The Fourth Age Sandra von Doetinchem sandra.doetinchem@berkeley.edu - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Fourth Age

Sandra von Doetinchem

sandra.doetinchem@berkeley.edu

Short bio - Sandra von Doetinchem

Field of Study: Educational Sciences with specialization in Older Adult Education (2009), University Duisburg - Essen, Germany Thesis Title: "Lifelong Learning - An empirical study focusing on the educational needs and requirements of adults over the age of 80" Research Interest: Third and Fourth Age Education, International comparative adult education and lifelong learning, Global education and aging Joined OLLI @Berkeley as Public Education Specialist/ Research Assistant in 2010 Chair of the LEARN council of the American Society on Aging

Terminologies - Life phase "Age"

• increased life spans make a breakdown of the life phase

"age" necessary

• differentiations, e.g.,:

○ Bernice Neugarten: "young-olds" & "old-olds" ○ Hans Peter Tews: "young-olds", "old-olds", "oldest-olds" ○ Margaret & Paul Baltes/ Peter Laslett: "Third" and "Fourth Age" ○ Ludger Veelken: "High old adults"

• beginning of the "high old" age is statistically defined as the

age of 80 or 85

Why do we need Fourth Age Research? The Aging Population

• the populations in

developed countries like the U.S. and Germany are growing slower or are even shrinking

• the averages of the

population age are increasing

Why do we need Fourth Age Research? The Aging Population

• the births over deaths

ratio is decreasing and is in Germany already below 100%

• at 100% the population

size stays constant

Why do we need Fourth Age Research? The Aging Population

• the percentage of the

population age 80+ is increasing

• education of the older

population will play a crucial role!

Why do we need Fourth Age Research? Lack of Research & Programs

• worldwide nearly no research on lifelong learning in the

fourth age is existing

• most lifelong learning surveys end at the age of 75-79
• most studies on the fourth age have a rather negative

and loss-oriented perspective

• targeted educational programs for learners in the fourth

age are mainly taking place in retirement/ nursing communities ○ only a handful programs are integrated in regular lifelong learning programs worldwide

We need to study what you CAN do, instead of what you CANNOT do!

Benefits of Lifelong Learning

• "(...) because education is a lifelong process, it is

possible that elderly people can delay or even prevent the onset of dementia by keeping their brains active.”

• Dr. Mortimer, Director of USF Institute of Aging
• researchers from the Albert Einstein School of College
• f Medicine showed in a longitudinal study that those

participants who did the most cognitive activities were 63% less likely to develop dementia, as compared to those who did the least

(Verghese J. et al.: Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in the elderly. N Engl J Med 2003; 348: 2508-2516

Possible Approaches

• OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salons
• Study: Lifelong Learning - An empirical study focusing on the

educational needs and requirements of adults over the age of 80, Sandra von Doetinchem ○ Goal: deeper understanding of the status of high age adult education and of the special educational needs of this extremely diverse age group ○ Sample: 44 participants of both genders between 80 and 96 years (average age: 83) from various educational backgrounds and personal life situations, living in regular households

OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salon

• opportunity for OLLI @Berkeley to learn

more about the learning needs and interests

• f members over the age of 80
• launched in September 2011
• 17 meetings so far

OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salon

Guest speakers:

• Peggy Kelly, PhD, clinical psychologist

talk on hearing loss and hearing aids

• Mary Heller, PhD, clinical psychologist

talk on memory processes

• Lauren Vanett, OLLI faculty, SF State Extended

learning faculty talk on core strengths and positive emotions

• Prof. Greg Niemeyer, Department of Art Practice and

the Center for New Media, UC Berkeley talk on new media and video games for older adults

OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salon

Guest speakers - Continued:

• Prof. Ken Goldberg, UC Berkeley’s College of

Engineering and School of Information talk on UC Berkeley’s Center for New Media projects

• Andrew Gaines, Executive Director of The Ashby

Village talk on the Village movement and Ashby Village

• Dr. Allan Chinen, clinical psychologist and author

talk on why men are underrepresented in lifelong learning

Demographics

• OLLI's membership profile showed that the OLLI membership is 75%

women and 25% men

• 84% of the participants in the German study were female, 16% male
• unique group: Fourth Age Salons have more like a 50/50 gender

composition

(Source: Human Mortality Database)

Living Arrangements

"Pat and Masa live in the Retirement Community Lake Park and Lorraine will move to St. Paul’s Towers in August. The rest of the group lives either alone or with their partners in their

• wn homes."

Distribution of the living arrangements in the German study

Educational background

• the majority of Fourth Age Salon members

has advanced degrees and is therefore only a small subgroup of the overall population

• the German study had a more representative

cross-section

○ only 9% of the study participants had an

advanced degree

What do you "make"?

"I edit a technical book on physics." "I make ideas." "I collect things and make art out of it." "I like to write stories and to create meals." "I like to knit and to play the piano"

Hobbies - German Study Top 3 activities people enjoy now:

• watching TV
• meeting friends
• reading

Top 3 activities people used to enjoy in the past:

• traveling
• sports
• crafting

Volunteerism

• some of the Fourth Age Salon members are volunteering
• 41% of the over 80 respondents (n=29) in OLLI's Getting to

Know You Survey Spring 2012 are volunteering

• 18% of the participants in the German study are volunteering

○ those who are volunteering or have volunteered in the past participate in formal education more than twice as much than participants who didn't have any volunteer record

Lifestyles "(...) it is important not to think about things too long rather than just doing them" "I prefer not to look backwards!"

Lifestyles

• recent research shows that those high old people, who

are optimistic about their future, have an overall higher life satisfaction and a better health

(2nd Heidelberger Centenarian Study, 2013)

• asked for their interest in memoir work and writing, the

majority of the participants in the German study responded that they prefer more forward-looking activities

Technology Knowledge Level

• all Fourth Age Salon members have a computer and at least
• ne email account
• results from OLLI's Getting to Know You Survey (Spring

2012, n=458) show that 99% of all OLLI members have a computer.

• results from the 80+ sample in OLLI's Getting to Know You

Survey (Spring 2012, n=29) show that 86% are very comfortable or comfortable using a computer

Technology Knowledge Level - German Study

• participants had

some cell phone knowledge

• but were mainly not

computer and Internet experienced

Lifelong Learning Experience "All of the Fourth Age Salon participants took classes at least in one of these fields (OLLI curriculum areas)"

Lifelong Learning Experience - German Study

single people participate much more in lifelong learning than widowed or married people

Lifelong Learning Experience - German Study

65% of the participants consider education at high age as important or very important

Lifelong Learning Experience - German Study

• 30% of the study

participants took part in lifelong learning after their 75th birthday

• if people participate in

education after the age

• f 75, they do this very

frequently

Classroom Preferences & Issues

"The group has a preference to have talks that are around 20-30 minutes, leaving an hour for discussion" top 3 teaching methods prefered by OLLI members age 80+:

• small groups (76%)
• large lectures (55%)
• guided discussion (48%)

(Source: OLLI's Getting to Know You Survey, Spring 2012)

Classroom Preferences - German Study

• learning with peers
• learning in small groups
• opportunity for social interaction
• positive and inviting learning atmosphere

Health as an Accessibility Issue

• lder adults often have to struggle with unexpected

happenings, like physician's appointments, illnesses, tiredness, which do not allow them to visit the classes on a frequent basis

• concerns about memory loss and brain health increase with

age and are often mentioned in the Fourth Age Salon

• the majority of participants in the German study reported an

average health and mobility level

Health as an Accessibility Issue "(...) they answered simultaneously that hearing is their biggest issue." "The group suggested a hearing interest circle"

Research Facts on Hearing Loss

• about 1/3 of Americans who are 60 years old and 1/2 of

people who are older than 85 have some hearing loss

• psychological effects of hearing loss: social isolation,

angriness, fatigue, clinical depression

• social effects of hearing loss: relationships diminish,

people stop talking, people talk like you are deaf

Health as an Accessibility Issue

• 21% of the 80+ sample in OLLI's Getting to Know You

Survey Spring 2012 reported mobility issues

• 7% of the respondents are challenged in vision

○ another mentioned classroom issue in the Fourth Age Salon was that the instructors sometimes use light colors on the whiteboards

Results from OLLIs Fourth Age Salons

• lder adults at this age are an extremely heterogeneous

group and a categorization of their interests is difficult

• hearing loss is one of the main educational and social

barriers ○ installation of a hearing loop system in room 41B ○ training of OLLI staff and faculty ○ raising greater public awareness ○ planned: Hearing loop systems in every OLLI classroom

• as light colors are hard to read, usage of only dark color

whiteboard markers in the classrooms

Results from OLLIs Fourth Age Salons

• talks in the Fourth Age Salons are only 20 minutes long,

followed by Q&A

• as concerns about memory loss and brain health increase with

age, we developed a greater understanding of brain health and healthy aging

• time commitments are difficult because of an unpredictable

health situation, therefore keeping the Fourth Age Salon flexible (no RSVP)

• mobility decreases, therefore classes are harder to reach

○ planned: Shuttle service for mobility impaired members

What can we learn?

• learners in the Fourth Age will be the new target group in the

future, therefore a greater understanding is necessary

• education for people in the fourth age needs to be flexible in

time, location and accessibility

• more research on the lifelong learning needs and

requirements of people in the fourth age is necessary, as well as the development of more targeted programs

• we need a more resource-oriented, than loss-oriented

perspective!

Questions???

Thank you for your attention!