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Theme: Quality, Competencies, And Learning Outcomes: How to Be Fit
for Generation Z Employability
Sub-theme: Advancing Generation Z Employability through New Forms of
Learning: quality assurance and recognition of alternative credentials
Proposal: IoE based Smart Teaching Model for Generation Z
Hitesh Mohapatra and Amiya Kumar Rath
1,2 Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla, Odisha, India
2 Adviser, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore, India
1. Background
The objective of this proposal is to understand the need, desire and expectation of
Generation-Z (GZ) from educational institutes [1]. In the current scenario, there are
many colleges and institutes may go through low enrollment and closures. Hence, it
is essential to understand the differences in need between the predecessors and GZ.
It is very much crucial for a university administrator to bridge the gap of demands and
try to attract and retain the GZ. The GZ is mostly referred to the youngsters who were
born after 1995. The birth year of GZ is again varies based on individual studies such
as 1995 – 2009 [2], 1995 – 2010 [3-5], after 1997 [6].
The students of GZ is tech-natives; they spent their entire lives immersed in
technologies that are very crucial to living and learning. They are experts in
multitasking, and they love to spend free time in gaming or texting on smartphones.
That makes them more imaginative, less rigid and more flexible personality [7]. This
GZ is disrupting the learning system of Millennials. The GZ more focused on hands-
on and direct involvement in the learning process. They expect on-click service for
everything that includes learning too. Moreover, they are more focused on the career
on the very early age of college careers.
The study report by Barnes and Noble College says that the GZ is no way interested
in being a passive learner; instead, they want to be an active learner by participating
in the learning process. It is a real signature and the same time challenging too for
the educational institutes. According to this report, 51% of students of GZ willing to
learn by doing and 12% of students are interested in learning through listening. The
same students also have said they like to participate in the discussion and interactive
classroom over conventional teaching methodology. They are willing to participate
alongside other students over digital-tools like skype or any other online forums.
Hence, this digital generation / GZ expecting digital tools as an integral part of their
educational system. The digitization becomes an integral part of every part of their
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lives. So, they assuming academic experience is no way different from their personal
experience through these same tools.
2. Proposal Scope
The prior study on GZ attitudes makes one thing very much clear that, the whatever
possible solution that must be integrated with digital tools. To educate these GZ-
students, the professor must and should adopt advanced pedagogical approaches in
the classroom teaching. For example, they are adding more visual content to the
curricula. The GZ is accustomed to personalize everything, which leads to an attitude
of pick and choose what they want. This attitude inevitably influences education and
institutes cultures. On the hand, the workplaces are expecting the graduates from GZ
must familiar with workforce productivity applications and capable of creating and
recognizing credible and meaningful contents.
So, here we propose an IoE based Smart Teaching Model for Generation Z which
able to provide a corporate culture of teaching to the GZ. The teaching model mainly
comprises of following modules:
1. Attendance
2. Teaching in classroom
3. Assignments
4. Discussion
5. Exam pattern
6. Curricula
IoE based attendance: The existing system of attendance taking for Millennials is
outdated by considering the attitude of GZ. So, there is a need for a bio-informatic
based attendance system which gives a corporate environment to the GZ. Further,
these attendance systems must connect to the institutional provided educational App.
Where, this App must be accessible for all the stakeholders, primarily teachers,
students and their parents. Secondly, the universities/institutes must eliminate the
minimum attendance criteria for students as an eligibility criterion for the exam. This
minimum attendance criterion creates a regulation-bound cell which is most
suffocated for GZ.
IoE based Classrooms: The report published by [8], clearly states that the GZ more
likely to learn on the digital platform, unlike millennials old-fashioned book to learn.
This tech-savvy generation must be accommodated with all types of digital
educational solutions as they are spending hours a day on the internet. A survey of
2,558 14-40-year old in the US by Pearson have explored the attitudes, preferences,
and behaviors around technology in education. This survey says that 39% of GZ
prefers to learn through teacher instruction, whereas 47% of GZ loves to learn over
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the internet (mostly on #YouTube). Hence, the growing dependency on digital
education, we propose an IoE based Classroom where every activity must be
available online. For example, the universities or institutes may start there on
#EduTube where all the lectures of professors must be uploaded, and that will create
a freedom of learning for GZ. Here, freedom means to access the content from
anywhere at any point time. The digital generation or GZ is the most distracted
generation by the internet, hence the same internet cab used as a tool to retain them
into the learning process. Secondly, the teaching in classrooms must be supported
by visual impacts which can be sharable over several social sites or chat groups. Why
are we saying this? The GZ prefers more smartphones over laptop/desktops. So, the
easy availability of lecture notes and video lectures over digital platform may be
helpful to engage this GZ in the learning process. Fig.1 illustrates a preference survey.
Fig.1 eMarketer report
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Fig.2. Mobile App users have on their mobile phones
IoE based Lecturer note: and Assignment Handling: An assignment is an integral
approach of education so this need to be enhanced by the digital tools. Already, in
the market, there are several online forums exists which are helping in sharing of
assignments and marking the assignments (Ex. Edmodo App). Likewise, educational
institutes should adopt such internal assignment forums where students can easily
interact and discuss. There are several for forums exist where they are maintaining
the number of views and likes, which is again a triggering factor among GZ.
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Fig.3. Teaching materials with statistics
IoE based Exam Pattern: The existing exam pattern is mostly focusing on subjective
types of questions and answers (Q&A) model. This model was right for millennial.
However, the GZ expecting the exam should more likely to be a corporate-interview
pattern. Hence, we suggest that the exam questions are more likely to be objective
type with multiple options as this pattern mostly adopted by the HR’. The second
perspective towards exam is the evaluation process. There are enormous complains
raised by the students regarding the partial evaluation of answer sheets which is again
a primary hindrance for GZ to motivate them towards the examination system. The
study on GZ says that this generation is more smart, flexible and practical, which
means the existing biased evaluation pattern demoralizes the students towards exam
pattern. Hence, we propose optical mark recognition (OMR) sheet-based exam
pattern for universities and institutes, where the evaluation will be fair enough.
Moreover, subjective questions can be examined through real-time projects instead
of mug-up-pattern. This way, we can motivate the students towards the learning
process, which will add values and quality to them.
Employability Oriented Curricula: The trending myth about GZ is “DON’T ASSUME
GZ CAN DO ALL BY THEMSELVES”. Although, the GZ may be tech-wizards still
many lacks with digital literacy skills. The report by “Digital Literacy in Higher
Education” says that the universities and institutes should ensure that the GZ must
familiar with workforce productivity applications and capable of creating and
recognizing credible, meaningful content. In the light of content creation, there is an
existing model called “Cross-Curricular”, that enriches the students with several
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subject knowledge. Finally, the student will allow choosing a subject of their interest.
It solves a primary problem of limited learning or learning for a job or time-being
learning. This kind of learning process will motivate them for life-long learning and
enhances the granularity of learning opportunities. The existing curricula mostly
based on the core subjects of the respective domain. Out of which many subjects got
outdated and more in use for current employability. Hence, the university curricula
must and should be designed by considering the demands of employment-sectors
instead of forcing them to read the old millennial-syllabus.
3. Requirements
Here, we have highlighted the requirements for IoE based Smart Teaching.
Though the partial-smart teaching already has been adopted by many institutes still it needs
to bring to a full-proof model to enhance the educational quality and to accommodate this
GZ and upcoming alpha-generation (born after 2010+). The new system must include the
following:
• Availability of internet by 24×7 with cloud service for data storage to all the GZ students.
• Availability of IoE based management information system (MIS) where all the
stakeholders can be connected.
• The need for professors who are willing to work in collaboration with corporate sectors
need.
• More advanced and fundaments lecture videos/materials/assignments need to develop.
• Need to develop such an educational forum where the teachers and students can
communicate in chat-language or informal way.
• Need to create such environment where many generations like (generation X, Y and Z)
can work on the same project and culture. It will enhance their adjustability capacity.
• Moreover, we have to build such an education system which is more fun than a
regulated bounded cell.
4. Deliverables
• A mind set of learning
• Self-Understanding about “Where am I?”.
• What I want to do?
• What I like and dislike?
• What is the expectation of outer world from me?
• Do I cultivate the requirements for my future?
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It will create a fun based education system where any one can learn anything at any
point in time from anywhere.
5. QQA of IoE based Smart Teaching
The quality factors which can be assured through this proposal are:
• Self-learning ability.
• Choice based learning.
• Removal orthodoxical patterns of existing education system.
• Ensures strong connection among several stakeholders.
• Conversion of existing education into an App-Based-Education (ABE)-model.
• Learn with fun.
• Creating an educational replica of their kind like (social network, chat group)
type.
• Bridging the gap between institutes and corporates by developing
employability-based curricula.
• Enhancing adjustability among GZ by assigning work with other generations.
• Developing a positive mind-set regarding education system by eliminating
rusty ideas like (old exam pattern, assignment solving, etc.).
6. Proposed Blueprint for IoE based Smart Teaching for GZ
Fig.4. Layout of IoE based Smart Teaching Environment
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7. Specific Exclusions from Scope
The proposed proposal explicitly focuses on enhancing the education system based
on the needs of real-world. It does not include the mannerism or ethical enhancement
of GZ.
8. Conclusion
Several kinds of research works and reviews have existed in the literature. From that
vast set, most of the works have focused on employability hindrances for Generation
Z / igeneration / Gen-Z. In this proposal, we have explicitly focused on; How to retain
these GZ into education and learning system along with their distractions (digital
tools)? We have proposed the IoE based Smart Teaching model where every aspects
or component or element need to be connected. That results in converting the existing
rule-bound education system into ABE model. Because we cannot say “No” to the
advancement of technology, neither we can say “NO” to the changing attitudes of GZ.
Hence, we think we have to use the same tools as equipment for education without
any revolutionary movement to achieve our goal.
9. References
1. Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown up digital, how the Net generation is changing your world. New York, NY:
mcGraw- Hill Professional.
2. mcCrindle, m. (2014). The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the global generations, 3rd ed., Bella Vista:
mcCrindle Research.
3. Bencsik, A., Horváth-Csikós, G., & Juhász, T. (2016). Y and Z generations at workplaces. Journal of
Competitiveness, 8(3), 90-106.
4. Seemiller, C., & Grace, m. (2016). Generation Z goes to college. San francisco: Josey-Bass.
5. Koulopoulos, T., & Keldsen, D. (2016). Gen Z effect: The six forces shaping the future of business. New
York, NY: Routledge.
6. Bresman, H., & Rao, V. D. (2017). A survey of 19 countries shows how generations X, Y, and Z are - and
aren’t - different. Harvard Business Review, 95(4).
7. Marcus, C. (2008, April 13). Generation Z: Bullied and blighted by mental illness, meet the savvy teens that
don’t exist. The Sun Herald, p. 14.
8. Pearson, what do Generation Z and millennials expect from technology in education? May 24, 2018 in
Higher Education, PreK-12 Education, Web.
