Student Engagement
The Capstone Course
The Capstone consists of a two-course sequence. The intent of the capstone sequence is to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of gerontology and prepare students for continued professional development. During the first semester, students gain an in-depth knowledge of resources available for continued professional development. Students learn about and use library and on-line resources, and are introduced to the activities and resources of professional organizations. As a class, students design a community-based research study. Then, during the second semester, students are exposed to the process necessary to complete the research project in an applied setting. As a team, they work with a local organization serving the elderly to conduct an interdisciplinary study to enhance the services of the selected organization. The course requires students to participate in team activities that include study design, data collection and analysis, and interpretation and presentation of findings. Dr. Rhonda Montgomery, Professor and Endowed Chair, Department of Social Work, teaches this course.
Capstone Class Projects
2007-2008
Assessing Strategies for Fostering Community Connections in the Prospect / Farwell Initiative (PFI)
Part of Milwaukee County's Connecting Caring Communities Partnership (CCCP), the focus of the PFI is to foster community partnerships to improve long-term care and supportive services systems to ultimately create "elder-friendly" communities that are able to meet the current and future needs of older adult residents. The purpose of the Capstone research project is to:
- Explore whether the process implemented to identify the primary concerns of elders in the community accurately identified those concerns.
- Examine whether there is evidence to suggest that the strategies implemented in the Prospect/Farwell Initiative will promote a greater "sense of community," operationally defined as older adult residents' decreased sense of isolation, increased sense of socialization, improved perception of safety, greater knowledge of and access to services, and increased sense of belonging.
- Examine whether or not, and to what extent, older adult residents and stakeholders now feel that the community is "elder friendly.
Data for this study is currently being collected by the Capstone students.
2006-2007
The Impact of Holistic Case Management on Health Behaviors among Housing Development Residents
During this Capstone course, the interdisciplinary student team worked with SET (Service, Empowerment and Transformation) Ministry to evaluate their site-based model of service provision for elderly persons and adults with disabilities who lived in housing developments owned by the Housing Authority. The study focused on the key elements of the holistic approach used by Set Ministry and assessed the impact of such on patterns of service use by residents. Although the team hoped to reveal statistically significant findings, the intent was to provide a foundation to inform and guide future SET inquiries. Findings do suggest that SET's impact is consistent across sites.
2005-2006
The Impact of a Creative Sculpture Activity on Participants in an Adult Day Program
Students in this cohort worked with the Luther Manor Adult Day Care program to empirically assess the impact of creative activities on adult day center participants' level of engagement with other participants and staff. Students employed an eight-week observational study and recorded elders' interactions with others. Their findings indicated that elders who participated in creative activities showed significantly greater levels of engagement with other participants and staff compared to individuals who participated in traditional activities. These findings add to a small body of literature and provide empirical evidence to suggest that creative activities positively impact levels of engagement.
Conferences
Center on Age & Community Represented at the 2008 AGHE Conference in Baltimore, MD
Last month, Goldie Kadushin, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and Coordinator of the Center on Age & Community's Graduate Certificate in Applied Gerontology program, traveled to Baltimore with three Age and Community certificate students to attend the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) Conference. This year's theme was "Disciplinary Convergence: the Nexus of Gerontology and Geriatrics Education" held on February 21-23, 2008.
The AGHE conference is the premier national forum to discuss theories of learning and teaching about aging and older persons. This year's conference brought together educators, clinicians, administrators, researchers, and students from a range of fields including social work, sociology, psychology and occupational therapy, to discuss interdisciplinary theories of gerontology and geriatrics education.
James Brown, Addie Johnson, and Deb Sevart, graduate students in the Certificate in Applied Gerontology program, presented the first paper out of five at the Sunday "Papers" section. Their presentation, "Embracing Team Work: Educational and Research Outcomes of a Multi-Disciplinary Applied Research Experience" was the only student presentation and was well received, relaying the CAC's strength, focus and dedication.
The CAC's display booth also attracted attention at the conference. Visitors were familiar with the CAC's Almost Home film, the 2005 documentary that takes you inside the revolutionary transformation of a nursing home. The booth introduced people to the CAC's other products and resources, such as Talk Back Move Forward: 100 Years of Alzheimer's Disease video, as well as the Post-Doctoral Fellowship program.
Next year's conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on February 26-March 1, 2009. The theme is "Promoting Healthy Futures through Education and Training." Deadline for paper submission is June 2, 2008.
