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7 Tips to Motivate Millennials

by Janice Florent

millennials working together on a project

Many educators feel frustrated that millennials are especially difficult to reach and to motivate, yet motivation is one thing that can drive millennials to succeed. Student engagement is the key to academic motivation, persistence, and degree completion. Educators must find ways to get students' attention and get them actively engaged with the course material and with their peers.

In a recent Pulse Learning blog post, Christopher Pappas listed seven tips to get millennials excited and fully engaged in the learning process. Those tips are:

  1. Stress real-world applications – Millennials need to know why they are doing something and how it will serve the greater good.
  2. Empower them - Give millennials a way to share their opinions and insights so that they can feel as though they are making a difference.
  3. Track their progress - Millennial learners like to be able to track their progress as they go along. They must be able to immediately determine where they are at and what they still need to accomplish.
  4. Encourage collaboration - This generation of learners thrives in social environments. They enjoy sharing personal experiences and skills with their peers, as well as learning new things from other members in their group.
  5. Offer immediate feedback - Millennial learners crave feedback and recognition. They like to be congratulated on a job well done and praised for their achievements. You should offer feedback that is specific and that helps them learn.
  6. Focus on flexibility - Create a flexible schedule that allows learners to complete online projects and exercises when it’s most convenient for them.
  7. Offer mentoring or other online support services - The millennial generation likes to have control, but they also like to be able to see the direct path they need to take to achieve success. In other words, they require guidance from time to time. Educators should provide mentoring for student success.

If this has piqued your interest, you can read more in Christopher’s How To Motivate Millennials: 7 Tips For eLearning Professionals blog post.

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