Rona J. Karasik

Breaking the time barrier: helping students "find the time" to do intergenerational service-learning.

Abstract This study addresses issues related to mandatory versus optional service-learning assignments and presents findings from a study of an option-based service-learning program. Using qualitative data collected from students over two semesters, this study examines one of the biggest barriers students cite to successful participation in service-learning options-“not having enough time.” Typically, time constraints manifest themselves in one of two ways: first is students who elect not to participate in the service-learning option because they do not see the required time commitment as feasible; a second concern is the small percentage of students who have difficulty completing the hours for which they have signed up. With the majority of students employed part- or even full-time in addition to their school work, these time barriers are not surprising. A variety of strategies to help students “find the time” to do service-learning are explored.

Finding Community: Developing and Maintaining Effective Intergenerational Service-Learning Partnerships

As intergenerational service-learning becomes an increasingly popular means for providing gerontology and health professional students with “real-life” experience, it is essential to consider the importance of strong community partnerships. Drawing upon a range of intergenerational service-learning experiences from two programs at different universities in the Midwest, this article examines the role of community partners in intergenerational service-learning and offers strategies for developing and maintaining effective community partnerships.

Reflecting on Reflection: Capitalizing on the Learning in Intergenerational Service-Learning

Intergenerational service-learning has become an important practice in gerontology and geriatrics education. Although numerous benefits of service-learning have been documented, greater attention to critical reflection, a key component for harvesting the learning in service-learning, is needed to increase our understanding of what students really are learning from intergenerational service-learning and how we may best enhance the positive aspects of that learning. This article examines the elements necessary for effective service-learning reflection, as well as reports on the results of a survey of gerontology and geriatric educators (N = 142) regarding their experiences with intergenerational service-learning and their use of specific reflection practices. The findings suggest that the types and implementation of service-learning reflection activities used in aging courses vary considerably. The importance of service-learning reflection and its associated benefits and challenges are discussed.

Engaged Teaching for Engaged Learning: Sharing Your Passion for Gerontology and Geriatrics

Gerontologists face a unique set of obstacles in attracting newcomers to the field. Despite demographic trends favorable to a wide range of employment opportunities and job security, aging is rarely top of mind for many students when it comes to career choices. For most gerontologists, aging is our passion. How do we share that passion with others who have yet to discover its interdisciplinary opportunities, or who may be held at bay by negative stereotypes of aging and older persons? This article explores various approaches to enhance engaged teaching and engaged learning that can help personalize and contextualize the field so that educators and students at all levels and disciplines can find their passion for gerontology and geriatrics.

Two Thumbs Up: Using Popular Films in Introductory Aging Courses

Good teaching requires thoughtful planning and creative thinking, especially when trying to engage students in material that is unfamiliar to them or encumbered by stereotypes, like aging. Classic and contemporary media can provide unique teaching opportunities in gerontology classrooms. Popular films can have a powerful influence over viewers’ attitudes and perceptions, and spur in-depth discussions of aging-related topics common to introductory aging courses (e.g., ageism, abuse, inequality, caregiving, healthy aging, and intimate relationships). Additionally, films appeal to multiple learning styles, engaging a variety of learners. This article examines the value of using films in introductory aging courses, offers strategies for incorporating films in the gerontology classroom, suggests sample activities and assignments that pair popular films with aging course topics, identifies challenges of using film in various classrooms settings, and provides a detailed typology of films on each of the following aging topics: ageism and stereotypes, cognitive impairment, death and dying, diversity, family relationships, health and wellness, sexuality and intimacy, and work and retirement.

Learning from Internships in Gerontology and Geriatrics: Assessment and Program Evaluation.

Internships are an essential component of gerontological education. Harvesting the learning from internships, however, requires careful attention to assessing an interns work. In addition to providing feedback to students, internship assessment can also yield data useful for academic program evaluation. Drawing on internship assessment data collected from undergraduate and graduate gerontology interns and their community preceptors over a period of seven semesters, this article explores (1) concerns regarding how to assess what interns are learning, (2) ways to provide students with additional opportunities for learning from their internships, and (3) how information from these student-learning outcomes may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the overall academic program.

Is Gerontology Ready for Anti-Racist Pedagogy? A Survey of Educators' Practices and Perspectives.

ABSTRACT The older population in the United States is becoming more diverse, bringing increasing attention to the ways in which diversity and multiculturalism are addressed in gerontological education. Although diversity and multiculturalism have long been recognized as important components of the aging experience, our approach to understanding their significance and impact continues to grow and change. Anti-racist pedagogy represents one catalyst to stimulate such change. To evaluate the potential for anti-racist pedagogy in gerontology, this study explored gerontological educators’ (N = 121) current practices and perspectives regarding the inclusion of diversity content in their courses, as well as the extent to which they are familiar with and/or use anti-racist pedagogy in their classes. The findings suggest that greater attention to issues of race, ethnicity, and multicultural diversity throughout the gerontological curriculum is needed and wanted. Although respondents were generally unfamiliar with the name anti-racist pedagogy, many indicated that their current teaching practices employed select components of it. Overall, the findings point toward the need for continued exploration of how anti-racist pedagogy may be brought into the gerontological classroom, as well as its implications for future research, policy, and practice.

Maximizing the Potential of Internships in Gerontology and Geriatrics

Internships and similar applied opportunities have long been valued for providing students with opportunities for practical experience, career preparation, and personal growth. The need for applied experiences in gerontology and geriatrics is particularly salient. Creating and sustaining effective internship experiences, however, requires careful attention to a variety of concerns. Using examples and illustrations from an ongoing gerontology internship component (undergraduate and graduate) this article examines ways to anticipate and address the challenges that are common to a broad range of internship experiences, as well as those that are unique to applied learning in gerontology and geriatrics.

AGEING IN URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS: PLACE ATTACHMENT AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION By Allison E. Smith: Bristol, U.K.: The Policy Press, 2009 242 pages,

In Ageing in urban neighborhoods: Place attachment and social exclusion, author Allison E. Smith offers academics a thought provoking examination of aging in urban areas. Smith’s monograph is divided into three sections, each of which explores our understanding of person-environment fit and how it relates to the policy, practice, and lived experience of older adults in inner cities. ‘‘Part One: Revisiting the Person-environment Fit’’ provides a solid and necessary, if somewhat dense, overview of the current state of environmental gerontology and the key concepts that have emerged (e.g., Ecological Model of Aging; Aging in Place; and Place in Aging), as well as a brief overview of the trends related to urban ageing. From an educational point of view, these first two chapters are helpful in setting the stage for the empirical findings and policy recommendations that are presented in the remaining sections of the text. In ‘‘Part Two: Rethinking the Person-environment Fit,’’ Smith first offers a brief historical profile of two so-called ‘‘deprived urban neighborhoods’’—Manchester, England and Vancouver, Canada—and then presents findings from a ‘‘mixed methods’’ qualitative study of 52 older residents in these two locales. Throughout this section, Smith attempts to place the findings into the broader context of the person-environment relationship. The vignettes Smith provides from her interviews help to personalize the diverse experiences of older adults in urban areas, as do the photographic materials from three participants. The use of black and white photographs with descriptive text adds an interesting dimension to the data presented, although utilizing fewer, larger photographs might have a greater overall impact. The final third of Smith’s monograph, ‘‘Refocusing the person-environment fit’’ explores the implications of her findings with regard to current social policies (particularly in the U.K.) and calls for changes in related research, policy, and practice. Of particular note is Educational Gerontology, 36: 731–732, 2010 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0360-1277 print=1521-0472 online DOI: 10.1080/03601271003744657

41.95 (Soft Cover) ISBN-13: 978-1-84742-270-5

SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING FOR ASSISTED LIVING, CONGREGATE, AND CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES (2nd ed.) By Benjamin W. Pearce Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 2007 360 pages,