Social Work Commons^™

Facilitating An Intergenerational Classroom, Lee Ferrell

Greater Faculties: A Review of Teaching and Learning

At the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year, Needham Yancey Gulley published an Inside Higher Edarticle challenging educators to move away from a seemingly dated term—nontraditional—because it labeled students in a way that could harm their opportunities in the classroom. At the same time, there really are differences among and between the generations, as both the academic literature and popular culture attest. Rather than enjoying a cohesive or intergenerational approach, Millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers are often pitted against one another in what The Washington Post calls “generational warfare.” This essay considers ways to facilitate an intergenerational classroom …