Make Learning Matter for the Multitasking Generation

Abstract

Teachers must implement strategies to help teens slow down and think critically.Technological advances have created amazing opportunities for people throughout the world to access and share information (Friedman, 2005). These opportunities have perhaps helped to create a of young adolescents who want to make the most of each minute of the day, seizing opportunities to seek information and communicate at the same time. We now have middle level students who talk on the phone, text friends, play games, download music, watch videos, and write papers for school-and many of these students believe they are adept at doing all of these things at the same time, or multitasking.Meet GenM, or the multitasking generation (Wallis, Cole, Steptoe, & Dale, 2006, p. 48). Now more than ever, students are electronically in; and some students are (or perhaps want to be) tuned during their middle level classes. As research on this phenomenon begins to emerge, it is clear that educators must consider the implications of these GenM practices for their classrooms and help their students slow down and think critically about the things they read and write.This article focuses on current literature related to multitasking, including information on the characteristics of GenM learners. Pedagogical considerations for reading and writing instruction the middle level classroom are explored, and suggestions are offered for translating traditional instructional methodologies into more multimedia-rich learning experiences for students. These strategies challenge students to learn when to slow down and critically examine the text or task at hand.Today's teensResearchers have begun to explore the nature of and its effects. GenM students are generally in and tech savvy. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 82% of students are online by the seventh grade (Lenart, Madden, & Hitlin, 2005). Additionally, students spend 6.5 hours per day using electronic media but condense 8.5 hours of activity into that time by (Wallis et al., 2006, p. 51). Foehr (2006) drew the following conclusions about multitasking:* Most young people multitask at least some of the time, but others do not do it at all.* Many young people use media while doing homework, especially if they are on the computer.* Computer activities (instant messaging, computer games, perusing websites) are the most multitasked activities, while watching television and other media are the least multitasked activities.* Girls are more likely to multitask than boys.Although multitaskers appear to save time, researchers note that can lead to a decline quality of work.Decades of research (not to mention common sense) indicate the quality of one's output and depth of thought deteriorates as one attends to ever more tasks. ... There's substantial literature on how the brain handles multitasking. And, basically, it doesn't. (Wallis et al., 2006, p. 51)Instead, the brain practices rapid toggling which it switches gears with each new activity, sequencing events order of importance instead of processing them simultaneously.The impact of on teenagers is not clear. Russell Poldrack, associate professor of psychology at the University of California Los Angeles, noted, Given that kids have grown up always doing this, it may turn out that they are more skilled at it. We just don't know yet (Aratani, 2007a, para. 17).Teenagers may be more skilled at because they practice it so often. David Meyer, director of the University of Michigan's Brain, Cognition, and Action Laboratory, suggests today's teens are trying toDo lots of because they think it's cool and less boring ... they have lots of gadgets that help them be more successful at this. ... The belief is that they're getting good at this and that they're much better than the older at it and that there's no cost to their efficiency. …