Check Out This Year’s Beloit College Mindset List

Check out the Mindset book.

Want to learn a bit about the students who are entering college right now and infer a bit about digital kids at other ages? Check out this year’s Beloit College Mindset list for the class of 2017.

Started in 1998 by two faculty members at Beloit, the list was originally created as a way for faculty and staff at the college to learn more about how easy it is for adults talk about things that they take for granted but that their students don’t know.  The website includes past years’ lists.

As teachers we gain far more credibility with digital-age children when we understand that many of the things we refer to are not a part of their 21st Century mindset, and when we make an effort to understand the context of their young lives.

A Few of My Favorite Items from This Year’s Mindset List                   

(But there are 60 items out students on the list.)

• They have always been able to plug into USB ports
• GM means food that is Genetically Modified.
• Their TV screens keep getting smaller as their parents’ screens grow ever larger.
• With GPS, they have never needed directions to get someplace, just an address.
• Java has never been just a cup of coffee.
• They have never really needed to go to their friend’s house so they could study together.
•  Their parents’ car CD player is soooooo ancient and embarrassing.

Read the entire Class of 2017 Mindset List.