Introduction:

The small group discussion is an assignment to be submitted for a grade.  This is the fifth of five small group discussions to be submitted during the semester.  Read the directions carefully and read the Grading Rubric, which can be viewed by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric, then compose your response and submit your response by clicking Reply.   

Directions: 

If you were on campus and had some time between classes, and decided to go to an eatery on campus to get a bite to eat, then think of what you would expect to hear from an individual who was sitting next to you in the eatery, who was in the late adulthood age range, which is age 65 and older, while chatting in friendly conversation.  What do you think the individual would talk about and what do you think you would learn from the individual?  With the information from Chapter 17 Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood in mind, complete the following tasks.  

Tasks: 

1. State the name and age of the fictitious individual in late adulthood, which is age 65 and older.    
2. State information about the physical health of the individual in late adulthood, which is age 65 and older.  
3. State information about one biological aspect of mental health during late adulthood. 
4. State information about a change in memory or a decline in memory.
5. Discuss a change in intellectual abilities, or a decline in cognitive abilities during late adulthood, in the fictitious individual.    
6. Reply to five classmates’ responses by asking a question, answering a question, offering a suggestion, giving praise, agreeing, politely disagreeing, providing encouragement, sharing a story, or offering a comment.  

How to Complete the Assignment: 

Read the six task items, and then compose a response to each of the six task items in the order in which they appear.  Be as specific as possible.  The responses should show that you have an understanding of the concepts being addressed. 

How the Assignment will be Scored: 

The assignment will be scored using the Grading Rubric for the assignment, which can be viewed by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric.  The Grading Rubric is based on the Task items, which are aligned with the Learning Objectives of the chapter, which are aligned with the Course Objectives that are on the Syllabus, and which are aligned with the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) for the course that are on the Syllabus.  If a response meets the criterion set forth in the Grading Rubric, then the response will earn 1 point.  If a response does not meet the criterion set forth in the Grading Rubric, then the response will not earn 1 point.  Each assignment is scored independently from previous assignments and each assignment is scored independently from future assignments.  

Where to Access the Score:  

The score for the assignment will be visible in the Grades area.  To view how the score was derived, you can view the points earned on the Grading Rubric by clicking the word Show Rubric in upper right hand of the page in the Grades area for this specific assignment.  If there is individual feedback on the assignment, then there will be individual feedback in the Assignment Comments area, which is right hand side of the page. 

Student Success Tip: 

Two Samples of Good Work are provided for students to use as a guide for how to gear their responses.  One sample is in a paragraph format and the other sample is in a numbered format.  Either format is acceptable to use when submitting your response.    

Samples of Good Work:

Sample 1

Suzie, age 70, started talking to me, while we were sitting in the coffee shop on campus, in between classes.  She told me that her health was holding up, because she had never smoked and did not drink alcohol, and her parents lived to age 97.  She told me that she was grateful that she did not have depression, like some of her friends did, which is a mental illness with a biological component to it, and tends to run in families.  She told me that her memory was not what it used to be, however, she was grateful that her mind was still good, unlike some of her friends, who had Alzheimer’s disease.  She went on to tell me that she had retired about 2 years ago and was on campus taking a class for fun, to keep her mind active and to have social contact with people.  She told me that she, herself, was in between classes, too, and was waiting to meet a friend for lunch, and discuss what they would take the following semester.   

Sample 2

1.   Jenny is 90 years old. 
2.   She was sitting in the cafeteria on campus, eating some soup, and resting while waiting for her adult education class to begin, as she did not have the physical strength that she had when she was younger to stand outside of the classroom for one hour.    
3.   She disclosed that she had been feeling a little sad lately, because she was not as independent as previously, because she was not driving any more, but that it had not reached the point of her being depressed, and that she knew that depression has a biological basis to the mental illness.  
4.   Jenny spoke candidly about  a change in memory that she had been noticing recently in herself, where she had trouble remembering new information. 
5.   She said that it was hard for her to understand information sometimes when people spoke to her, because she could not process what they were saying so quickly, and she had to ask people to repeat what they were saying.  She told me she had to leave, because her class was going to start soon, and she wanted to give herself plenty of time to walk to the room and find a good seat.    

Alignment of Assignment to the Course:  

This small group discussion ties into Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) 1:

Student Learning Outcomes 1.  Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical constructs among the 4 main areas of human development (Physical, Cognitive, Social, and Emotional) throughout the lifespan.

This small group discussion topic ties into Course Objectives 3, 7, 8, and 18.  

Course Objective 3.  Discuss key features of physical development across the lifespan, such as prenatal factors, heritability, puberty, hormonal changes, physical health, and biological aspects of mental health. 

Course Objective 7.  Discuss the components of and changes that occur in human memory across the lifespan including the declines in memory common during late adulthood.

Course Objective 8.  Discuss the various theories in intelligence and changes in intellectual abilities that occur across the lifespan. 

Course Objective 18.  Examine core issues related to development during the aging years, such as various declines in cognitive abilities, retirement, family and friends, and caring for the elderly.

This small group discussion ties into Learning Objectives 1, 2, and 3 for Chapter 17: 

Learning Objective 1.  Discuss physical health in late adulthood. 

Learning Objective 2.  Discuss biological aspects of mental health in late adulthood.

Learning Objective 3.  Discuss the declines in memory during late adulthood.  

Learning Objective 4.  Discuss changes in intellectual abilities in late adulthood.  

Learning Objective 5.  Examine declines in cognitive abilities in late adulthood.  

Rationale for the Assignment:

The purpose of the small group discussion is to apply the course material to the real world and to your own life by giving examples that are from evidence-based research and that are meaningful to you, and to show an understanding and mastery of the material, and to promote interaction with engagement with other students in the class.  This is due by Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.  Please see the Grading Rubric for the Small Group Discussion, by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric.