Making Aging "Real" for Undergraduates

While there is ample evidence that introductory aging courses can enhance students' appreciation of older adults and aging issues, few studies report the impact of such courses on students' view of their own aging. We developed a one-credit, undergraduate course, "Introduction to Aging," to sensitize students to the aging experience, the diversity of the aging population, and the value of intergenerational communication. To achieve these goals, the curriculum was developed and taught using transformational learning methods that emphasize attitude and belief changes through self-reflection. This article shares the responses of students to an experiential, web-based exercise "Calculating Your Life Expectancy" that was assigned to "situate" students in the aging process. Our findings demonstrate that this exercise is an excellent transformational learning tool to stimulate student thinking and discussion of their own aging.