Generation iY?

At the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) state conference this week, state principals were treated to a keynote address by author Dr. Tim Elmore, who wrote Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future. In his talk, Dr. Elmore identified students born after 1990 as part of the "iY" generation, who, in his words, are all about "i". He presented some great context for comparisons between this generation and previous generations in the U.S. What I found most interesting was the fact that his list of strategies fits very well with the emphasis we have placed at North High School on experiential learning.

Dr. Elmore suggested the acronym EPIC for instruction that works for the iY generation:

E = Experiential. Generation iY learners don't only learn through experiences, they require this form of learning to be engaged.

P = Participatory. Generation iY learners have grown up in an environment of participation in everything - even television shows such as American Idol, which are hugely popular with this generation, emphasize their participation.

I = Image rich. Today's students are inundated by images, and are accustomed to an environment that lives the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.

C = Connected. Connected to each other, to their teacher, to cohorts across the world, and to the greatest tool for gathering information ever invented - the internet.

EPIC could be an acronym to describe the process of project based or authentic learning. Heading into the 2011-2012 school year, we will increase our emphasis on classroom learning environments that are project based, and instruction that is EPIC....