COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN OLD AGE: INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT

Abstract

Grandparent education classes have been demonstrated to improve intergenemtional relationships. These classes are offered at public schools, senior centers, community colleges, and religious institutions, but no previous efforts have been made to explore how such programs could be modified to match the needs of great‐grandparents, who represent the fastest growing segment of the population. Twenty white women and men from a long‐term care center were trained to guide classes for their peers on intergenerational relationships. The 77‐ to 91‐year‐olds worked in pairs offering lessons to 45 fellow residents each week during two semesters. Throughout the pilot project, biweekly meetings were held with the indigenous faculty to acquaint them with methods of cooperative learning, implications of lessons, and ways to conduct informal assessment. Reports from participating students and the resident faculty, observations of the university team, and anecdotal evidence showed that the novel methods used to deliver instruction and evaluate learning were effective and should be implemented on a broader scale.

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