Linda A. Pruski

POSITIVELY AGING: CHOICES AND CHANGES CREATING INTERDISCIPLINARY MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHING MATERIALS USING EXAMPLES FROM GERIATRICS AND GERONTOLOGY

Positively Aging is an educational partnership developed between the Aging Research and Education Center (AREC) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and the Northside Independent School District (NISD) in San Antonio, Texas. For the past six years, the scientists of the AREC have collaborated with middle school educators from NISD to produce instructional materials that work toward achieving the National Institutes of Health (NIH) goals to (a) improve the quality of math and science education in public schools, and (b) promote an understanding of behaviors that increase the risk of disease. Positively Aging has three long-term goals: (1) to provide effective teaching materials for math and science curricula based on examples from the gerontologic sciences; (2) to help students learn to make critical, life-determining decisions for extending and enhancing their lives; and (3) to help students develop a sensitivity to the needs and concerns of the aging population. In it...

Construct Validation of the Self-Efficacy Teaching and Knowledge Instrument for Science Teachers-Revised (SETAKIST-R): Lessons Learned.

Described herein is the academic lineage and independent validation of the Self-Efficacy Teaching and Knowledge Instrument for Science Teachers-Revised (SETAKIST-R). Data from 334 K-12 science teachers were analyzed using Partial Credit Rasch models. Principal components analysis on the person-item residuals suggest two latent dimensions: Knowledge and Teaching Self-Efficacies. Item-fit statistics were used to select items for each subscale. Person and item separation (reliability) indices were quite low, and we noted disordered response patterns on the person-item maps that revealed problems with item content and/or scaling for both subscales. These issues include the presence of: verbal negatives, ambiguous modifiers, counter-intuitive scaling, and an “undecided/uncertain” option. The SETAKIST-R, in its current form, cannot be recommended as a measure of science teacher self-efficacy.

Disseminating the Positively Aging[R] Teaching Materials: Results of a Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT This study tested the effectiveness of 2 dissemination methods for the Positively Aging® teaching materials. In San Antonio, Texas, 4 middle schools participated in a 3-year controlled trial of dissemination via distance electronic support alone (control) compared to distance electronic support plus in-school support from study staff (intervention). Web site and classroom utilization of lessons were tracked. The results demonstrated that in-school staff support was necessary to disseminate these materials. Potential dissemination barriers included competition for instructional time with other curricula, teacher variability in teacher computer use, teacher and student turnover, and the effects of mandatory testing on the educational process.

The Stealth Gerontology [TM] Program: Training Teachers to Infuse Aging and Age-Related Content into Public School Classrooms.

Preparing youngsters for an aging society requires teachers who keep pace with health science research. The Stealth GerontologyTM program educates teachers regarding aging-related issues. The design and assessment of the program are reported in this paper. Teachers attended sessions including direct instruction and hands-on participation (e.g., laboratories). Sound educational methods were modeled through interactions with university researchers and lessons from the Positively Aging® curriculum, while highlighting aging topics matched to educational standards. Participants showed significant improvement (p ≤ 0.05) in eight of nine topics in multiple-choice pre- and posttests. Evaluations indicate a high degree of success.