| This study sought to corroborate or contest the picture that has been painted detailing the Millennial generation's learning preferences as described in scholarly literature. Millennial students are defined as individuals born between 1982 and 2002 (Elam, Stratton, & Gibson, Journal of College Admission, 2007). Two student focus groups and 1 faculty focus group were the means for generating the data in this qualitative study. Those teaching the Millennial in the collegiate classroom may be somewhat dismayed at their failure to reconcile andragological principles of self-directed learning with the reality of their students' capabilities. Data generated from those participating in this research revealed that the learning predilection and preferences of freshman Millennials were not congruent with what was needed to stimulate cognitive, social, and emotional growth towards self-directed learning. However, by their senior year, Millennials in this study expressed preferences for teaching methodology and learning strategies that reflected growth towards the andragological methodology of self-directed learning. Young Millennial freshmen preferred their courses be designed using a rigid framework of organization and without superfluous learning experiences. But what the freshman Millennial prefers and what is necessary for inciting growth towards self-directed learning are incongruent. To facilitate growth that will assist the journey towards self-directed learning, professors must deliberately incorporate learning strategies modeling divergent thinking, facilitating students' application of new information, modeling self-directedness, and providing older student mentors who model this process. |
