Influence of generations' traits on teaching and learning in an open distant learning (ODL) environment

Abstract

Influence of different generations’ traits on teaching and learning has been of great interest to researchers in education systems in recent times. Three different generations are analysed by the authors, which are baby boomers, generation X and generation Y. Baby boomers are those people born between 1946 and 1964, generation X were born between 1965 and 1981, and generation Y were born from 1982 to the present. The gap between these generations is not limited to age and technology but also reflect the effects of a changing society on a generation. This present paper reviews the effect of different generations’ characteristics on teaching and learning. The focus is on the teaching and learning in an open distant learning (ODL) environment. The complexity of teaching and learning in an ODL environment is analysed in line with the different generations’ traits. A design model is proposed for effective mixed teaching and learning in an ODL environment that fits the different generations.