AN ALTERNATIVE TO AURAL REHABILITATION FOR THE OLDER HEARING‐AID USER: AN EDUCATIONAL MODEL USING SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

Over 6 million older Americans are hearing impaired. Many of them are facing the decision to seek help through hearing aids. Once the decision has been made and amplification is obtained, a program of aural rehabiliation can facilitate adjustment to the hearing aid and foster more successful communication. Unfortunately, the number of professionals trained to provide rehabilitative services to hearing‐impaired persons are few relative to the number of persons who need these services. This paper describes a model for delivering aural rehabiliation services through providers trained by audiologists certified by the American Speech‐Language‐Hearing Association. After being trained, staff at senior centers, nursing homes, and state or local agencies who deal with either hearing impairment or aging could serve as program providers. The model program consists of four phases: education, desensitization, rehabilitation strategies, and responsibility training.     

ALTERNATIVES IN AURAL REHABILITATION: PROVIDER TRAINING OF NONAUDIOLOGISTS IN THE DELIVERY OF HEARING‐AID SUPPORTIVE SERVICES TO OLDER PERSONS WITH HEARING LOSS

Recently, Patterson and Dancer (1987) suggested a model wherein persons who normally come in contact with older hearing‐impaired persons can be trained to assist the older hearing‐aid user in adjustment to amplification. Their four‐phase educational model offers an alternative to traditional aural rehabilitation programs by using personnel from senior centers, nursing homes, and state and local agencies as program providers.

The present article elaborates more fully on the training that protocol providers will receive from audiologists certified by the American Speech‐Language‐Hearing Association. Providers will be carried through five stages: empathy, effective communication skills, knowledge of the interaction of aging and hearing loss, the phases outlined in the Patterson and Dancer model, and guidelines for referrals. Objective‐based provider and client response criteria are outlined for moving the client from the initial receipt of the hearing aid to its ultimate acceptance and use on a doily basis.     

CLASSROOM RESEARCH AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: THREE SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCES‐THE IMPACT OF STUDENT WRITING IN LEARNING ACCOUNTING

As the knowledge base in all disciplines continues to grow, professors face the problem of incorporating even more essential, difficult, technical material into their already content‐filled courses. Furthermore, companies are hiring more selectively than ever, requiring not only superior technical skills but also good writing skills of the people they hire. How can faculty add more technical material plus extra writing practice into already bulging courses?

One solution may be to supplement typical homework problems with daily written journals. In using these journals, the students would think about and better understand difficult concepts that are not being fully understood through homework problems. Also, a byproduct of writing in daily journals would be extra writing practice and, presumably, better writing skills.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of research done in the Collin County Community College District in which four Principles of Accounting classes were used in an experiment involving writing to learn. Two classes were conducted in the traditional accounting class format in which student participation was through homework problems. The other two classes also wrote in daily journals, using a few minutes of class time to individually summarize difficult concepts presented during that class. Final grades and attrition rates of the experimental groups were compared at the end of the semester with promising results.     

INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE‐LEARNING: CONTRIBUTIONS TO CURRICULA

This article reports some findings from a national demonstration project involving the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and thirteen colleges and universities. We studied 39 courses in which students were involved in service‐learning in aging. We describe and discuss (1) the range of demonstrably feasible adaptions, (2) what faculty say their students learned from the experiences, and (3) faculty perceptions of personal benefits and costs associated with developing and directing these projects.     

THE RESPONSE OF OLDER WOMEN TO A CREATIVE PROBLEM‐SOLVING PROGRAM

Little work has been done in the development of creativity in older adults. The limited research seems to support the notion that older people are not as creative as younger people.

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether or not creative behavior as measured by Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking can be increased in older adult women through a creative problem‐solving program. The major hypothesis under investigation was: The use of a specific problem‐solving program designed to increase certain creative thinking abilities will increase those abilities at a significant level in older adult women. Forty women volunteers, ranging in age from 60 to 82, participated in the six‐week program.

Experimental subjects did not score significantly higher on the Torrance tests than the control subjects who had not participated in the program. However, information collected via the teacher's log and a questionnaire given to the subjects at the end of the class showed that the experience was unusually positive and creatively beneficial.

It is concluded that the program was not of sufficient intensity and that in order to measure change in creative thinking with older people, a more creative approach in testing may need to be developed.     

COLLEGE ENROLLMENT TRENDS AMONG THE POPULATION THIRTY‐FIVE AND OLDER: 1972‐1982 AND PROJECTIONS TO 2000

This paper investigates college enrollment of the population 35 years of age and older from 1972 to 1982 using data collected in the Current Population Survey. Trends in enrollment and enrollment rates by sex are analyzed. It is clear that major increases in college enrollment have been taking place among the mature population. This is due to increased enrollment among females; males have experienced no trend in the likelihood of being enrolled in college after age 35. The characteristics of older college students, including attendance status, marital status, and labor force status are also investigated.

Female college enrollment rates are related to trends in GNP, labor force participation, divorce rates, age structure, and past educational attainment using regression analysis. The significant results are then applied to recent projections of the size of the older population in order to project the number of enrollees 35 years of age and over until the year 2000. Dramatic increases in enrollment among mature students can be expected in the last decade of this century.     

THE LENGTH MEASUREMENT IN THE TURKISH MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM: ITS POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS’ LEARNING

“Knowing and doing measurement” is a fundamental competency in real life since measuring attributes of objects in appropriate units and using measuring tools assist students to quantify and understand the world. For this reason, the study of measurement has a special place in every mathematics curriculum. Among the domains of measurement, length measurement is extremely important for students to understand basic ideas about measurement and to construct bases for more advance topics as area and volume measurement. However, research on students’ understanding of length measurement reveals serious difficulties varying from incorrect alignment with a ruler to confusion of perimeter with area. One of the reasons for students’ struggles in measurement is considered as weaknesses in the intended (written) curriculum. In this respect, this study was designed to investigate the content of length measurement in the Turkish mathematics curriculum (1st–fifth grade) in terms of its potential to support students’ understanding. For this purpose, the Turkish Mathematics Curriculum Guide was carefully analyzed by considering main components of the curriculum (e.g. learning objectives). In spite of some weaknesses, the length measurement content in the curriculum seems to provide meaningful opportunities for students to develop the concepts and skills involved in length measurement.     

MICROCOMPUTERS AND THE ELDERLY: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR SELF‐SUFFICIENCY AND LIFE‐LONG LEARNING

Since the development of the microcomputer in the early 70's, computer technology has expanded into the eductional lives of increasing numbers of persons. Computers, once seen only in wealthy industries, are now nearly as common as pencils and paper in our nations' schools. In addition to the rapid development of computer training programs at the post secondary level, the proliferation of such programs is now manifest at the secondary, elementary, and even preschool levels. While computers appear to offer a great deal of educational potential for our youth, their benefits have not as yet been explored among older adults.     

AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE SELF‐RESPONSIBILITY FOR WELLNESS IN OLDER ADULTS

Literature relating to the well‐being of older adults was reviewed to identify indicators relevant to the construct of self‐responsibility for wellness. The wellness model proposed by Travis (1981) has produced a variety of concepts which can be useful in improving the quality of life for older adults. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument which would assess an individual's self‐responsibility for wellness. A 47‐item instrument developed for this purpose was evaluated by experts in gerontology and psychology. After revision and reevaluation it was field‐tested on a sample of 180 older adults (60 years of age and over). In order to take preliminary steps in establishing the validity and reliability of this instrument, the data were evaluated and an item analysis conducted to identify poor items. Cronbach's coefficient alpha was also computed (α = .90). A test‐retest correlation coefficient was computed, and an analysis of variance was performed to test for the relationship between self‐responsibility for wellness and demographic variables obtained during the field test.

The field testing of the instrument served as an educational needs assessment study. Evidence has been provided that there is a significant need for education programs which can provide training in the wellness skills as assessed by the instrument.     

STUDENT COMPARISONS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES AT THE TWO‐YEAR COLLEGE AND THE UNIVERSITY: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Student evaluations of instruction were obtained from two groups. Students in the first group were “reverse transfer” students (N = 97) who completed their freshman year at a university and then transferred to a two‐year college for their sophomore year. Students in the second group were “early transfer” students (N = 78) who completed their freshman year at a two‐year college and then transferred to a university. All students had one year of attendance at a two‐year college and one year at a university. The purpose of the study was to analyze the ratings of both groups of students with regard to their academic experiences at the university and at the two‐year college. An adaptation of the Student Instructional Report (SIR) was used to obtain ratings on overall college experiences from all students at the end of their sophomore year. The findings revealed: (1) considerable similarity of ratings given to the two‐year college and the university, (2) differences between ratings of early transfer and reverse transfer students, and (3) generally high ratings for both the two‐year college and the university.     

ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF OLDER ADULT EDUCATION ON SUBJECTIVE WELL‐BEING

The number of educational programs for older adults is increasing. It has been proposed that older adults maintain or increase their subjective well‐being by participating in such programs. Indeed, many educational programs targeted for older adults have objectives that deal with enhancing subjective well‐being. However, program evaluations that assess the subjective well‐being of participants are infrequent. A literature search located only seven research reports including data on the impact of educational programs on the subjective well‐being of older adults. The studies mostly were pre‐experimental, contained a variety of outcome measures, and yielded inconclusive results. In this paper, we discuss a global and multidimensional perspective of subjective well‐being encompassing the constructs of happiness, morale, and life satisfaction by specifying their location on temporal, cognitive, and affective dimensions. We also point out that current scales used to assess these constructs may be inappropriate, because the content of specific items may be inconsistent with program objectives. Recommendations are offered, in terms of measurement and research design issues, for upgrading the evaluation of educational interventions targeted for older adults.     

THE RELATION OF WEEK‐DAY RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION TO THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

This article seeks to demonstrate that in the burgeoning spiritual memoir literature of those leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy, scant attention is paid to the negative impact of schooling, yet it may be a significant contributing factor to the decision to leave traditional practice and community. Differing educational expectations for girls and boys—an amplified focus on modesty for females and scholarship for males—can become constricting and, ultimately, oppressive. Highlighting these inequities in other similar parochial systems or traditional but more progressive schools may shed light on how specific messaging may work counter to desired educational outcomes.     

MEANINGFULNESS AND INTERFERENCE AS FACTORS IN PAIRED‐ASSOCIATE LEARNING WITH THE AGED

A group of young and elderly females were tested on a paired‐associate task. The responses of the paired‐associates were consonant‐vowel‐consonant trigrams (CVCs) that were either high in association value (AV) on Glaze norms and low on Archer norms, or low in AV on Glaze norms and high on Archer. The results indicated that older individuals made more intrusion errors on the CVCs high in AV on the Glaze norms but low on the Archer norms. Results showed that associations were being formed across the life‐span of the individual.     

USING COMBINATORIAL APPROACH TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LEARNING OF THE DISTRIBUTIVE LAW AND MULTIPLICATIVE IDENTITIES

This article reports an alternative approach, called the combinatorial model, to learning multiplicative identities, and investigates the effects of implementing results for this alternative approach. Based on realistic mathematics education theory, the new instructional materials or modules of the new approach were developed by the authors. From the combinatorial activities based on the things around daily life, the teaching modules assisted students to establish their concept of the distributive law, and to generalize it via the process of progressive mathematizing. The subjects were two classes of 8th graders. The experimental group (n = 32) received a combinatorial approach to teaching by the first author using a problem-centered with double-cycles instructional model, while the control group (n = 30) received a geometric approach to teaching, from the textbook by another teacher who uses lecturing. Data analyses were both qualitative and quantitative. The findings indicated that the experimental group had a better performance than the control group in cognition, such as for the inner-school achievement test, mid-term examination, symbol manipulation, and unfamiliar problem-solving: also in affection, such as the tendency to engage in the mathematics activities and enjoy mathematical thinking.     

COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN THE POST‐13 ERA: INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES TO TAX LIMITATION

The Jarvis‐Gann amendment to the California constitution cut property taxes by almost 60%. The state's community‐college system, the largest and among the oldest in the country, depends heavily on property taxes, and consequently faces a constrained future. This study sought some indication of the responses these constraints would bring. Based on six case studies, in the late summer of 1978, colleges’ major responses appear to have been general cuts across all programs and activities. Where these were insufficient, colleges often cut community‐service activities, eliminated weekend or evening classes, spent excess reserves, or deferred major expenditures for maintenance or compliance with legal obligations. The result, for the present, is roughly the same mix and level of services, although convenience and flexibility have been reduced. The future looks much bleaker: salaries, at first effectively frozen by state law, will have to increase; state support in lieu of property taxes will stabilize or decline; and enrollments will also stabilize or decline. In these circumstances colleges will either have to reduce the services they provide or, as the concluding analysis in this paper suggests, seek legislative permission to begin charging moderate tuition.