An Intersection of Interests: The Millennial Generation and an Alternative World Language Teacher Education Program

The Ann Arbor Languages Partnership (A2LP) between Ann Arbor Public Schools and the University of Michigan's School of Education recruits Spanish-speaking undergraduates from many academic majors to teach Spanish in the district's 3rd and 4th grade classrooms during the academic year. The partnership allows the district to offer students a world language experience they otherwise would not have, and gives the University an opportunity to explore an alternative mode of teacher education specifically aimed at the learning preferences of this generation of college students. These students--mostly non-education majors--are members of the "millennial" generation, characterized by a sense of being "special," an expectation that their opinions will be sought and respected on all things, an orientation towards teamwork and social justice, and skills and interests in technology, especially the Internet. This study is a two-tiered investigation: 1) From what programmatic structures--role plays and modeling, seminar discussions, written reflections, formal and informal peer interactions, and classroom teaching experiences--do Apprentice Teachers (ATs) learn best about the practice of teaching? 2) In their individual reflections, which elements of the teaching and learning process are ATs most engaged with emotionally and intellectually? Based on our findings, we consider the following to be important implications for teaching millennial undergraduates and preservice teachers: 1) Millennials are keen on offering their opinions. Seek their feedback on course structure and content throughout the course, via emails, web posts, written work, or even focus groups. 2) Set guidelines for feedback. Ask them to consider the value of activities specifically in relation to the course goals, or ask for their thoughts on how they learn best (give them options to consider) and for suggestions on ways they could share or demonstrate what they know. 3) If it is possible to maintain your core educational values, use student feedback to modify your teaching or expectations during the semester. Do so explicitly. 4) Build their skills in self-assessment and reflection. Exit tickets are a quick way to encourage students to consider what they learned in a class session and how it is or isn't going to be useful to them in the future. These can also be used to assess what students are still uncertain about--what topic or skill are they having trouble with and why? What can they do themselves, and what can you do, to help them? Again, make an effort to respond to these tickets. Two appendixes present: (1) Focus Group Prompts; and (2) Themes from Focus Groups and Reflections: Frequencies of Mention