Aging Process Affects Students' View
By Jill Herring
Do everyday tasks with someone else's eyes and hands."
This adaptation of the adage "Walk a mile in my shoes" brought the experience of
aging to life for students in Psychology 234, Adult Development and Aging, taught by Jamila Bookwala, assistant professor of psychology.
Allison Carrier '04 wears eye gear that simulates vision loss and uses gloves that simulate the loss of dexterity caused by arthritis. | |
In one class period the
students "aged" several decades. When they donned eyewear
that hampered their eyesight, simulating the effects of glaucoma and cataracts, and gloves that diminished their dexterity and coordination, they learned how much harder it can be for older people to perform routine tasks such as taking a dose
of medicine.
"It's a firsthand experience
of what it's like to be older," Bookwala says. "The students see the physical changes
associated with aging. They really enjoy the exercise." |
The course also included investigations of topics such
as interpersonal relationships, career development, and
intellectual abilities through
the prism of adult development and aging. Students interviewed older adults about being older today and researched images and portrayals of aging in
the media.
|
"It's one of the better classes I've taken," says Christine Bender '04, a double major in neuroscience and economics and business. "We learned the whole aging process. We went on field trips to an Alzheimer's care home and an MRI center, and
a few speakers came in.
"We also studied different attitudes people have toward aging, because they tend to stereotype and look down on older people," Bender says.
For Bender, who wants to go to dental school, the course had particular relevance. "Dentistry for older adults will be important now that the baby boomers are getting older. This class helped make me aware of that issue and other issues I was not aware of before," she says. | | 
Christine Bender '04 learns firsthand about the difficulties
of doing simple tasks in the course on adulthood and aging, which is taught by Jamila Bookwala, assistant professor of psychology.
|
| 
