GERO101: Introduction to Gerontology
Fieldwork Assignment
Directions: For this assignment, you will be asked to interview two people; one person who is the age of your parents and another person that is the age of your grandparents. If you do not have parents/grandparents who are still living, please choose someone who is around the age that your parents/grandparents would be if they were still living. During your interview, you will ask questions based on the “Life Course Perspective.” The four stages of the life course are childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
You will ask questions regarding life events – childhood; life events – adulthood; identity; the present; aging; and life lessons and legacies. You will then compare these two interviews to your own experiences, using the Life Course Perspective. The life course perspective or life cycle is a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the mental, physical and social health of individuals, which incorporates both life span and life stages.
Questions: How were your interviews similar and how were they different? How do they compare and contrast to your own life events? As a person ages, they age, biologically, chronically, socially and psychologically. Based on these areas of aging, how old do you interviewees think they are in each area? How old do they think they are biologically (how old do they feel?) How old are they chronologically (how many birthdays have they had?) How old are they socially (Do they have a social circle that keeps them young?) How old are they psychologically (Has stress or life events aged them?)
Criteria: Your paper should be 3-5 pages, double-spaced, New Times Roman or Arial and 12pt font. Your paper should start with a brief description of your fieldwork experience including who you interviewed. Your paper should include the questions that you asked as an attachment and should not be included in the count (3-5) typed pages. In your report, apply at least one concept, issue, theory, etc. we learned in class when elaborating your reflective thoughts. This concept(s) should be heavily elaborated on in order to receive full points (see rubric).