The Syllabus

There are two books required for this course.  YOU WILL NEED TO PURCHASE THESE TEXTBOOKS THROUGH PERUSALL.  There are choices based on how long you have the book available.  If you utilize financial aid for your textbook purchases, they provide information in the purchase section of our class Perusall page on how to acquire the code for the bookstore.

I know that some of you love actual books and the Perusall purchase requires a digital copy.  However, we will be using the texts for our Perusall Discussion assignments, so this purchase is required to complete the assignments.

WHY TWO TEXTS:  I wanted you to know about these particular books, the reasons I choose them, and the ways they are different.  I also e it helps when you begin a text to know a little about the author.  Humor me.

Cruikshank, M. (2013). Learning to be old: Gender, culture, and aging (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

Margaret Cruikshank is retired from the women’s studies program at the University of Maine, where she was also a faculty associate of the  Center on Aging.   The premise of her book is that aging, particularly in our culture, is socially constructed.  In other words, it is more about culture, beliefs, customs, and traditions than it is about the biology of aging.  And yet, our aging bodies must be part of the conversation.  Think back to my video about the paradox of chronological age regarding the Theories of Aging.

The second reasons I choose this book (among many others), is that Cruikshank challenges the many myths we hold about aging.  She exposes how the things we assume about aging, often social created myths, have created a view of aging as something to avoid – to run away from.  She grounds he discussion in history, theoretical views, and real life stories.  Her stated goal is to move to a gerontology that can change the narrative about aging from one of fear to celebration, and from discrimination to contribution.

Aronson, L. (2019). Elderhood: Redefining aging, transforming medicine, reimagining life. Bloomsbury Publishing.

I added this text to provide a more current view on aging, but also because Aronson approaches the discussion of aging as a gerontologist.  She describes her own personal understanding of her profession as it emerges through her own professional development.  Hence the chapter titles that mirror stages of life, from birth to Aged.  The stages represent her own, and her professions exploration of the field of aging.

The best element of this text are the amazing examples Aronson provides of actual patient experiences. It is partly these examples that contribute to the length of the text, but I would suggest it is also what increases its value.  Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down until I was finished.  

• Where is Dr P?

An online, asynchronous class can feel as if the instructor is invisible.  Just so you know – I am here and involved.  There are several things I will be doing to make sure you get your questions answered and we can connect. 

• The first week of class you will provide an introductory post on our blog.  I will also be writing my own introductory post, although it will be a little different from yours.  Please add your photo as it helps me keep track of you all.  I am happy to schedule an “in-person” Zoom introductory meeting if any of you would like one.  Just send me an email request.

•  I will be participating in your Perusall discussions, usually later in the week they are assigned, after you have talked with each other first.  Then I will offer my perspective.  If you want to make sure I see your comments or if you want to ask specific questions during a Perusall discussion, just use @margaretpalmiter and I will be notified of your comment or question.  When you start typing my name, or any other student’s name, the list will come up to help you out.

•  Third, and finally, I am always available to schedule office hours with you anytime during the semester.  All you must do is email me – USING MY GSU EMAIL (NOT ICOLLEGE).

 Best Source of Information and Announcements

I will be making regular announcements throughout the semester.  Even though the material and assignments are available to you at the beginning of the semester, there will be times that I will make changes in assignments, due dates and readings. 

 When any of us create a class, we believe our process will communicate the material effectively and help you to learn what we are hoping you take away.  However, being human as we are, sometimes things don’t always work out the way we might like.  If I think you aren’t getting the material, are having trouble completing the assignments, or I just plain feel like things aren’t working the way I had hoped, I will make changes.

 You can find those changes in two places.  First, I will always put them right up front in the Announcements section on our class iCollege page.  Second, I will usually send you an email.  But I have learned that many of you don’t necessarily read your emails in a timely manner, so I would set up a notification in iCollege for any new announcements. 

You have assignments each week during the semester.  There are three types of assignments and each of these are outlined below

• Perusall Assignments – Text Discussions: There are reading assignments from the texts each week.  You will be discussing some of those readings with your classmates by using Perusall.  I will be structuring the portions of the texts that we will be discussing, as well as providing questions for you to address during the discussion.  These assignments will be scheduled for a specific week so you can interact with your fellow classmates.

• Perusall Assignments – Podcast Interviews: There are 6 podcasts required for this class. These are interviews I have done with professionals who work in the field of aging.  These Podcast interviews are on Perusall so you can talk about the information with each other, but perhaps more importantly, you can ASK QUESTIONS OF THE PROFESSIONAL.  Each interviewee will be on Perusall during the week this podcast is assigned.  All you need to do is use their user ID (which i @their name) and they will be notified that you asked them a question.  They will do their best to answer ou during that week.

• Blog Posts: These will not be simultaneous, but you will have a date the posts are due.  You are expected to read four of your classmates’ posts and comment on two of them.  That should tell you that you don’t want to wait until the very last minute to compose your post and read others.  There is a full video on the Blog introductory page that walks you through how to use our blogsite.

The schedule of assignments is below.  This is also located in the Course Outline, which can be downloaded HERE. Or you can find this detail in the full syllabus, located HERE.

Please be aware that the PERUSALL DISCUSSIONS ON SPECIFIC READINGS WILL BE SCHEDULED FOR A SPECIFIC TIME!  The only way you can converse with each other on the material is if you are discussing it on a specific schedule.  That schedule is when the material is assigned.  You can always read and review material at your own pace; but you will need to be available on Perusall to discuss it during the assignment period.

•  Module 1 – One week – Introduction to the class – Blog Post `1
• Part 1: Introduce Yourself and
• Part 2: The Meaning of Growing Old Blog Post – August 30th
• Module 2 – Two Weeks – Theories of Aging
  • Week 1: Blog Post 2 on My Late Life Aging – Sept 6th
  • Week 2: Perusall Discussion on Video and Readings (1) – Sept 7 – 13
• Module 3 – Four Weeks – Aging as an Individual Phenomenon – Myths of Aging
  • Week 1: Perusall Discussion of Podcast on Dementia (1) – Sept 14 – 20
  • Week 2: Blog Post 3 – Medical Model of Aging  – Sept  27
  • Week 3: Perusall Discussion of Ginsberg Podcast Video (2)– Sept 28-  Oct 4
  • Week 4: Persuall Discussion of Readings – Health Aging (2)– Oct 5 – 11
• Module 4 – Four weeks – Aging as a socially constructed phenomenon
  • Week 1: Perusall discussion on healthy aging (3) – October 12 – 18
  • Week 2: Perusall discussion of the Matthews Podcast (3)– Oct 19 – 25
  • Week 3: Blog Post 4 on Ageism – Due Saturday November 1
  • Week 4: Perusall discussion on the Christian Podcast (4) – Nov 2 – 8
• Module 5 – Three Weeks – Aging as a policy phenomenon
• Week 1: Perusall discussion of alternative models of aging (4) – Nov 9 – 15
• Week 2: Perusall discussion of Crye Podcast (5)– Nov 9 –
• Week 3: Perusall discussion of panel – death & difficult conversations (6)– Nov 30 – Dec  6

 Here is the scoring for each type of assignment:

How Perusall Works

I use Perusall in my classes for two reasons.  First, it can help you understand the required content faster and with greater comprehension.  When you are reading or watching video content, you can ask your question or make your comment immediately as you read or watch.  If your comment or question is related to what you are reading, you will highlight the section about which you are asking or commenting.  A classmate or I will respond to your comment or question.  You are asking in real time and we are responding in real time – just not necessarily at the same time.

Second, it is forced collaboration between you and your classmates specifically related to content assigned in the class.   Yes, I said forced, because you must complete the Perusall assignment during a specific week of the class.  You will be discussing SPECIFIC content in the materials you are reading.  To achieve this goal, you will be collaboratively annotating the readings with others in your class. The help you’ll get and provide your classmates (even if you don’t know anyone personally) will get you past any questions quickly and make the process more fun.

Types of Perusall Assignments 

Podcast Interviews:  You will have 6 podcast interviews that you will review and discuss in Perusall.  The videos are in our class Perusall page.  You will watch them during the assigned week and comment on them with your classmates.  The great part about this is that the aging practice professional being interviewed is also in the Perusall page for our class.  So, you can ask the person I interviewed your own questions right in Perusall.  They will be present during the week the video is scheduled, and available to answer your questions.  It’s as close to having you be there as we can get.

Reading Assignments:  You also have 4 Perusall reading discussions.  That means you will be talking about a particular reading (or a section of a reading) with each other and with me.  You can start a new annotation thread in Perusall by highlighting text, asking a question, or posting a comment; you can also add a reply or comment to an existing thread. Each thread is like a chat with one or more members of your class. Your goals in annotating each reading assignment are to stimulate discussion by posting good questions or comments and to help others by answering their questions.  I will also be adding instructions to the reading discussions, helping to direct your conversations.

Research shows that by annotating thoughtfully, you’ll learn more and get better grades, so here’s what “annotating thoughtfully” means: Effective annotations deeply engage points in the readings, stimulate discussion, offer informative questions or comments, and help others by addressing their questions or confusions. To help you connect with classmates, you can “mention” a classmate in a comment or question to have them notified by email (they’ll also see a notification immediately if online), and you’ll also be notified when your classmates respond to your questions. You mention them by using @their name.

This document provides a copy of this material as well as  some additional information on the grading of Perusall assignments.