What's Different about Gen Z?

There’s something about Gen Z – the Next Net Generation. Technology is like air to them. Gen Z has grown up with computers and all forms of digital media in the same way that the Baby Boomers grew up with the television. Even the brains of Gen Z are different; their brains are wired differently from other generations.

In his book The Brain That Changes Itself, author, researcher and psychiatrist Norman Doidge, explodes the myth that the anatomy of the brain stays the same, that after childhood, the brain changed only when it began the process of decline or when the brain cells failed to develop properly, or were injured, or died, they could not be replaced. Nor according to some, could the brain ever alter its structure and find a new way to function if part of it was damaged. Doidge discovered through his research, the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, where the brain changed its very structure with each different activity it performed, perfecting its circuits so it was better suited to the task at hand. One of the scientists that Doidge worked with showed that thinking, learning and acting can turn our genes on or off, thus shaping our brain anatomy and our behaviour – this is one of the most extraordinary discoveries of our time. Children’s brains can change to a much larger degree than adult brains and according to Dr Stan Kutcher, that the ‘events of our lives get etched in the very physical structure and the activities of the brain’. Research carried out shows that current Gen Z has spent over 20,000 hours on the Internet and over 10,000 hours playing video games of some sort and this immersion, Tapscott notes, is happening at a critical time when the brain is particularly sensitive to outside influences. The studies show that brain regions associated with attention, evaluation of rewards, emotional intelligence, impulse control and goal-directed behaviour all change significantly between age 12 and 24. The neurological changes in the teenagers brains, may in part explain why many teenagers appear to be disorganised, have poor impulse control and have difficulty making long term plans.

So what changes have researchers noted about Gen Z or Generation Next who are born between 1998 and present – now up to 14 years old: • Young people who play video games, notice more; they process visual information more quickly • Those who play video games also acquire other skills of manual dexterity – particularly in eye-hand coordination • Gaming is a lesson in trial and error and young people who play these games are part of ‘accidental learning’ – adjusting to new culture rather than learning ‘about’ culture. • Net Geners don’t always start at the Beginning, they are visual experts, and multi-taskers – they leap around in search of information and their cognitive functions are parallel rather than sequential. • Gen Z are using technology in a way that will make them smarter, but think differently from previous generations. As educators we need to accommodate a very different type of learner to the way we learnt – their brains are wired differently. What’s different about Gen Z? According to Don Tapscott, author of Grown up Digital: • They want freedom in everything they do, from freedom of choice to freedom of expression – choice is like oxygen to them – proliferation of products, brands • They love to customise, personalise – website, ringtone, screen saver, news sources • They are the new scrutinizers – on line engagement will become increasingly important • They look for corporate integrity and openness when deciding what to buy and where to work. • The Net Gen wants entertainment and play in their work, education and social life. 82% of 2-17 year olds have regular access to video games.- they have been bred on interactive experiences. Baby Boomers used to ‘live to work’, while the Net Geners ‘work to live’. • They are the collaboration and relationship generation. They collaborate on FaceBook, video games, text one another constantly, twitter, share files for school or just for fun. (email is just “so yesterday”…) • The Net Gen has a need for speed in everything – video games, live chat – everything is real time. • They are innovators – innovation is now on hyper-drive – faster than most of us can keep up with, let alone comprehend. Gen Y and Gen Z have grown up with computers, the Internet,, iPods, iPads, mobile phones, GPS coordinates, swap messages and social networking, like FaceBook – they monitor every single aspect of their friends’ lives.. The implications for teaching and learning of Gen Z are quite profound. At Caloundra City Private School we recognise the differences in the way children learn and ensure that our teaching and learning program caters is quite specific ways, namely: • More focus on the student, not the teacher – student centred learning is the norm • Customised learning for individual needs – ‘one size does not fit all – one size fits one’ Individualised learning tailored for different levels of ability and interest, like in the Excellence Forums, or HeadStart at Sunshine Coast University, and students studying subject ‘off line’ and working independently. • Differentiated learning where different tasks, activities and topics covered to allow students to pursue their own areas of interest within broad themes or topics. • Students are more research savvy – they do more of the leg work – not the teacher – encouraging lifelong learning – learning is not just about the here and now, it’s also about the future. • Students become the creators – discovery learning is the norm, not the exception – website – Up the Dry Gully – created by Year 3 students for other students – which won a state award for our students. • Students become the ‘movers and shakers’ with teacher guidance – for example the initiative of the Year 4 students - water tank and Year 6 students with the Earth Hour at School. • The students are collaborators in learning and outcomes, for example the excellent digital stories of the Year 10 students who collaborated with Year 4 students to animate the stories that Year 4 students made up in class. • Deeper learning is more evident at the School and more interactive learning • Connected globally – like our live skype to students on Exchange in Canada and Scotland during our whole School Assembly.

Students from Pre-Prep to Year 12 are growing up in a digital world, the one that they know is very different from the one we grew up in years ago. Catering for learning of the Gen Z and Gen Y – the very young, coming through our school, is something that we do very well at Caloundra City Private School. Embracing the new technology – Toshiba Tablets, Apple MacBooks, iPads, Interactive whiteboards, and sophisticated and professional software like Adobe Premium - and using the technology it in a meaningful day to day context, means that our students have the very best of learning opportunities. They don’t leave school to learn, they gain all the life- long learning skills necessary for the future world, right here, right now.

Karon Graham

Principal