Chapter 6: The New Classroom of Multigenerational Learners: Using Andragogical Principles in 21st Century Online Learning

The higher education classroom is making history. For the very first time, four generations of adult learners are in college all at the same time (Coates, 2007). New times call for new strategies to address the needs of all the generational cohorts of learners: Matures born 1900-1946, Baby Boomers born 1947-1964, Generation X born 1965-1982, and Generation Y born 1983-1991 (also called Millennials) (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). Year ranges differ slightly among sources.

Members of cohorts tend to share common characteristics and outlooks due to common historical and societal experiences. The term Baby Boomers became popular in the 1960s and was used to distinguish rebellious children from their parents (Reeves & Oh, 2008). Then, in the 1980s, Generation Xers were in the news because of their independence and distrust of authority (Debard, 2004). Now, Generation Y is the focus of discussion in the workplace and on college campuses because of their shear numbers and among other distinguishing characteristics, an expectation for connectivity and technology (Coates, 2007). They compare to Baby Boomers in size and dwarf Generation X (Coates, 2007; Howden & Meyer, 2011). Generation Yer’s early and extensive use of technology gives them a desire for connectedness that challenges higher education to develop new instructional strategies and education technologies while still meeting the needs of other generational cohorts. Generation Xers tend to be technologically conservative and less connected (Werth & Werth, 2011) and Baby Boomers tend to be even less technologically sophisticated than Gen Xers (Reeves & Oh, 2008).