Instructional Strategies for Motivating and Engraining Generation Z Students in Their Own Learning Process

In the last few years, a number of significant research studies were conducted focusing on identifying and determining the root cause and also factors that critically contribute to students failure and success in higher education. These studies have enabled educators to evaluate the underlying causes by analyzing different perspectives presented by students, faculty and academic leaders. Various studies were conducted and published in the past that have addressed the same issue. For example, in three related studies conducted and presented at the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) conference in Chicago, Illinois, the surveyed participants (students, faculty, and academic leaders) provided concrete root-cause factors for student’s failure at college and university level. Student’s academic readiness, self-motivation, study habits, and students attitude towards education were the most mentioned root-causes by both, faculty and academic leaders (Appendix 1). During the studies, all participants agreed upon the fact that in order to succeed, students should have clear mindsets and should be aware of the reasons and requirements they will need to meet in order to enroll in a specific course. They should be thoroughly aware of their purpose for attending a school beyond just getting passing grades and a degree to get jobs. However, all three surveyed groups strongly believe that it is not only the student’s responsibility, but also the responsibility of instructors and college administration to keep students motivated after admitting them to their colleges, programs, and courses (Cherif, Movahedzadeh, Adams, Martyn 2013; 2014; 2015). In this paper, we explore the implementation of some proposed recommendations from various research studies for improving students learning and instructors teaching in a classroom setting. Keywords: Modern students, Motivations; Student academic performance and retention, Student success. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-3-0