TEACHING GERONTOLOGY Jan. 7, 2002 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx In this issue: -Website for Debates about Aging -AgeLine Database Now Available -Slides for Statistics on Aging -Some Sites to See -Good Teaching Methods -Facts on Aging -Report on Global Death Rate -Human Values in Aging UPDATE xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx NEW e-NEWSLETTER Welcome to TEACHING GERONTOLOGY, an e-newsletter to share ideas for more effective teaching of gerontology in college settings. Your subscription is free, and we welcome suggestions of best practices or other pedagogical insights. This newletter was previously published in hard copy (print) form by Pine Forge Press (Sage). It continues now in an electronic version. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx WEBSITE FOR DEBATES ABOUT AGING Looking for web-based resources for "Great Debates" in gerontology? The textbook AGING: CONCEPTS and CONTROVERSIES has a corresponding website with links organized around the chapters and sections of the book. The website offers links to sites that take a stand on controversies in gerontology and sites that present data or information related to that controversy. To visit the textbook site, go to http://www.pineforge.com/moody xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx AGELINE DATABASE NOW AVAILABLE FREE Need up-to-date bibliographical references gerontology? A valuable resource is now available at no cost. AGELINE is a searchable electronic database containing detailed summaries of publications in gerontology, including books, journal and magazine articles, and research reports. Until recently, AgeLine was available only by subscription on CD-ROM at $ 1,000 a year. Now the entire database is available free! AgeLine is produced by AARP and its references come from the gerontology collection of AARP's Research Information Center, as well as selected articles from 300 magazines and journals. All references include original abstracts with subject keywords assigned using the Thesaurus of Aging Terminology, published by AARP. AgeLine is updated regularly and includes material from 1978 to the present, with selected coverage also for the years 1966-1977. The database covers English-language literature from many countries. Over 60,000 abstracts and content summaries of current literature on aging. Visit the AgeLine site at: http://research.aarp.org/ageline/home.html TIPS FOR TEACHERS. AgeLine won't solve all your students' problems, but it's a good beginning in developing ideas and bibliography for term papers. Better still, the references in AgeLine are solid and academically sound, so you're not just letting students roam the Web without guidance. AgeLine is also a great resource for last-minute updates for your own lectures. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx FREE SLIDES FOR STATISTICS ON AGING The U.S. Government has published a report on "Older Americans 2000: Key Indicators of Well-Being," available at no cost. This report covers 31 key indicators carefully selected to portray aspects of the lives of older Americans and their families. The report is divided into five subject areas: population, economics, health status, health risks and behaviors, and health care. The report is available in PDF format and PowerPoint slides for Charts. Visit the website at: http://www.agingstats.gov/ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SOME SITES TO SEE BIBLIOGRAPHY ON RELIGION. Don't miss the valuable on-line bibliography on aging, religion and spirituality developed by Prof. Henry Simmons. This on-line bibliography is now searchable by key words. See: http://learn.union- psce.edu/aging Take a look at the fascinating web site on "SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY and THE AGING REVOLUTION." The site includes components such as "Thinking in Time," "The Medicalization of Old Age," "Old Age in the Mass Media," and "Old Age across Cultures and Time." Solid scholarship presented in an imaginative fashion. Visit the site at: http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/geron.html#in BIOLOGY. 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 debate in the biology of aging over "Why Do We Grow Old?" visit: http://www.pineforge.com/moody/growold.htm BIOMARKERS. For the debate about biomarkers, visit the website for "SAGE KE: Science of Aging, Knowledge Environment." This site includes classic papers in biogerontology and other articles on the science of senescence. The site is free (until Fall, 2002) but you need to register for access. To register and read more visit: http://sageke.sciencemag.org/ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx GOOD TEACHING METHODS I READ THE NEWS TODAY, OH BOY. It's remarkable how few college students bother to read newspapers or magazines on a regular basis. But some faculty have reported great success by asking students to keep a regular "Media Book," where students compile press clippings relevant to the controversies discussed in class. It won't be long before the local newspaper has an article on, say, Social Security or the right to die. The "Media Book" method can be expanded to include notes about TV programs or other articles obtained from the library or the Internet. According to reports from some teachers, this approach may actually stimulate students to keep up with current events by reading the daily papers. DIVIDE and CONQUER. An interesting approach to teaching gerontology is to divide students into small groups, where each group is charged with developing testimony for a legislative hearing: e.g., on rationing health care, recovering assets under Medicaid spend-down, and so on. One faculty member reported that after trying this approach, a group of otherwise reclusive athletes (the strong silent type?) actually moved their seats to the front of the classroom. From that point on they were much more willing to talk in class. Small victories are appreciated. THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL. In recent years, faculty from many fields have reported success by promoting "writing across the curriculum." Gerontology is a good place to begin. Prof. Marguerite (Sherry) Kermis of Canisius College in Buffalo has reported success using required weekly journals to encourage students to write more. Others have found e-mail a useful means of providing feedback on writing to students. If readers of this newsletter have other good methods of improving writing skills, we'd love to hear more details to share with readers. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx FACTS ABOUT AGING Are we really living a lot longer? Yes and no. Life expectancy from age 65 has indeed increased from 14.7 years in 1965 to 17.2 years in 1995, in three decades. An impressive increase, but nothing that radically changes the basic human condition. Old people have been around since Methuselah. Will life expectancy beyond age 65 continue to increase? Yes, but probably not at previous rates, say experts. Official Social Security Administration estimates are for an age 65 life expectancy of 18.7 years by 2030. What if these predictions are too cautious? As Niels Bohr once said, prediction is very difficult, especially about the future. Could life expectancy increase more than predicted? Anything is possible. Some optimists believe that an "upper range" or maximum lifespan, given advances in biomedical science, by 2030 might be as high as 135 years (Kenneth Pelletier) or 142 years (Kenneth Manton). Manton believes that most Americans will live to between 95 and 100 by that year. Even under more conventional assumptions, the world is growing more gray. The State of Florida today might stand as an token for population aging: one out of five citizens are over the age of 65. We can ask: How long will it take various nations to reach "Florida-ization"? The answer, surprisingly, is that Italy will look like Florida by the year 2003, Japan by 2005, and Germany by 2006. France and Great Britain will look like Florida a decade later but the U.S. will not reach "Florida-ization" until 2023 or later. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx DEPT. OF FAST-BREAKING STORIES...THIS JUST IN! GENEVA, SWITZERLAND--World Health Organization officials expressed disappointment Monday at the group's finding that, despite the enormous efforts of doctors, rescue workers and other medical professionals worldwide, the global death rate remains constant at 100 percent. Death, a metabolic affliction causing total shutdown of all life functions, has long been considered humanity's number one health concern. Responsible for 100 percent of all recorded fatalities worldwide, the condition has no cure. "I was really hoping, what with all those new radiology treatments, rescue helicopters, aerobics TV shows and what have you, that we might at least make a dent in it this year," WHO Director General Dr. Gernst Bladt said. "Unfortunately, it would appear that the death rate remains constant and total, as it has inviolably since the dawn of time." (For further details, see the website: http://www.theonion.com/onion3102/deathrate.html xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx HUMAN VALUES IN AGING UPDATE A free monthly e-newsletter, "Human Values and Aging UPDATE," is available for faculty interested in lifelong learning, late-life creativity, ethics and aging, and spirituality in old age. For a sample issue or newsletter subscription, contact HRMoody@Yahoo.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This monthly 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 2002; all rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx