Yashvi Parwani Vaswani, English Language Teacher, Lancers Convent School, New Delhi, talks about innovative teaching methods for Gen Z children, who are today’s students surrounded by technology from a very young age. As a result, Gen Z prefers fast, clear, and interactive ways of learning. Teachers must therefore adapt their methods to suit this evolving learning style. With the right strategies, teaching Gen Z becomes both effective and enjoyable.
Gen Z students are born and brought up with gadgets and technology. They constantly engage with digital tools and often relate whatever they see to technology. Although teachers today are also tech-savvy, students are often far more immersed in technology than educators. This, however, makes classroom management difficult. Children feel that they know more than their teachers, as everything is available on the internet. But we, the educators, have the responsibility of guiding them in the right direction and getting them involved in the classroom activities. There are a few strategies that we can follow to achieve our motives.
Gen Z today are exposed to mobile phones all the time. Even from the age of three, they are familiar with YouTube, reels and other digital platforms. They are highly visual and interactive learners with strong creative thinking skills due to constant access to everything online. They can actually visualise everything, imagine, and are always interacting with technology. But what is the main issue? – Lack of communication. They struggle to express themselves in face-to-face situations and often feel anxious during real- life interactions. Their continuous exposure to short videos and reels significantly reduces their attention span. The current-day teachers face this problem a lot, as the students are constantly looking for something that is very innovative. They can process information easily as they are involved in technology, providing them with great exposure and the content available on digital media. They have the advantage of independence, but also need guidance from the teachers. Gen Z students can process information quickly due to wide digital exposure, which gives them independence, but they still require proper guidance. They may commit errors, and it is the teacher’s role to help them understand content critically rather than accepting everything they encounter online. Gen Z students are socially aware and informed about global issues, yet many are caught in a cycle of technological dependency
They are keen on asserting their opinions and authority. At the same time, they value collaboration and teamwork. They appreciate creativity in others and enjoy working in groups. Career choices have also evolved beyond traditional fields like medicine and engineering. Students now create opportunities through blogging, influencing, or starting small businesses—options that were not easily available earlier. This reflects their creativity and self-dependence when technology is used constructively.
Understanding Gen Z challenges
One major challenge is their short attention span and constant search for novelty. Traditional teaching methods often fail to engage them. Teachers must therefore make deliberate efforts to capture their interest and sustain attention. Information should be presented in small, organised segments, as students can feel overwhelmed by excessive input. Excessive screen time has also reduced physical play and interpersonal interaction. This makes monitoring by teachers and parents essential.
Next come mental health issues. It is because there is no real-world interaction behind the screen. We will not know about the other person behind the screen, their mental health or experience. This does not apply to online classes. It is the parents, teachers, friends, or colleagues who can help them and guide them. When students struggle to express themselves verbally, it often signals deeper emotional challenges. We also observe that students use a lot of slang, emojis, or short forms, even in the exam papers. This communication gap is because of their overexposure to gadgets and the internet, etc. It is important that there be a blend of traditional methods and modern technologies that is taught to them. NEP says that students should be encouraged to be interactive, they should generate information, and as teachers, we should motivate them to understand the value of the traditional method, also.
One such traditional method is the usage of a blackboard, which plays a vital role in the role of teachers. But often it is felt that using a blackboard may decrease the motivation in students and make the lessons less interesting. Teachers are also losing their patience due to many reasons. This leads to a lack of motivation and a delay in feedback. Gen Z learners require quick, positive, and empathetic feedback. They need to understand why they are studying a topic and how it is relevant to real life. So the teachers should be empathetic and give positive feedback. They should know what and why they are studying, which will bring their attention back to the teachings and their relevance in today’s time, also. Yet another challenge is their total dependence on technology. They want to prove they know more than the teachers. Students may rely on apps to complete assignments or feel they already know the content. Teachers must therefore continuously upgrade their knowledge and resources to guide students meaningfully.
Another challenge is the fact that Gen Z children have poor time management skills. They spend so much time on gadgets that they do not know how to utilise their time without them. So we need to constantly monitor them and make them realise the value of time management. Poor communication skills are another problem, as they indulge in using emojis, watching reels, and it is important that they are guided by the teachers and parents. They should realise the value of effective communication. The lectures should be interactive, and students should participate to get the most out of them. The resources should be utilised to the maximum to enhance student interest. It should include listening, looking, touching, everything. Quick feedback and recognition are very important. The students will not be able to cope with the delayed feedback. The students should collaborate and engage in teamwork. The tasks should be done by the teams with individual contributions. It can be achieved only when the teacher has a positive mindset to be a facilitator, guide, and coach. We have to search for the resources and not depend on the ones already available. We need to search for something that has not been explored yet and develop it. We should never think we know everything, as it will make us stagnant. We need to accept our weaknesses also. When we express it to the children, they will learn to look at us as human beings capable of committing mistakes. Giving importance to the students’ viewpoints is also important. This will improve the relationship between the teacher and the students and between students and the topics so that they will know what they are learning and why.
Strategies for GenZ
There are a few strategies that we can try to involve Gen Z kids in learning. Using only the traditional method of teaching will not help, as they will be easily bored. We can go for a flipped classroom model where the students can present the topic, and the teachers can guide them when they face issues in explaining. If the topic is something not familiar to the students, then the teacher can give the resources and help. For example, periodic tables are quite new for the students; in such circumstances, we have to provide them with the material, guide them on how to go about it, and then let them take the class. Next is project-based learning. Let them take up a project, create groups, and explore. This method needs more research, and it becomes easier for students to do it. Next is gamification. NEP wants learning to be fun, which will improve their learning, communication, and critical thinking. We can include multimedia as short reels based on subjects, and on YouTube, attract them more. We can talk about our experiences and those of famous personalities. We can bring in tech talks so that they do not feel left out. We need to have healthy and positive discussions by giving various examples. They can use the contents that the students created.
There are many apps or tools such as Kahoot, Quzizz, Blooket, Gimkit-Quiz, Mentimeter, and Canva that are used for education. Google Workspace is very helpful for a teacher. We can use slides, documents, and Google Forms to give instant feedback. Padlet is a common app with a bulletin board, where students add their responses. MagicSchool.ai and educate.ai are helpful to teachers. They can create lesson plans, question papers, basic questions, and critical thinking questions. ChatGPT is another tool, but it takes a lot of time to generate reports, as we have to give proper prompts. The students will find all of these very interesting. They will wait for our classes. We should do things based on the needs of the students by properly using the resources.
All the above tools can be used for special needs. While we generate different question papers, we can also do the same thing for such children, according to the criteria. For children who need simpler questions, we can get it, and a critical question paper for those who are brilliant. We can make use of Infographics, Videos, PPTs, short reels and clips which excite the children.
Strengthening teacher–student bonds
There should be a cordial relationship between the students and the teachers. Teachers today must see themselves as facilitators, guides, and coaches. They should explore new resources, accept their own limitations, and remain lifelong learners. When teachers acknowledge their mistakes, students learn to see them as approachable and human. Valuing students’ opinions strengthens teacher–student relationships and enhances engagement with learning. We need to be positive in the class, listen to what the students say, and give them proper resources and guidance. We have to look for things beyond what the internet has in store, and we need to be very empathetic and positive when using it.
Google Form and Google Classroom are methods we can use. We can give a Google Form to them to upload their assignment and get feedback. Collective feedback is not useful to the children. We should write down the feedback in their answer sheets for better results. It motivates the students as they know the teachers have gone through their answers and given feedback.
This is a summary of the talk given by the author on schoolreformer.com
Contact details
Yashvi Parwani Vaswani
English Language Teacher
Email- parwaniyashvi@gmail.com