Thinking students of today are very different than those of just 10 years ago. In the Pre-Facebook era when Google was just a search engine, teachers needed to teach. Teachers would spend great efforts to learn subjects and find ways to get their students to learn them. Thinking meant studying and recapping the knowledge in tests.
But today’s students are very different.
Statistically, Gen Z (today’s students) are learning at least one new skill or concept per week from YouTube according to their interests. They find learning fun and are motivated to do it if it has a purpose or practical outcome.
Because they are exposed to a literal ‘world of information’, they often know more about many subjects than their teachers… and often judge their teachers according to what they believe is important, which usually corresponds with information or content they personal pursue.
Is this fair to teachers?
It doesn’t matter, fairness is subjective because students no longer value ‘information’. Information is free, easily available and it is pursued in line with something relevant to their life. What is valued is how information can be applied to practical outcomes relating to student goals and/or purpose. And for students who have no current purpose, they value the opportunity to discover it and achieve things in the process.