TEACHING GERONTOLOGY Apr. 9, 2003 H.R. Moody, Editor xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx In this issue: - Managing Classroom Debates - Social Work on the Web - Older Workers and Retirement - Latest Statistics on Older Americans - Biology of Aging Site - Looking for a Speaker? - Curriculum on Family and Aging - What's Good on the Internet? - Newsletter on Bioethics and Aging - Aging in Place - Big Facts about Aging xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx MANAGING CLASSROOM DEBATES I use what I call interactive panels in the class, whereby I select several students to come before the class. I pose a number of challenge questions to each panel member based on the readings that accompany each controversy. I start each issue with an overview lecture. The response of each panel member becomes the substance by which I challenge the next and so on. The student audience is encouraged to question the panel as well. I rotate the panels so that every student in the class serves. I keep it intense but supportive and nurturing to prompt the best thinking I can get from everyone. Some ground rules-- there are no right or wrong responses, all opinions are treated with dignity and respect. It took me a week or so to get the class warmed up to the process. The real ice-breaker was the scenario with "Uncle Bert and Lilly" (from AGING: CONCEPTS & CONTROVERSIES). We really took off from there. The generational equity-generational interdependence debate was also a lively one. David K. Brown, Ph.D. Associate Director West Virginia University Center on Aging ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ SOCIAL WORK ON THE WEB Take a look at the "World Wide Web Resources for Social Workers" available at: http://www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw This site includes more than 67,000 links to academic journals, articles, newsletters, technical and policy reports, scholarly articles, and publications by government agencies, educational institutions, professional organizations. You can even subscribe to an e-mail service that will alert you about updates to the database. To subscribe to the update e- mail service, visit: http://www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw/ip Also note that the CSWE/SAGE-SW project has collected a variety of data from focus groups, extensive literature reviews, surveys, and outreach meetings with stakeholders to assess the current state of preparing social workers to meet the needs of a growing aging population. Available at: http://www.cswe.org/sage-sw/resrep/somefindings.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ OLDER WORKERS AND RETIREMENT The Boston College Center for Retirement Research has a helpful article "Are Older Workers Responding to the Bear Market?" by Andrew D. Eschtruth and Jonathan Gemus (JTF #5, September 2002) The main point is that in recent years, the economy has weakened and unemployment has grown. As a result, labor force participation rate for older workers (aged 55-64) has jumped at a rate unprecedented in post-war U.S. economic history. The authors believe that a probable factor contributing to this change is the decline in the stock market. For details, visit: http://www.bc.edu/centers/crr/jtf_5.shtml The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has released a new Issue in Brief: "Is Working Longer the Answer for an Aging Workforce?" by Gary Burtless of The Brookings Institution and Joseph F. Quinn of Boston College. Read it on their web site at: http://www.bc.edu/centers/crr/ib_11.shtml. For different perspectives on the question "Is Retirement Obsolete?" see: http://www.pineforge.com/moody/retire.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ LATEST STATISTICS ON OLDER AMERICANS Want the latest statistics on older Americans? Look at "A Profile of Older Americans: 2002" including both narrative and statistical material. Published by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging in January 2003. Available in both HTML and .pdf formats. Available at: http://www.aoa.gov/aoa/stats/profile/default.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ BIOLOGY OF AGING SITE "Human Aging: Biological Perspectives" is a web site that can help faculty who teach courses emphasizing biological aspects of human aging. See the web site at: http://www.biologyofhumanaging.com/ For web resources on the question "Why Do We Grow Old?" visit: http://www.pineforge.com/moody/growold.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ LOOKING FOR A SPEAKER? Are you planning a conference or other educational offering where you need a speaker with expertise in gerontology? Look no further than NextAge Speaker's Bureau, the only bureau that specializes exclusively in speakers on aging. They offer outstanding figures like Fernando Torres-Gill (on public policy), Bill Thomas (Eden Alternative) and Andrea Wooten (on older workers). Best of all there's no fee or commission: NextAge is a nonprofit, cooperative venture and you can get their monthly e-newsletter at no charge. More details available on the website at: http://www.NextAgeSpeakers.com ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ CURRICULUM ON WOMEN AND AGING A curriculum, including bibliography and weblinks, on women and aging has been developed by Christine L. Himes and is available at: http://www-cpr.maxwell.syr.edu/gero_ed/family.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ WHAT'S GOOD ON THE INTERNET? "But I read it on the Internet" say our students (sometimes offering a URL as a bibliographic citation). True enough: it's all on the Web. But how much of what's out there is any good? That's a big problem for students and a challenge for all of us. To find some answers take a look at "Evaluating Internet Resources" from the Milner Library at Illinois State University. Available at: http://www.mlb.ilstu.edu/ressubj/subject/intrnt/evaluate.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ NEWSLETTER ON BIOETHICS AND AGING There's an e-newsletter available (no charge), "The Soul of Bioethics," covering topics such as end-of-life care, dementia, family obligations, ethics and aging, and dilemmas of autonomy. For a sample copy or free subscription, send a message to: soulofbioethics@yahoo.com ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ AGING IN PLACE How to you separate housing from health care in residential facilities intended for older people? A tough question. For some answers, see the report on "Aging in Place" from Grantmakers in Health available on line at: http://www.gih.org/usr_doc/49509%2Epdf ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ BIG FACTS ABOUT AGING HEALTH CARE. Health care spending accounts for almost 15% of the gross domestic product. But expenditures for older people constitute 30% of all health care spending. BIG BUSINESS. Elderhostel is now the biggest education-travel program in the world: nearly 200,000 people participated in Elderhostel programs last year—-more than all competiting programs (Smithsonian, Saga, etc.) combined. Learn more about the program at: http://www.elderhostel.org ALZHEIMER'S. 4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease today; if the prevalence of the disease remains the same, it is estimated that the number could grow to 14 million within a few decades. CENTENNARIANS. There are more than 50,000 centennarians in the U.S. today, the fastest growing population segment there is. ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ 4th EDITION OF TEXTBOOK AVAILABLE The 4th edition of AGING: CONCEPTS and CONTROVERSIES (Pine Forge Press, Sage Publications, 2002) is now available. The book presents gerontology through "great debates" around topics like assisted suicide, privatizing Social Security, extension of the human lifespan, and the search for meaning in later life. Details about the new, fourth edition are available at http://www.sagepub.com/book.aspx?pid=7893 Copies of AGING: CONCEPTS and CONTROVERSIES are available at no charge for college faculty to consider for course adoption. An Instructor's Manual is also available at no charge with pedagogical methods, questions for class discussion, sample tests, and other resources for teaching from the book. For questions about how to get a review copy or the Instructor's Manual, call Sage Publications for Customer Care at 1-800-818-7243 (805-499-9774 outside the U.S.) or e- mail textbooks@sagepub.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This electronic newsletter, edited by Harry (Rick) Moody, is published by the Institute for Human Values in Aging in cooperation with Pine Forge Press (Sage Publications). TEACHING GERONTOLOGY contains items of interest to improve the teaching of aging. To submit items or request subscription changes, contact teachgero@yahoo.com (c) Copyright 2003; all rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx