Dennis R. Myers

Effective Learner-Centered Strategies for Teaching Adults: Using Visual Media to Engage the Adult Learner

ABSTRACT This article offers practical guidance for educators as they prepare specialists to enhance the lives and communities of older persons through the strategic use of visual media in age-related courses. Advantages and disadvantages of this learning innovation are provided as well as seven approaches for enriching instruction. Resources are included for locating effective visual media, matching course content with video resources, determining fair use of copyrighted media, and inserting video clips into PowerPoint presentations. Strategies for accessing assistive services for implementing visual media in the classroom are also addressed. This article promotes the use of visual media for the purpose of enriching gerontological and geriatrics instruction for the adult learner.

Spirituality, Faith, and Mild Alzheimer’s Disease

There is some evidence for a positive association between spirituality, cognitive, and behavioral functioning in people with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Anecdotal reports suggest that cognitively affected individuals can respond positively to faith-based activities. This chapter seeks to build upon previous research by providing an explanatory model for how spirituality impacts the lives of people with AD. It presents qualitative data from interviews of people with AD on the following aspects of spirituality: (a) values and beliefs as they relate to living with AD; (b) the role of the sacred in the lives of people with AD; (c) private and corporate (within a formal congregational setting) spiritual practices; and (d) how spirituality aids in coping with AD. Additionally, using quantitative measures, the chapter hypothesizes that individuals who utilize negative religious coping to a greater degree than positive religious coping would report greater symptoms of anxiety, depression, and behavioral changes. Keywords:Alzheimer’s Disease (AD); anxiety; behavioral changes; depression; faith; spirituality

Congregational Service-Learning Characteristics and Volunteer Faith Development

Abstract A research study surveyed 946 volunteers from congregations who were actively involved in community service, as well as 3,959 other congregational attenders who were not involved in volunteer service, to understand the relationship between service learning and faith development. Findings show that service-learning is powerfully related to a mature faith and to other faith practices such as prayer, Bible study, and worship. Authors explore the characteristics of service-learning that strengthen its contribution to the faith life of volunteers. These findings have important implications for how religious educators and community leaders structure service-learning experiences. The authors conclude that leaders who want to nurture the life of faith need to consider service-learning to be at the core rather than elective in congregational life. 1 1We are grateful to our colleagues Beryl Hugen, Paula Sheridan, Michael Sherr, and David Sherwood who were our partners in this project. This project was funded by a generous grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Military Deployment of an Adult Child: Ambiguous Loss and Boundary Ambiguity Reflected in the Experiences of Parents of Service Members

ABSTRACT This study explored the experiences of parents of service members, military family members who are often overlooked even though they are likely a vital source of support for their military adult-children. Reflections on deployment of military adult-children were gathered from 21 parents in semistructured group interviews. A framework of ambiguous loss, boundary ambiguity, and ambivalence was used to analyze comments reflecting pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment experiences. Pre-deployment anticipation of leave-taking was associated with boundary ambiguity and ambivalence for parents, tempered by safety concerns. During deployment ambiguity in parental role expectations and parameters complicated parents’ attempts to manage physical absence and maintain psychological presence. Post-deployment challenged parents with ambiguous psychological presence and disruption of family boundaries, complicated by changes associated with the effects of war.

Guardianship of Frail Elders: Student-Supported Process for Legislative Change

Legislative change, ethical dilemmas, and client management issues were all faced by social work students in a recent effort to impact guardianship in the State of Texas. Since the mid-1990s, Texas had been without a statewide system to provide guardianship services. In 2004 a group of social work students, law students, faculty, guardianship professionals, and judges from across Texas came together to create new laws and solve the significant gaps in services. Guardianship is at once a legal and social issue. It is mandated by the courts but generally managed by social workers. In this paper, the authors offer a model for student involvement that both changed the laws in this state and offers significant hands-on education in both research and community organization.

THE CONTRIBUTORY AND CHANGING ROLES OF OLDER ADULTS IN THE CHURCH AND SYNAGOGUE

Older members of churches and synagogues constitute a major resource to religious organizations in American society. In many congregations this age group is not provided with adequate opportunities to demonstrate their rich inventory of knowledge and skills. The historical roles of older persons in preindustrial America provide a precedent for the creation of new contributory roles for the elderly in the twenty‐first century. In order to correct the current underutilization of older members and prepare for future ministry needs, six roles are described to illustrate the type of intramural and extramural contributions older congregational members can make. Religious educators are alerted to three structural barriers to productive role expression in later life, and the concept of career is introduced as a framework for the design of sequential role configurations for the older member. Implications of the need for a career oriented approach to innovative role making for religious education programming are ad...

Spiritual Diversity and Living with Early-Stage Dementia

ABSTRACT Attention to spiritual diversity is necessary for the provision of culturally informed clinical care for people with early-stage dementia and their family members. In this article, an evidence-based theoretical framework for conceptualizing spiritual diversity is described in detail (Pargament, 2011). The framework is then applied to two clinical case studies of people living with early-stage dementia to elucidate the multilayered components of spiritual diversity in this population. The case studies were selected from a larger mixed-methods study on spirituality, positive psychological factors, health, and well-being in people living with early-stage dementia and their family members. To our knowledge this is the first systematic attempt to apply a theoretical framework for understanding spiritual diversity in this population. Implications for clinical practice are provided.

Positive Psychological Assessment and Early-Stage Dementia

ABSTRACT Objectives: There are no known positive psychological (PP) measures adapted/validated for use with people in the early stages of dementia. Objectives were to: (1) develop/pilot an accessible protocol for administering PP measures in this population; (2) examine their psychometric properties; and (3) provide preliminary observations about how people with early-stage dementia perceive various aspects of PP as it pertains to living with dementia. Methods: Five PP measures were adapted/administered to 36 people with early-stage dementia. Constructs of interests were gratitude, life satisfaction, meaning in life, optimism, and resilience. Psychometric data were calculated and response patterns analyzed. Results: Participants easily completed the adapted measures using the accessible protocol. Preliminary evidence of reliability and validity were yielded. Response patterns suggested a range of PP perceptions and experiences among participants. Conclusions: This study represents a step towards validating the psychometric properties of several PP measures adapted for use with people in the early stages of dementia and provides insight into how PP works in this population. Clinical Implications: PP assessment may assist clinicians and researchers to better understand PP functioning in this population potentially contributing to effective strengths based psychosocial interventions. Recommendations for clinical practice and future research are provided.

Educational Brokerage: A Mechanism for Establishing Elders as Educators.

Although frequently underutilized as educators, older adults can be valuable resources to universities, colleges, and communities. This paper examines some reasons for underutilization of elders and suggests an educational brokerage system as a means of maximizing their educational contributions and rewards. A case study of an emerging brokerage system is presented.

Addressing externalized behavioral concerns in primary care: Listening to the voices of parents

ABSTRACT This article presents the perceptions parents have of the causative and curative factors for their child’s externalized behaviors and what treatment they prefer to receive from their primary care integrated behavioral health team. This is a qualitative study, using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 parents representing 14 patients with a disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) who sought care from their primary care physician for treatment of the DBD. Participants spoke of uncertainty of the cause of the DBD and the desire to find parenting approaches that augment the effectiveness of pharmacological intervention provided by the primary care team. Parents’ responses suggest that they are eager for more education about their child’s DBD and how to engage at-home management of the symptoms. Discussion focused on the import of considering the voices of these parents when implementing brief parent management training programs in integrated behavioral health primary care programs.