Tracey Alcendor Robinson

EDIT 730
Spring 2016
EDIT 730 - Project Proposal Outline
Designing a Constructivist Learning Environment (CLE):
http://endageismnow.weebly.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html


Learning Problem

One of the most pervasive prejudices across human society is Ageism. It tends to be less acknowledged
than racism or sexism; yet, it is just as harmful-if not detrimental-to the well being of the elderly. This
population makes up what is often times a disadvantaged and disabled community. Sadly, the result is
mistreatment, exploitation, financial abuse, degrading stereotypical media images, and even the denial of
appropriate medical care and services.

The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) estimates that about 1 out of 10 individuals over the age of
sixty are abused. This alarming figure further demonstrates the need for Elderly Sensitivity Training. It
should be included as a mandatory requirement for those working under the caregiver role for assisted
care living communities and quite frankly, extended to the family members of seniors. There is a critical
need for everyone providing care to the elderly to recognize possible warning signs of medical issues
affecting the health, moods, and behavior of seniors. Such training will assist them in the recognition of
issues before they worsen. The desired result is an improvement in the standard of care for the elderly.
Workers will be able to create environments that are engaging, resourceful, and nurturing for their
precious seniors.
Target Audience
This course targets licensed and non-licensed individuals such as Certified Nurses Assistants and family
caregivers, management staff of small to mid-level personal care homes. The average years of prior experience
is seven plus. This means that they are knowledgeable in the general area of senior daily care. Many have
received previous training in the role from a certifying school or were the primary caregiver of an elderly family
member for years. They are all motivated by the rewards associated with acquiring additional knowledge or
skills to improve their job performance and overall interaction with their client or elderly family members. The
majority of this audience is female with an average age of above forty-five years of age.

General Knowledge Domain

The knowledge domain is in nursing with a specific focus on geriatric care. This considers a wide range of
skills pertaining to the social, mental and physical domains relating to senior care.


Learning Outcomes

The highest level of Blooms Taxonomy will be applied to the learning outcomes.
Develop the critical thinking skills necessary to make ethical decisions regarding their elderly
patients.

Cultivate a holistic view of multiple perspectives of ways to energize the elderly in todays
stressful, modern society.
Rejuvenate their compassion for the elderly by increasing their knowledge and service skills by
the recognition of common medical ailments, social issues and mental issues that prevent seniors
from fully enjoying the best quality of life.
Develop a deeper sense of societal attitudes toward aging and older people.
Gain new perspectives on what is required to ensure the mental, social and physical well being of
elderly clients.
Support or provide family members with additional resources to effectively assist their seniors.
Learning Outcomes
Develop critical thinking skills
necessary to make ethical decisions
regarding their patients
Cultivate a holistic view of multiple
perspectives of ways to energize
the elderly in todays stressful,
modern society
Rejuvenate their compassion for the
elderly by increasing their
knowledge and service skills by the
recognition of common ailments,
social and mental issues that
prevent seniors from fully enjoying
the best quality of life

Develop a deeper sense of societal

issues toward aging and older
people
Gain new perspectives on what is
required to ensure the mental,
social and physical well-being of
elderly clients
Support or provide family members
with additional resources to
effectively assist their seniors

Evaluation
After the analysis of multiple perspectives (isolating the connections between common
themes), students will use resources to further research topics, formulate individual
answers, collaborate and present their team responses via a blog to assigned cases
from the perspective of What would you do ifyou were the manager/caregiver/family
member in this case and why?
Following the exploration of resource and cases via links, students will exchange their
own perspectives with each other in collaboration to design a holistic senior care plan
aimed at energizing and minimizing stress of the elderly.
Students will participate in a sensory deprivation activity and later reflect on their
experience as an elderly resident lives. They will articulate their personal experiences,
observations of others and feelings. They will read their peers experiences and
comment on them in a post.
Students will post answers to these questions: What was your experience as a senior
like and how has this changed your perspective of the elderly? What are the most
common changes in your peers perspectives do you notice? What do you think
caused them? How do you plan to apply this new level of compassion to youre your
role as a caregivers?
Students will take a survey regarding their personal perceptions of the elderly (preCFH) and articulate, reflect in a self-assessment, the impact of elements of this course
on their changed views, (post-CFH). Discussions will reflect on peer feedback and selfassessment. Viewing multiple cases, across several themes, students will list key
thematic issues, which surface in society as ageism.
In collaboration with their peers, students will create an anti-ageism policy for a
personal care home
Students will develop their own journal serving as a job aid and arsenal of resources
that they can access to better advise and serve residents and their families.

Constructivist-based pedagogical model

The Cognitive Flexibility Hypertext (CFH) pedagogical model will be used. Several Constructivist
characteristics will be applied:

Authentic

The learning is embedded within real-world, case-based scenarios applicable to the everyday realities of
senior citizens and those caring for them. They are based on what has and can happen in these situations.

Critical thinking skills

Students will have opportunities to explore a number of possibilities for problem solving in serious,
ethical, complex situations. Abstract concepts will be linked to various contexts.

Learner control

Learners become their own navigators or pioneers in the entire experience, which is driven by their own
exploration of links, videos, cases, activities and more. Through self-analysis and the analysis of the
decisions of others, they will be able to gain a broader knowledge base and skills leading to selfcorrecting behavior.

Social Negotiation

Several activities can be done collectively. They provide the opportunity for learning through social
interaction, case analysis, debate, reflection and articulation.

Multiple perspectives

The introduction of multiple case-based scenarios enable student to process multiple viewpoints adding
to the possibilities of learning. Common themes, ethical issues and social considerations with several
perspectives allow students to see the interconnectedness of serious topics.

Metacognition

Students will evaluate their own learning experiences and those of others thru reflection. The specific use
of reflection gives students further insight into how their own minds work relative to their own
stereotypes, preconceived notions and areas for self-improvement.

Learning Activities

Activities have been clearly differentiated from learner objectives:
Learners will watch videos and read case based-scenarios pertaining to situations that hinder the
standard of life of the elderly.
Students will access information about what is true and is not true about aging and older people.
Students will participate in activities that review the aging process and the physical changes that
occur in conjunction with it.
Students will participate in collaborative activities demonstrating how living with physical and
sensory changes affect older people.
Students will participate in activities exposing them to the ways of communication with older
adults with sensory losses.
Students will complete activities with a focus on the encouragement of intergenerational linkages
within families and communities.
Students will articulate their critical analysis of hot topics and case-based scenarios.
Students will also have journal reflections of what they have learned along with their impressions
of the topics.





CFH Characteristics
Multiple Perspectives
Thematic Linking Across Cases

Emphasis on Domain Complexity

Stresses Web-like Nature of knowledge

Encourage Construction of Knowledge

Learning Activities

Explore different case-based scenarios from perspectives of

residents, Managers, Caregivers and Family Members.

Access content thematically based on themes such as:

Health & Well Being, Societal Views, Personal
Responsibility
Truths vs. Myths About Seniors
Linkages btw. Family & Community
Physical, Mental & Emotional Considerations
Learners access to content in a non-linear, complex vs. a simplistic
presentation. They experience the complexity of ageism as a dynamic
and complex issue opposed to a simple, one-dimensional one.
In a self-directed manner, learners will access content via links across
cases by themes interchanging from one case and one theme to
another, during the exploration of content as a whole. This presentation
of content is web-like, creating an environment, which causes students
to consider the connections between perspectives and cases.

Critically analyze cases

Journal reflections of changing views and attitudes

Articulate personal experiences

Create a policy against ageism for a personal care home

through peer collaboration





Design Table


CFH Characteristics

Learning Outcomes

Learning Activities

Multiple Perspectives
Develop critical thinking skills
necessary to make ethical
decisions regarding their
patients

Explore different case-based scenarios

from perspectives of residents, Managers,
Caregivers and Family Members.

Access content thematically based on

themes such as:

Societal Views, Health & Well Being,

Personal Responsibility
Truths vs. Myths About Seniors
Linkages btw. Family & Community
Physical, Mental & Emotional
Considerations

Support or provide family

members with additional
resources to effectively assist
their seniors
Thematic Linking
Across Cases

Cultivate a holistic view of

multiple perspectives of ways
to energize the elderly in
todays stressful, modern
society

Emphasis on Domain
Complexity

Rejuvenate their compassion

for the elderly by increasing
their knowledge and service
skills by the recognition of
common ailments, social and
mental issues that prevent
seniors from fully enjoying the
best quality of life

Learner access to content is non-linear,

complex vs. a simplistic presentation. Their
experience reflects the complexity of
ageism as a dynamic and complex issue
opposed to a simple, one-dimensional one.

In a self-directed manner (exploratory),

learners will access content via links
across cases by themes interchanging
from one case and one theme to another.
This presentation of content is web-like,
creating an environment, which causes
students to consider the connections
between perspectives and cases.

Develop a deeper sense of

societal issues toward aging
and older people

Stresses Web-like
Nature of Knowledge

Encourage
Construction of
Knowledge

Evaluation
Blog 1: After the analysis of multiple
perspectives (isolating the
connections between common
themes), formulate individual
answers, collaborate and then
present their team responses via a
blog to assigned cases from the
perspective of What would you do
ifyou were the
manager/caregiver/family member in
this case and why?
Develop Journal Job Aid: Students
will develop their own journal serving
as a job aid and arsenal of
resources that they can later access
to better advise and serve residents
and their families.
Design a Holistic Senior Care
Plan: Using resource links, design
plan aimed at energizing and
minimizing stress of the elderly.
Sensory deprivation activity: Later
reflecting on their experience as an
elderly resident does (articulate
experiences & observations), they
will read their peers experiences
and comment on them in a post.
Blog 2: Students will post answers
to these questions: What was your
experience as a senior like and how
has this changed your perspective of
the elderly? What are the most
common changes in your peers
perspectives do you notice? What
do you think caused them? How do
you plan to apply this new level of
compassion to youre your role as a
caregivers?
Pre-CFH)-Students take Ageism
Survey- assess preconceptions of
the elderly to enable selfassessment of impact of elements of
this course on their changed views,
(Post-CFH)-Discussions, peer
feedback and self-reflection.
Viewing multiple cases, across
several themes, students will list key
connected issues, which surface in
society as ageism.

Gain new perspectives on

what is required to ensure the
mental, social and physical
well-being of elderly clients

Critically analyze cases

Journal reflections of changing views and
attitudes
Articulate personal experiences
Create a policy against ageism for a
personal care home with peers

Final Project: Write an Anti-ageism

policy In collaboration with their
peers, for a personal care home.
(See Design Holistic Senior Care
Plan & Develop Journal Job Aid
above)

CFH characteristics sourced from:

Jacobson, M., & Spiro, R. (1995) Hypertext learning environments, cognitive flexibility, and the transfer of complex
knowledge: an empirical investigation. Journal of Educational Computing Research 12(4), 301-333.

Learning Strategies

The learning strategies of self-directed, reflection, articulation and exploration will be present in this
CFH.

Instructional Strategy & Instructional Application-Macro Instructional

o Case-based learning
o Instructional Application/Model: Cognitive Flexibility Hypertext (CFH); Micro-instructional
strategies:
o Linking abstract concepts to case examples
o Provide multiple perspectives
o Promote active learning
o Problem-solving

Strategy Functionality in WBL (Theoretical Construct or Rationale)-Hypermedia learning
environments containing the following constructs

o Non-sequential browsing
o Focused or selective browsing
o Searching
o Exploratory Learning
o Learner Control

Associated Technologies
o Browsers, scripting languages and authoring tools that support links such as Hypertext
links and Hypermedia links will be utilized.
Assessment

Learners will engage in peer and self-assessment. Prior to their participation in the course, students will
be asked to take a survey. Results will be reflected upon for comparison to personal growth. Following
their completion of reading four authentic cases, examining associated themes and exploring numerous
links, students will be expected to complete the following assignments:

Develop a Journal Job Aid
Design a Holistic Senior Care Plan
Participate in a Sensory Deprivation Activity
Blogs 1 & 2 with responses to questions
Complete a Final Project: Write an Anti-ageism Policy for a (PCH) Personal Care Home

Students will have opportunities to participate in discussions regarding their analysis of case-based
scenarios and reflect upon their individual experiences during activities. They will reflect upon their
thoughts, feelings and experiences with written evaluations used as an evaluative, self-analysis tool.
Peers will provide feedback as they too exchange their experiences. This articulation of what has been

learned, their reactions to the material as well as the requirement of a written reflection of what changes
have occurred in their hearts and minds be greatly encouraged.

Prototype

http://endageismnow.weebly.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html