If you ever watched the serial of Harry Potter, you might be familiar of the spell used in there. There are so many spells with various functions such as to move things around, to change an object, even to attract the attention. The last spell is actually needed and even must be mastered by teacher since one of the key in learning process is students’ attention.
These days, students got easily distracted during the learning process. They have been found looking at the teacher with mind is flying somewhere else and ended up knowing nothing about the lesson. It happens particularly towards the generation Z. Before diving deeper, let us discuss first who is the generation Z?
Generation Z—commonly called as Gen Z for short—is a generation born outside the millennial generation yet before the generation alpha. To be precisely, it consists of people who was born in 1997-2012. We can say that this generation actually is the children of generation X.
Generation Z is actually the first population who has grown up with an advanced developing technology since the very young age. They are even called as “digital natives” since the rapid development of technology happened in this era. So, basically, they are gifted with the digital ability because of their surroundings.
This phenomenon, as stated before, is actually a gift. The reason is simply because they have the very basic skill in mastering technology. The fact that technology develops more and more sophisticated these days require people to adapt easily—and this generation has been born with it.
However, this is the starting point of the problem. This generation is actually having an excessive screen time since many aspects have been shifted into digital. Education is not excluded in this term. Many school system utilizes hybrid which demand their student to not only learn in conventional classroom but also virtual world.
In using technology, they are often disrupted by many applications available on their devices. In the school that uses hybrid system, it often requires the students to fill the attendance through e-learning or any similar application. The teacher even share the material through e-learning and the students are asked to check it through their smartphone. The problem is when they open the e-learning, one notification from Instagram pop up. The students then check the Instagram instead of the material. In the classroom, when the teacher explain the material in front of the class, some of them will secretly playing the game on their phone.
So, how could the teacher create a useful spell to draw their attention?
The answer of this question is simply just by understanding the characteristics of the generation Z. The most important things that underline the generation Z is that they are “digital natives” which means they were born in digital world. What should teachers do with it?
Firstly, utilizing the technology as a learning media
These days, there are so many applications that the teacher can use as an interactive media. For instance, the teacher can use Canva to design an interactive learning video or just an attractive power point. There is also Quizizz for teacher to make the quiz or examination more fun.
If the tension of the class is getting bored, do some games to break the tension
Students, particularly in the lower grades such as elementary school, love to play games. As a teacher, we can even include the game during our learning process. Find a proper game that does not only give fun but also include the learning lesson there. You can use puzzle or any similar things that can improve the cognitive ability of students.
Finally, try to listen to what students actually need. They often feel shy or even afraid to tell the teacher what they need. Listen to their suggestion since and open to any comments. By doing this, you can not only draw attention of generation Z but also any students you have. \
Expecto Patronum~
