Instructor: Erin C. Hastings, M.Ed.,
M.A.
Text: ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING, 5TH
EDITION (2006)
John Cavanaugh and Fredda
Blanchard-Fields
Wadsworth Thomson Publishing
Additional readings may be assigned as needed.
Course Objectives: This course will provide students with an introduction
to the basic theories and fundamental issues related to aging. Students
will explore the developmental psychology of aging with regard to physical,
cognitive, emotional, and social changes.
Specific course objectives are:
Students will conceptualize older
adulthood as a developmental process
Students will gain an
understanding of normal versus abnormal aging
Students will be able to
cite evidence dispelling prevalent age stereotypes
Students will
understand the influence of biology (e.g., genes, physical health) and society
(e.g., the family, government, culture) on the aging process
Course Policies:
Students may study together and discuss course
assignments, however, with the exception of the group presentation, all work
must be entirely your own. No special notes or assistance from other
students will be permitted for exams. The content of your papers cannot be
copied from any other source or person; it must be original material in your own
words. The instructor may use plagiarism detection software on any paper
submitted for this class. If academic dishonesty is detected, appropriate
disciplinary action will be taken.
Academic Honesty: All students are
required to abide by the Academic Honesty Guidelines, which have been accepted
by the University. Those adjudged to have committed such conduct shall be
subject to the sanctions listed in paragraph XI of the Student Conduct
Code.
Students with Disabilities: Students requesting classroom
accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The
Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then
provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting
accommodation.
If you miss class, you are responsible for obtaining
class notes. If documentation of a family or medical emergency is
provided, you will be permitted to make up any graded in-class activities you
may have missed.
There will be no extra credit opportunities or
special consideration offered to any individual student. If you are having
difficulty in the class, talk to the instructor right away about how to improve
your study habits.
Power point lectures will be uploaded to the
website by 2:30pm the day of class. You are encouraged to print these out
before class.
Course requirements:
Class participation= 20 points
Paper = 30 points
Four exams (drop your lowest; 3 count),
40 points each = 120 points
Group project/presentation (4-5 students)
= 30 points
Your grade will be determined by adding up your total points, as
follows:
A = 90% - 100% 180-200 points
B+ = 85%
- 89% 170-179 points
B = 80% - 84% 160-169
points
C+ = 75% - 79% 150-159
points
C = 70% - 74% 140-149 points
D+ =
65% - 69% 130-139 points
D = 60% -
64% 120-129 points
E(F) = less than
60% 0-119 points
Details about Course Requirements:
CLASS PARTICIPATION
Your class participation grade will be assigned based
on your attendance (while role will not be taken, it will be noted if a
particular student repeatedly misses class) and remarks/questions made in
class. Additionally, on occasion, there will be small group activities or
discussions for which you will complete an assignment. These will count
toward your participation grade.
You are expected to attend every class
session, unless you have a family or medical emergency. In these cases,
you should alert the instructor before the missed class. You should not
arrive to class late or leave early, as this is disruptive to both instructor
and students. You are also expected to have completed all readings before
the class session in which the material is covered.
When in class,
please participate by offering comments, questions, and additions to class
discussions. Your participation grade will suffer if you use class time
for unrelated activities (such as reading the Alligator, talking with friends,
or sending text messages). Please be sure your remarks are directly
related to the class or the reading assignment. Finally, because some
personal material may be shared, please keep the remarks of other students
confidential.
PAPER (4-5 pages, due March 19): Older Adults in Literature:
Please bring
a hard copy to class on the due date. DO NOT EMAIL TO INSTRUCTOR unless
you obtain special permission.
Paper should be 10-12 pt font, be
double-spaced, and have 1 inch margins.
This project is designed to give you awareness and appreciation of the actual
experience of aging, and/or conducting aging research. The paper will
require reading one of two novels (see below), so you should choose your book
and start reading early in the semester. If you have already read one of
these books, you should NOT use it for this project- choose one you have not
read (see instructor for another suggestion if you have read both). Your
paper should relate the issues covered in the book to those we have discussed in
class. In particular, be sure your paper addresses the following (not
necessarily in this order):
A brief summary of the book (1/2 to 1
page)
A brief description of the main age-related disease mentioned in
the book (Alzheimers disease for Book #1, Lou Gehrigs disease, or ALS, for
Book #2)
Your reaction to the book
Links between your novel
and material covered in lectures and the textbook
Does the story
present mostly a positive or negative view of aging and/or death?
Did
the story influence your view of aging and /or death?
What was the
most meaningful part of the book to you?
Book choices (descriptions on website):
1) Aging With Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives (by David Snowdon)
2) Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Lifes Greatest Lesson (by Mitch Albom)
3) If you find a different book relevant to aging that you would like to read, please ask the instructor for permission to use it for this assignment.
EXAMS (4):
Only 3 out of 4 exams will count toward your final grade.
Your lowest exam score will be dropped, giving you the option to miss an exam
(including the final). Therefore, no makeup exams will be given. If
you miss an exam for any reason you will be required to take the final so that
you will have 3 exam grades for the course. Each exam will consist of both
multiple choice and short answer questions. A study guide will be uploaded
to the course website at least one week prior to each exam. It is strongly
encouraged that you review this study guide thoroughly.
GROUP PROJECT / PRESENTATION:
Details on group project requirements and
grading criteria will be on the website by the beginning of February.
You
will be assigned to a group of 4-5 students to research a current issue in aging
(possibilities below, see me if your group has an alternative idea). Your
group will be expected to lead a 15-20 minute presentation (using PowerPoint) on
the issue you select. You should provide a handout for the class that
thoroughly outlines your presentation. Group members and topics will be
assigned the first week in February.
Possible Topics:
Aging across cultures /
history
Retirement
Long term care options
Issues of
midlife
Caregiving for older adults
Lifelong learning
End of life
considerations
Careers in aging
Beliefs about the afterlife
Aging in
the media
Elder abuse
Medications
Public policy and aging
Chronic
illness
Introduction to Aging Concepts and Research; Physical Aging; Death, & Dying
Jan. 6 Introduction to aging and life span issues (ch.1)
Jan.
8 Attitudes and stereotyping (pp. 323-330)
Jan. 13 Research (ch.
1)
Jan. 15 Research (cont.)
Jan. 20 Physical changes (ch.
2)
Jan. 22 Health and function (ch. 3)
Jan. 27 Death, dying,
and bereavement (ch. 13)
Jan. 29 Exam 1
Cognitive Aging; Intervention; Dementia
Feb. 3 Cognition (ch.6)
Feb. 5 Cognition (ch. 6)
Feb.
10 Memory (ch. 7)
Feb. 12 Memory (cont.)
Feb. 17 Intelligence
(ch. 8)
Feb. 19 Intervention and everyday cognition
Feb.
24 Dementia (pp. 123-144)
Feb. 26 Exam 2
Mar. 3 Mental
health (pp. 115-123; pp. 145-150)
Personality; Mental Health, Life Satisfaction and Coping; Social Aging
March 5 Mental health (cont.)
Spring Break March
7-15
March 17 Personality (ch. 10)
March 19 Paper due, book
discussions
Self-Concept and Aging
March 24 Social cognition (ch. 9)
March 26 Social
cognition (cont.)
March 31 Coping and optimal aging (ch. 5)
April
2 Relationships (ch. 11)
April 7 Presentations
April 9
Exam 3
April 14 Presentations
April 16 Presentations
April
21 Presentations
April 30 Cumulative Final Exam 5:30-7:30pm (Room
REE3043)