Project GenZ
The Project GenZ is a team of undergraduate researchers interested in exploring how to best teach the current generation of undergraduate students.
Who are we?
With the influence of social media, changes in undergraduate student culture, and the advent of generative AI; our team has noticed a generational shift in how students engage in large enrollment science courses.
This student-led initiative, guided by PhD student Ben Chan and RISE Director Sara Brownell, aims to understand how our current generation of students learn. Through student-driven research on undergraduate student learning, motivation, and engagement, we hope to inform science instructors on how to improve teaching practices and warn instructors against potentially detrimental pedagogical decisions.
Our team is particularly interested in identifying conventional best practices that no longer benefit modern undergraduate students and using this research to adapt higher education teaching practices to better align with students’ behaviors and preferences.
Our Project Gen Z Research Teams
Literature Review Team
The Literature Review team is investigating what current literature reveals about how Gen Z learns, engages, and experiences higher education.
Academic Integrity Team
The Academic Integrity team is exploring how students understand academic integrity and evaluating teaching practices that support integrity among Gen Z learners.
Curriculum Analysis Team
The Curriculum Analysis team is examining course syllabi to assess how instructors’ teaching practices align with the needs, preferences, and behaviors of Gen Z learners.
Resource Development Team
The Resource Development team is creating tools that empower researchers to better study and understand Gen Z students in the classroom.