Generation Y Health Professional Students’ Preferred Teaching and Learning Approaches: A Systematic Review

Credentials Display

Caroline Hills MSc, GCTE, BSc (Hons), DipCOT; Samuel Lapkin RN, BN Hons (1st Class), PhD; Tracy Levett-Jones PhD, RN; Helen Warren-Forward, BSc (Hons), PhD, MACPSEM

Abstract

Generation Y or Millennials are descriptors for those born between 1982 and 2000. This cohort has grown up in the digital age and is purported to have different learning preferences from previous generations. Students are important stakeholders in identifying their preferred teaching and learning approaches in health professional programs. This study aimed to identify, appraise, and synthesize the best available evidence regarding the teaching and learning preferences of Generation Y health professional students. The review considered any objectively measured or self-reported outcomes of teaching and learning reported from Generation Y health professional student perspectives. In accordance with a previously published Joanna Briggs Institute Protocol, a three-step search strategy was completed. Two research articles (nursing and dental hygiene students) and three dissertations (nursing) were critically appraised. All studies were cross-sectional descriptive studies. A range of pedagogical approaches was reported, including lecture, group work, and teaching clinical skills. Based on the Joanna Briggs Institute levels of evidence, reviewers deemed the evidence as Level 3. Some generational differences were reported, but these were inconsistent across the studies reviewed. There is, therefore, insufficient evidence to provide specific recommendations for the preferred educational approaches of health professional students and further research is warranted.

Recommended Citation

Hills, C. M., Levett-Jones, T., Lapkin, S., & Warren-Forward, H. (2017). Generation Y Health Professional Students’ Preferred Teaching and Learning Approaches: A Systematic Review. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1278