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß-developed framework that helps instructors design learning experiences that are Balanced, Understandable, Flexible, and Focused—especially useful when planning with Gen Z learners in mind.

Helping Students Thrive: Key Teaching Frameworks

To continue exploring effective teaching strategies, we invite you to consider our webpage on the three instructional lenses—pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy—that can support learners at different stages of their academic journey. We also highlight the role of cognitive load in facilitating meaningful learning and transfer.

Resources and Tools:Ìý

• Flaherty, C. (March 2023). What students want (and don’t) from their professors.ÌýInside Higher Education.Ìý

• - University of Northern Illinois Center for Innovative Teaching and LearningÌý

• - Faculty Focus

• - Army and Navy Academy

• Lumina Foundation. (November 2022). Today’s students.Ìý