# lookitup : MILLENNIALS, RESEARCH, AND WRITING

1. Jennifer L. Kunka, Ph.D. Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center Francis Marion University #lookitup: MILLENNIALS, RESEARCH, AND WRITING

2. Everything at a Click

3. Millennials, Research, & Writing • Who are Millennials? • What place does research writing have for the generation of students who have grown up with everything they need to know at their fingertips? • How can comp instructors adapt to this generation’s strengths and instructional needs?

4. Who are Millennials?

5. Millennials • Born between 1981-2000 (Pew Research Center, 2010) • 13-32 years old today • Ethnically diverse group • Tend to be happy with life and optimistic about the future • Marked by their acceptance of social diversity • Skeptical about trusting others

6. Millennials – Online Habits • Millennials are more likely than other generations to believe technology “allows people to use their time more efficiently” (Pew Research Center, 2010) • “Multiple modes of self-expression” • 75% have established social media profiles • 86% of college-educated Millennials have profiles • 62% use wireless Internet • 20% have posted online videos of themselves

7. Millennials – Online Habits • Technology has created for Millennials “a new ecosystem for their social lives” (Pew Research Center, 2010) • More than half believe “technology makes people closer to their friends and family” • Mobile usage almost universal among Millennials • 94% have a cell phone • 83% keep their phones next to their beds • 88% use cell phones to text • Average 20 texts/day

8. Millennials • “Technological exceptionalism” (Pew Research Center, 2010) • More than one in four Millennials believe this is what defines their generation

9. Millennials • Millennials are connected, but are they savvy about what they connect to or how they use what they find?

10. Observation #1: “I’m looking it up . . .”

11. Transactive Memory • The way information is stored within groups (Wegner, Giuliano, & Hertel, 1985) • Do not need to remember everything • Need to remember who knows what

12. Transactive Memory • Google and other search engines now operate as partners in transactive memory (Thompson, 2013) • Permanent storage affects the way people process information

13. Observation #2: “What is . . . ?”

14. “Research” • Piecing together information that’s always available • Surface knowledge • Students do not necessarily familiarize themselves with information so that they can explain it in their own words or analyze it

15. Look for What, not Why • Millennials are also the No Child Left Behind generation • Testing went into effect for 3rd-graders in 2002-2003 • Bernstein (2013) cautions that contemporary college students are used to answering questions for a test • Limited in higher-order critical thinking skills

16. Observation #3:“I found my research . . .”

17. “Filter Bubble” • Pariser (2011) demonstrates the ways personalization of online searches impact the results users receive

18. Habits of Mind • Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing (WPA, NCTE, & NWP, 2011) • Curiosity • Openness • Engagement • Creativity • Persistence • Responsibility • Flexibility • Metacognition

19. Habits of Mind • Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing (WPA, NCTE, & NWP, 2011) • “Select, evaluate, and use information and ideas from electronic sources responsibly in their own documents” • “Use technology strategically and with a clear purpose that enhances the writing for the audience” • “Analyze situations where print and electronic texts are used, examining why and how people have chosen to compose using different technologies” • “Analyze electronic texts (their own and others’) to explore and develop criteria for assessing the texts”

20. WPA Outcomes Statement (2008) • After completing composition, students should be able to • “Locate, evaluate, organize, and use research material collected from electronic sources, including scholarly library databases; other official databases (e.g., federal government databases); and informal electronic networks and internet sources” • “Understand and exploit the differences in the rhetorical strategies and in the affordances available for both print and electronic composing processes and texts”

21. WPA Outcomes Statement (2008) • Goals of first-year composition • “Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating” • “Understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources” • “Integratetheir own ideas with those of others”

22. Research Process • Find topic • Narrow or broaden topics • Develop and answer research questions • Locate sources • Read, comprehend, and evaluate sources • Check for credibility • Determine whether sources are relevant • Consider how sources operate in conversation with the writer’s point of view • Integrate sources responsibly into project

23. Research Process • Use Millennials’ key strengths as tools for inquiry • Connectivity • Interactivity • Skepticism

24. #lookitup • Instructional strategies • Technology tools at work in class • Focus on information literacy • Emphasis on comprehension of source material • Analysis of both tools and resources

25. #shareyourresults • Assignments • Projects that • connect student writers with an audience • put students in conversation with each other • have utility beyond class • are multimodal • require problem-solving and argumentation

26. Critical Thinking • Future Problem Solving Program International (2013) • Receive scenario and examine problem • Define underlying problem • Research and develop options for addressing it • Develop criteria • Measure options against criteria • Make recommendations for implementing solution (California Future Problem Solving, n.d.)

27. Future Uses of Research Writing • Professional workplaces require • Critical thinkers • Problem-solvers • Writing beyond the research paper • Not just people who can find information but can analyze and process information to develop new ideas and address challenges

28. Discussion • What do you see as the challenges of research writing instruction with Millennials? • How do you leverage Millennials’ strengths in your classrooms? • How do you shape research writing assignments?

29. References • Bernstein, K. (2013, January). Warning from the trenches. Retrieved from http://www.aaup.org • California Future Problem Solving. (n.d.). The six-step process. Retrieved from http://www.cafps.org • Council of Writing Program Administrators. (2008, July). WPA outcomes statement for first-year composition. Retrieved from http://wpacouncil.org • Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, & National Writing Project. (2011, January). Framework for success in postsecondary writing. Retrieved from http://wpacouncil.org • Future Problem Solving Program International. (2013). Home page. Retrieved from http://www.fpspi.org • Pariser, E. (2011). The filter bubble: What the Internet is hiding from you. New York, NY: Penguin. • Pew Research Center. (2010, February). Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to change. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org • Thompson, C. (2013). Smarter than you think: How technology is changing our minds for the better. New York, NY: Penguin. • Wegner, D. M., Giuliano, T., & Hertel, P. (1985). Cognitive interdependence in close relationships. In W. J. Ickes (Ed.), Compatible and incompatible relationships (pp. 253-276). New York: Springer-Verlag. • Images on slides 4 and 13: Microsoft Office