Pamela Pitman Brown

Kate’s Journey: Introducing Students to the Human Side of Aging Services and Supports

Although using novels to teach aging is not a new concept, teaching the human side of long-term services and supports from the perspective of the care recipient via novels has not been thoroughly explored. Literature often reflects societal norms and issues; thus, the use of a novel in the classroom allows for critical reflection and analysis of self and other, particularly when engaging students in aging concepts and experiences of growing old. This article describes the employment of Kate Quinton’s Days (1984), a novel that brings into focus the important, and often forgotten, human side of aging services and supports. Additionally, the novel focuses on administrative and medical bureaucracy within the context of home health, and family dynamics that come into play with issues of aging and long-term care. Students may have had limited exposure to various aspects of aging and care that play out in the novel, and bringing the character Kate and her life story into the classroom allows for discussions that would not otherwise be as meaningful or instructive. The authors found that students related in important ways to Kate and went beyond the “system” to consider the lived experience of care and support as we age.

Teaching Retirement Financial Literacy in an Undergraduate Gerontology Classroom: Broadening the Concept of the Tripod or Three-Legged Stool of Retirement Income Utilizing Active Learning

The three-legged stool concept is widely used in gerontological and geriatric education as an explanation on how one should fiscally approach his or her retirement. Financial managers, planners, retirees, business owners, even the Social Security Administration uses this metaphor of fiscal soundness in retirement planning. Gerontologists are moving away from the “tripod of retirement income” and “three-legged stool” term, as more often market work is needed for financial security. This activity focuses on the tripod or three-legged stool concepts of retirement planning using active learning, allowing the students to work collaboratively in a group, reflect upon the activity, and most importantly have fun. The game also allows for an expansion of the tripod concepts into the four pillars of economic security, broaching the use of personal assets and the possible need for longer employment. Game scenarios also emphasize macro- and microlevel forces, such as race, gender, health status, education, or marital status, which can influence timing of retirement or the level of retirement income available. The authors include instructions on how to set up the learning experience including worksheets, as well as reflection questions posed throughout the process.

Student Journals: A Means of Assessing Transformative Learning in Aging Related Courses

In courses where topics are sensitive or even considered taboo for discussion, it can be difficult to assess students’ deeper learning. In addition, incorporating a wide variety of students’ values and beliefs, designing instructional strategies and including varied assessments adds to the difficulty. Journal entries or response notebooks can highlight reflection upon others’ viewpoints, class readings, and additional materials. These are useful across all educational levels in deep learning and comprehension strategies assessments. Journaling meshes with transformative learning constructs, allowing for critical self-reflection essential to transformation. Qualitative analysis of journals in a death and dying class reveals three transformative themes: awareness of others, questioning, and comfort. Students’ journal entries demonstrate transformative learning via communication with others through increased knowledge/exposure to others’ experiences and comparing/contrasting others’ personal beliefs with their own. Using transformative learning within gerontology and geriatrics education, as well as other disciplined aging-related courses is discussed.

Social Security and Divorce or Death Benefits Storyboard (S2D2BS): An Interactive Participant Learning Exercise

Using the concept of an interactive or living storyboard, the author discusses the use of seven case narratives constructed for the sole purpose of teaching introductory gerontology or geriatric students about the distribution of Social Security benefits after spousal death. Additional information is included pertaining to Social Security benefits payable to divorced persons after the death of the former spouse, including the status of married same-sex couples. Narratives include representations of a male breadwinner model couple, a two-earner couple who have similar/dissimilar earnings prior to retirement, a divorced couple with a remarriage after a death, a gay couple with and without children, and a female primary breadwinner couple. Updated information from the Social Security Administration, as well as information on game preparation, scripts, and debriefing questions are included.

From Pedagogy to Practice: Adventures in Student Engagement

In each class we teach as gerontological educators, we confront the conveyance of our discipline’s tenants to our students. Regardless of whether our students are traditional/non-traditional, or undergraduate/graduate, we rely on creative pedagogical strategies and the engagement of each studentwithin the classroom, aswell as to provide for them external meaningful experiences or active participatory activities, specifically with older adults. Additionally, our pedagogical practices must enhance our students’ knowledge of the field of aging/gerontology, as well as prepare them for working with an older population often diverse in ethnicity, race, and religion. But there must always be a method to our madness! Previous Gerontology & Geriatrics Education articles indicate the difficulty attracting students to our field (Wesley, 2005; Gross & Eshbaugh, 2011; Eshbaugh, Gross, Hillebrand, Davie, & Henninger, 2013), but also instruct us how to increase students’ interest through education and exposure to older adults (Snyder, 2005; Hantman, Oz, Gutman, & Criden, 2013). Two articles within this edition of Gerontology & Geriatrics Education focus on service learning. Obhi and Woodhead make a case for integration of service learning into class/curriculum content. Instead of focusing on frequency of contact or more exposure to older adults, they look toward a determination of the students’ relationship quality with older relatives and focus on intentions in working with an older population. Augustin and Freshman approached service-learning experiences from a different angle, incorporating a discussion of some of the difficulties in participating in service learning within the community. Their article exposes some of the challenges for the instructor concerning logistics, controlling preceptors, and uncooperative senior adults, as well as a realization of the impact of the service learning on the recipients. For those who have not incorporated service learning into their class/curriculum, these two articles contribute heavily to prior knowledge and one would be wise to read them before embarking on a servicelearning component. Additionally, each article includes numerous “must reads” within service learning research. The promotion of interprofessional learning of undergraduate/graduate students through a university-community partnership via a Senior Wellness Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 37:105–107, 2016 Copyright