Harnessing the proven benefits of active learning strategies, this is the first activity book created for a broad spectrum of courses in aging-related higher education. It features 32 classroom and community-based educational activities for instructors seeking to introduce or enhance aging content in their courses. Underscoring the interdisciplinary nature of aging studies, the book encompasses teaching strategies for instructors in such disciplines as counseling, family studies, gerontology, geriatrics, medicine, psychology, public administration, public health, nursing, social work, sociology, speech pathology, and others.

This peer-reviewed collection of hands-on activities is designed by noted educators in aging and incorporates Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) competencies. It offers clear, step-by-step procedures for implementing each activity, including preparation, introduction, the activity itself, discussion/reflection, wrap-up or follow-up if appropriate, and assessment. The book also addresses learning outcomes and includes recommendations for number of participants, settings, materials, and time required. Encompassing key, impactful issues affecting older individuals, the text examines ageism and aging in the media, dementia, demography, health care, housing, physical aging, policy and politics of aging, positive interactions with older adults, and spirituality. In addition to the book’s value to students, its activities are also beneficial to professionals instructing or participating in staff trainings, in-services, and continuing education.

Key Features:

Contains 32 experiential learning activities for students in a great variety of aging-related disciplines
Designed for activities in the classroom, in the community, online, and take-home
Provides clear, step-by-step procedures for each activity from implementation through assessment
Addresses student learning outcomes and includes a glossary
Incorporates AGHE competencies
Provides worksheets and forms to be downloaded for printing or electronic completion

Contents

CONTENTS

Contributors

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Teaching Courses on Aging: Experiential Learning Activities to Engage Students

Rona J. Karasik, Tina M. Kruger, and Hallie E. Baker

Getting the Most Out of Experiential Learning Activities

Why a Collection of Aging Activities?

Getting the Most Out of This Collection

2. Ageism and Aging in the Media

Tina M. Kruger

Activity 2.1 Aging as Portrayed in Children’s Picture Books

Pamela Pitman Brown

Activity 2.2 Aging in the Movies

April Temple

Activity 2.3 Images: Intervention Program to Prevent Ageism in Children and Adolescents

Sibila Marques, Christin-Melanie Vauclair, Ricardo Borges Rodrigues, Joana Mendonça, Filomena Gerardo, and Filipa Cunha

Activity 2.4 Examining the Social Clock Through YouTube

Rachel Filinson

3. Dementia

Rona J. Karasik

Activity 3.1 Dementia Communication and Empathy

Rona J. Karasik

Activity 3.2 Enhancing Students’ Therapeutic Interaction Skills With Older Adults With Dementia

Minetta Wallingford and Lisa Knecht-Sabres

4. Demography

Hallie E. Baker

Activity 4.1 Applying the Demography of Aging to Countries Around the World

Hallie E. Baker

Activity 4.2 Hometown Age Demographics

Joann M. Montepare and Kimberly S. Farah

5. Health Care

Hallie E. Baker

Activity 5.1 An Evidence-Based Team Approach: Benefits of a Gerontological Interdisciplinary Team

Colleen Steinhauser and Cheryl Bouckaert

Activity 5.2 Bingocize®: An Intergenerational Service-Learning Initiative to Improve Older Adults’ Functional Fitness

K. Jason Crandall

Activity 5.3 Medical Students’ Community Engagement

Jennifer Mendez, Sasha Stine, and Preeya Prakash

Activity 5.4 What Would You Do? Getting Resources for Your Older Adult Activity

Hallie E. Baker

6. Housing

Rona J. Karasik

Activity 6.1 Find a Nursing Home

Carrie Andreoletti

Activity 6.2 Field Trips to Senior Facilities

Sharon A. DeVaney

Activity 6.3 Household Disaster Planning Kits

Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock and Eleanor Krassen Covan

Activity 6.4 Long-Term Care Residence Disaster Planning

Eleanor Krassen Covan and Elizabeth Fugate-Whitlock

Activity 6.5 Applying Anti-Racist Pedagogy to the Exploration of Senior Housing

Kyoko Kishimoto and Rona J. Karasik

7. Physical Aging

Rona J. Karasik and Tina M. Kruger

Activity 7.1 How It Feels to Be Old

Hallie E. Baker

Activity 7.2 Hands-On Experience With the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

Phyllis A. Greenberg

Activity 7.3 Hearing Aids and Pizza

Elaine M. Shuey and Susan Dillmuth-Miller

Activity 7.4 Thinking Critically About Autonomy and Dependency in Aging

Russell J. Woodruff

8. Public Policy and Aging

Phyllis A. Greenberg

Activity 8.1 Examining Organizations That Benefit Older Adults in the Local Community

Heather R. Rodriguez

Activity 8.2 Letter to a Legislator: Civic Engagement for Gerontology Students

April Temple

Activity 8.3 What Will Your Future Look Like? Financing Retirement Exercise

Hallie E. Baker and Pamela Pitman Brown

9. Positive Interactions With Older Adults

Mary C. Ehlman

Activity 9.1 Intergenerational Speed Greeting

Carrie Andreoletti and Joann M. Montepare

Activity 9.2 Life History Interview Project

Monika Ardelt

Activity 9.3 Service Learning Fair (SLF) in Gerontology

Maria Claver, Casey Goeller, and Elena Ionescu

Activity 9.4 Site Visits as a Requirement for an Introductory Gerontology Course: Social and Demographic Implications of Aging

Nina M. Silverstein

10. Research Projects and Papers

Pamela Pitman Brown

Activity 10.1 Diversity of the Aging Experience: An Examination of Scholarly Research on Older Adults From the Past 5 Years

Heather R. Rodriguez

Activity 10.2 Final for Biology of Human Aging Course

Jacquelyn Browne

11. Spirituality

Kelly Niles-Yokum

Activity 11.1 Spiritual Assessment

Connie Beran

Activity 11.2 Exploring Cultural Death Practices Through Group Presentations

Maria Claver and Casey Goeller

Glossary

Index

Authors

Hallie Baker, PhD, is Associate Professor, Psychology Department, Muskingum University.

Tina M. Kruger, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Applied Health Sciences, Indiana State University (ISU). Dr. Kruger developed and directs an undergraduate Gerontology certificate program at ISU.

Rona J. Karasik, PhD, FAGHE, FGSA, is a professor and director of the Gerontology Program at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN, where she works with a broad range of community partners and supervises undergraduate and graduate gerontology interns. With over thirty years of teaching and research experience, Dr. Karasik is the author of numerous publications and presentations on gerontology internships, service-learning, classroom- and community-based activities, and incorporating anti-racist pedagogy into the gerontological curriculum. Dr. Karasik holds fellow status in both the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) and the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and is the recipient of local and national teaching awards, including AGHE's "Distinguished Faculty" award. Currently, Dr. Karasik is the editor-in-chief of Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, the official journal of the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education.

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