3/15/99
Linda Cieslik Ph.D.
Office phone (414) 289 – 6633
Office – Milwaukee County Department on Aging
235 W. Galena St. Milwaukee 53212 (Schlitz Park)
Course Title: Issues in Older Adult Fitness
Credits: 3
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
The course is designed to provide students with an overview of some of the important issues affecting older adults who are still relatively physically and mentally healthy.
Course Objectives
To give students an understanding of the older adult population and issues affecting the physical fitness of this group as related to the general population of adults.
Course Goals
Each student will develop a good working knowledge of physiological, psychological and socio-economic issues affecting the fitness levels of older adults. This knowledge will be applied in the development of action steps designed to enhance the development and delivery of fitness programs for this population.
Students will gain confidence in their own skills and knowledge in the area of older adult fitness. This will enable them, as practitioners, to integrate exciting and motivating presentation and delivery strategies into program and/or therapy methods that will meet the needs of older adult clients.
Course Outline
Course activities will be divided into three sections:
1. Understanding the Needs of the Target Group (Older Adults)
2. Action Steps - Paradigms and Models
3. Action Steps - New Directions
Course Requirements
Students will be required to independently visit one or more sites where senior physical fitness programs are offered in order to observe activities in progress. The visit(s) should take place between weeks 12 and 13 in order to give students the opportunity to "digest" information offered in class and relate it to their experience in the field. There will be no class week 13 in order to facilitate the field observation.
Students will submit a final written report which relates to their experience in the field. The final report will be graded to evaluate the student's understanding and integration of the concepts discussed in class.
Final Presentation
All students will make a final presentation of their observations to the class. There will be a class discussion that follows each presentation.
Text and Readings
I will be selecting a variety of current articles and publications which will be collected into an anthology reproduced by the bookstore.
Schedule of Classes
Part One
Understanding Older Adults
1.Paperwork, syllabus handout, introductions. Explanation of assignments
Older adults: who are they? Individual and group characteristics - Demographics.
2.Physiological Issues
Aging: wear and tear on the body - what happens as we age?
Issues affecting people who are generally healthy in younger life
Issues affecting people who have been generally unhealthy
3.Physiology part 2
4.Psychological Issues
Individual issues: Stress, coping with change, depression. Affects of neurological and other physical disabilities on attitude and outlook. Stereotypes and social issues
5.Sociocultural Issues
Diversity among the aging "generations". Cultural competence. Gender and other aspects of diversity.
Discussion with 4 older adults
This will be set up in a panel style format to allow the students to present questions relating to the information discussed in the four previous sessions. Answers provided by the panelists will give the perspective of the older adult client.
Part Two
Action Steps for Physical Fitness Programming – Paradigms and Models
(Overview of current models of fitness programs focused on active older adults)
7.Take home mid term essay assignment TBD
Weeks 8 – 12
Paradigms and models – fitness video reviews and discussions
Part Three
Action Steps for Fitness Programming - New Directions
13. Class #13 is a free period
To allow for each student to visit a site at which physical fitness programs for older adults are offered. The students should visit during hours of peak participation (which tends to be mid morning to shortly after lunch) so that they can observe an activity in progress. More details regarding this assignment will be given later
14.Student reports and discussion
15.Student reports and discussion
Final papers due
Wrap-up