Strategies for Learning
over the Lifespan
Sandra von Doetinchem, MEd
Research Analyst, PhD Student, Founder of Silverlearning.org
University of Hawai’i at Manoa/University of Tuebingen, Germany
Chelsea Crown, MPH(c), MSW(c)
Research Assistant,
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Berkeley
Outline
This session will examine and discuss best practices on how to keep older
learners involved with lifelong learning as long as possible and how to
decrease the drop-out numbers by making the classroom more accessible.
You will learn about:
● the specifics of oldest old learners as a future target group for lifelong
learning programs.
● best practices on how people can be kept involved in lifelong learning
over their lifespan.
● specific remedies for addressing particular impairments.
● utilizing online learning through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Definitions - Old Age
● increased life spans make a breakdown of the life phase “old 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"
● beginning of the oldest-old age or the fourth age is statistically
defined as the age of 80 or 85
Why do we need to focus more on the
Oldest-old Learners? Our Aging Population
● populations in developed
countries like the U.S. and
Germany are growing slower or
even shrinking
● births over deaths ratio is
decreasing → in Germany already
below 100% (at 100% the
population size stays constant)
Why do we need to focus more on the
Oldest-old Learners? Our Aging Population
2010
● the averages of the population
age are increasing
● older adults are already now a
significant fraction of the total
population
● the percentage of the population
age 80+ is increasing
Why do we need to focus more on the
Oldest-old Learners? Lack of Programs & Research
● Educational programs: mostly targets healthy and mobile elders
○ education for oldest-olds and frail elders mainly takes place in
retirement communities → only a handful of targeted
programs are integrated into regular lifelong learning
programs
● Research: worldwide almost no research on lifelong learning in the
fourth age exists
○ most lifelong learning surveys end at the age of 75-79
○ existing studies on the oldest-old age often have a rather
negative and loss-oriented perspective
Why do we need to focus more on the
Oldest-old Learners? Lack of Programs & Research
We need to focus on what the oldest-olds
CAN do,
instead of what they CANNOT do!
Possible Approaches
● RESEARCH:
"Lifelong Learning - An empirical study focusing on the educational needs
and requirements of adults over the age of 80", Sandra von Doetinchem,
2009
○ Goal: deeper understanding of the status of formal education for the
oldest-old and their special educational needs
○ 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
Possible Approaches
● RESEARCH:
“Silverlearning Study 2015 - An examination of lifelong learning behaviors of
older and oldest-old adults in the U.S. and Germany”, Sandra von
Doetinchem, 2015 (in cooperation with University of Tuebingen, Germany)
○ Goal: deeper understanding of the status of older adult education and
fourth age education in international comparison
○ Sample goal: 1,000 participants (total) in both countries of both genders
age 65 and older; currently enrolled in formal non-credit or for-credit
courses
○ preliminary results from the German sample are already existing
○ Timeline: Germany: February-May 2015, United States: April-July 2015
Participate in the International
Silverlearning Study 2015
The Silverlearning Study
needs you!
www.silverlearning.org/
survey
Possible Approaches
● OUTREACH:
www.silverlearning.org or www.facebook.com/silverlearning
○ a blog about lifelong learning and global aging
○ focus especially on learning the fourth age and the oldest-old
population
● PRACTICE:
UC Berkeley’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s “Fourth Age
Salons”
OLLI @Berkeley's Fourth Age Salons
● opportunity for OLLI @Berkeley to learn more about the learning
needs and interests of members over the age of 80
● launched in September 2011
● monthly peer-group meetings for oldest-old members
● both female and male participants with advanced degrees
● frequent guest speakers
● current project: MOOCs and the Fourth Age
What did we learn from Practice and
Research? The Oldest-olds
● a very diverse age group → generalization of this life stage is
difficult
● incredible resources and life experience
● curiosity and ability to learn does not stop in the fourth age
● can be still very active, although impairments increases
○ about 40% of the OLLI members over the age of 80 volunteer
● depending on the educational background, can be very tech savvy
○ all Fourth Age Salon members have a computer and at least
one email account
● health impairments can serve as a barrier to lifelong learning
What did we learn from Practice and
Research? Classroom Ideas
Oldest-old learners have different classroom preferences
Recommendations: Make courses short, sweet, and personal!
● keep presentations/talks to 20-30 minutes
● provide opportunities for learning in small-groups
● have room for social interaction and discussion
○ learning from each other and relating learning content to own
life experiences is an important factor in older adult education
What did we learn from Practice and
Research? Timing Ideas
Making time commitments can be difficult because of an
unpredictable health and life situation
Recommendations: Keep your programs as flexible as possible!
○ short-term courses instead of long-term offerings
○ flexible course enrollment
○ flexible refund systems
What did we learn from Practice and
Research? Accessibility Ideas
Hearing loss is a major issue for most oldest-old learners
● 1 of 3 people age 60 experience hearing loss → correlates with
age
○ 50%: 75+ years (other research says 80% of all adults age >80)
● 19.2% of OLLI @Berkeley members report hearing loss (13.8%
wear a hearing aid)
● hearing loss can lead to e.g., social isolation, clinical depression,
decline in cognitive abilities
○ on average, older adults with hearing loss develop a significant
impairment in their cognitive abilities 3.2 years sooner than
those with normal hearing (Johns Hopkins study, 2013)
What did we learn from Practice and
Research? Accessibility Ideas
Recommendations: Train yourself, your members, and your faculty!
● consult with campus resources (e.g., disabled student programs),
audiologists, and other hearing experts
● train your faculty on:
○ teaching hearing impaired students (e.g., usage of short sentences,
eye contact with students, keywords on board)
○ the usage of microphones (chin mics/handheld mics)
● encourage hearing-impaired learners to sit in front of the room
● audio-tape your courses
● make assistive listening devices available/install hearing loops
● train members on the usage of hearing aids (t-coils for hearing loops)
What did we learn from Practice and
Research? Accessibility Ideas
Vision declines after the age of 60
Recommendations: Train yourself, your members, and your faculty!
● consult with optometrists and other vision experts
● train faculty on how to teach vision impaired students (e.g., usage of
dark color pens, avoidance of too many visual presentations)
● encourage vision-impaired learners to sit in the front of the room
● video-tape courses
● keep classroom set-up consistent
What did we learn from Practice and
Research? Accessibility Ideas
Mobility decreases with age and classes are harder to reach
Recommendations: Develop strategies that give mobility-impaired
elders the chance to attend courses!
● consider transportation services (e.g., shuttles, carpools)
● develop online learning possibilities
● cooperate with senior housing facilities on location
● modify your classrooms (e.g., height of tables for wheelchairs)
Summary
● learners in the Fourth Age will be the new target group in the
future, therefore a greater understanding is necessary
● 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
● education for people in the fourth age needs to be flexible in time,
location, and accessibility
● institutions need to be sensitive around the reasons why people
drop-out of lifelong learning (follow up with them!)
● we need a more resource-oriented, than loss-oriented
perspective!
Online Learning and Older Learners
Lessons learned from MOOCs at OLLI @Berkeley
Outline
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Overview of MOOCs
Relevance for older learners
How OLLI @Berkeley has been using MOOCs
Lessons learned
Ideas to use MOOCs and support online learning
Different MOOC platforms
MOOC: Massive Open Online Course
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Massive Open Online Course
Timing
Cost
Intergenerational, peer-to-peer learning
University-level to professional-level
Diverse subjects
Variable quality
Course Distribution by Subject
Source: https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-12-26-moocs-in-2014-breaking-down-the-numbers
Relevance of MOOCs
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Demographics
MOOCs-as-intervention
Intergenerational learning
Cost factors
For the homebound
MOOCs at
● “Blended Learning”
○ Fourth Age Salon: 7 men and women age 80+
➢ Four 90-minute Salons
➢ “What a Plant Knows” Tel Aviv University (Coursera)
○ Winter 2014 Course: 6 men and women age 50+
➢ Five 90-minute classroom discussions
➢ “The History and Future of Higher Education” Duke
University (Coursera)
● Profile: highly educated, highly motivated, relatively tech-savvy,
equal gender ratio
Main Takeaways
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Sensory challenges
Technology
Benefits
Reasons for dropouts
Blended learning
Content
Advocacy
Case Example
● Over-80 learner with profound
hearing loss
● “MOOCs are not made for me.”
○ Increasing stigma and
distraction → drop-out
K. Patricia Cross,
Professor Emeritus
How you can use MOOCs
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Blended learning
Pre-course learning and continued learning
Interest Circles
Supporting learning and using technology
Recognizing barriers
Educating members on interesting MOOC offerings
Advocating for accessibility and usability
○ Universal design
Comparing MOOC platforms
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Coursera
edX
Udacity
Udemy
Canvas.net
There are many more platforms offered: search “MOOCs.”
Other types of online learning platforms also exist (e.g., Khan
Academy, YouTube).
Distribution of MOOCs
Source: https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-12-26-moocs-in-2014-breaking-down-the-numbers
Coursera
Pros
● Prestigious universities
● Diversity of courses
● Those with disabilities can request
accommodations for courses
● Videos all have Closed Captions
● “Specializations”- master a skill
with a series of courses
● Free courses w/ pay option
● Peer-to-peer grading
● Relatively easy-to-navigate site
Cons
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Peer-to-peer grading
Quality is variable
Hard to find “Help” section
Not all courses offer “verified”
certificates
edX
Pros
● MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, UT, other
universities
● Diversity of courses
● Search categories
● Videos all have Closed Captions
● Free courses w/ pay option
● “How it Works” video
● Offer a DEMO course
● Relatively easy-to-navigate site
● Wiki pages for each course
● Xseries Certificate
Cons
Not as much diversity as Coursera
Quality is variable
Hard to find “Help” section
Not all courses offer “verified”
certificates
● The “How it Works” video isn’t very
prominently displayed
○ See example next slide
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edX: “How It Works”
edX: “Demo Course”
Udacity
Pros
● Courses available anytime
● Grouped by difficulty level
● Great resource for computer
science and coding
● “Nanodegree” program
● Videos all have Closed Captions
● Free access to some course
materials and some courses
● Relatively easy-to-navigate site
Cons
● Reduced collaboration
● Geared toward professional
development
● Cost can be prohibitive
● Lack of diversity of course subjects
● Platform difficult for low-vision
Udemy
Pros
● Not connected to universities;
“expert” instructor
● Can “preview” courses
● Offers a great tour of how to use
● Diversity of courses
● Quality standards checklist
● Search tool offers good sorting
● Can search courses by instructor
● Relatively easy-to-navigate site
● Discussions are easy to access
Cons
● Not connected to universities;
“expert” instructor
● No Closed Captions for videos
● Site design hard for low-vision
● Variable production value
● 30% of courses cost $
○ Range from free to hundreds
● Less collaboration/cohort learning
Canvas.net
Pros
Cons
● Academic partnerships include
smaller universities, state colleges,
community colleges
● Enrollment is simple
● Diversity of courses is decent
● Offers an orientation
● Videos all have Closed Captions
● Some courses offer transcripts
● Platform navigation can be very
confusing.
● Discussion boards only accessible
when course is active.
● Student orientation can be
challenging to find.
● Courses not grouped by subject or
topic, cannot browse all, can search
by keywords.
Learning over the Lifespan with
MOOCs
As the population continues to age and technology expands,
MOOCs and other forms of online learning will offer an
important platform for continued engagement in learning
throughout the lifespan.
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS???
Visit us:
Silverlearning: www.silverlearning.org
OLLI @Berkeley: http://olli.berkeley.edu/
Email us:
Sandra von Doetinchem: [email protected]
Chelsea Crown: [email protected]