Assignment:
Below is a repeat of the instructions for this assignment.
YOU are the subject of the final Field Experience assignment in this course! The goal of FE3 is for you to create your own plan for aging well. In this way you will be actively using and applying what you have learned throughout the course to your own health and well-being.
The second goal for FE3 is to develop insight and empathy for helping others in their journey to age well. One way to build the skill-set for helping and educating others is to first help and educate oneself. By doing first for ourselves what we may be asking others to do for their own benefit, we learn to "walk our talk" -- that is, we know from experience how to do, apply, create, discern, and use our learning for our own and others' benefit.
Throughout this course you may have picked up a theme - be prepared to age and know how to age well. Great, but what exactly does that mean? And further more, what exactly would a plan or preparation look like? What are the differences between a "good" plan and a "doable plan" or a "realistic plan" and an "unrealistic plan"? Plans can be fashioned out of pretty words and phrases and look good on paper but be completely impractical when put into practice. One way to check yourself is to seek the input from others.
Sometimes, having someone else review your work help you to see areas you may have missed or areas in a plan that need polish. In order to help ensure you are on a right and realistic path, you will be required to seek feedback from a person/people who have walked this path before you - your seniors/elders. By going to a primary source for information and feedback, you also will practicing a skill for creating relevant health promotion material - checking back with the people you wish to serve. Then, as further back-up, you will also be looking into scholarly research to show support for your ideas and plans.
Personal Plan for Aging Well Instructions:
You will be composing a formal paper (APA formatting is required) which will include all the elements listed below. As you read through the list, consider the following prompting questions as a guide for getting started with your plan. These questions are your introduction to this paper and should include:
• What kind of healthy Senior/Elder do you want to be?
• Who do you want to be and what do you want to be able to do?
• How are you going to grow into becoming this healthy Senior/Elder?
• What do you need in order to achieve these aspirations?
• How will you use your learning from this class and from other seniors/elders who have gone before you to become the healthy Senior/Elder you wish to be?
1. Areas to address in your plan (this is the body of your plan): In your paper/plan be sure to address all the following areas of aging and health.
• Physical
• Emotional
• Social/Family
• Financial
• Late Life Care
• End of Life
Remember, to fully address each of the above areas of aging and health you will need to note:
• knowledge
• resources
• assistance
• research support
• the what, when, how and why of each aspect of your plan.
2. If possible, using COVID safety measures, obtain Feedback from a Senior/Elder (perhaps the same senior you interviewed) -You may, do to COVID safety concerns, speak via phone, cellphone, email, voice mail, social media, etc. : Once you have created your initial plan and included all of the elements listed above, you are to present your plan to a Senior or an Elder of your choice for feedback. Some of the questions you will ask (you may ask more if you wish) the Senior/ Elder will include:
• Is my plan realistic
• Is my plan comprehensive?
• What am I missing or what haven't I thought of including?
• What would you (the senior or elder to whom you are showing your plan) add to this plan to make it better?
• After you have written about the senior's/elder's feedback, then describe how did you used the feedback from the Senior/Elder to modify your plan.
3. Reflections on Learning (This is the summary): Include in your plan the following:
• Specific references to the course assignments, text book, supplemental materials , etc. and how/why you used them to shape your plan
• Specific references to actual resources in your community that you would use or will use to fulfill your plan
• Reflection on how your learning and participation in the course shaped your ability to create this plan
• Discussion of what you wish to continue learning, and how you will continue to seek answers to the questions you still have