THE STEALTH GERONTOLOGY^TM PROGRAM: TRAINING TEACHERS TO INFUSE AGING AND AGE-RELATED CONTENT INTO PUBLIC SCHOOL CLASSROOMS

Abstract

Preparing youngsters for an aging society requires teachers who keep pace with health science research. The Stealth Gerontology^TM program educates teachers regarding aging-related issues. The design and assessment of the program are reported in this paper. Teachers attended sessions including direct instruction and hands-on participation (e.g., laboratories). Sound educational methods were modeled through interactions with university researchers and lessons from the Positively Aging^® curriculum, while highlighting aging topics matched to educational standards. Participants showed significant improvement (p ≤ 0.05) in eight of nine topics in multiple-choice pre- and posttests. Evaluations indicate a high degree of success.

Special thanks to Ms. Lydia Martinez, principal at Anson Jones Middle School, Dr. Debbie Sonnen, former principal at Katherine Stinson Middle School, Mr. Willie Frantzen, current principal at Katherine Stinson Middle School, Mr. Charles Burling, former principal at Pat Neff Middle School, and Dr. Sylvia Wade, current principal at Pat Neff Middle School, for encouraging participant involvement and materials usage and providing meeting facilities in their schools. Thanks, too, to the Cavender Buck Corporation for donating its Community Center as a place to host our teacher training sessions.

We are appreciative of the funding sources that supported this work: The Science Education Partnership Award (R25-RR-12369; 1997–2003) provided through the National Institutes of Health including the National Center for Research Resources, National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the National Institute on Aging; The Eisenhower Professional Development Grant program (97045; 1999–2000); The San Antonio Area Foundation (2001–2002); and The Frederic C. Bartter General Clinical Research Center (M01-RR01346).

We are very appreciative of Dr. Arlan Richardson and the Sam and Ann Barshop Center for Longevity and Aging Studies for providing office space and facilitating access to researchers.

We thank the teachers of the seven San Antonio area school districts who participated in our program and the administrative staff who encouraged them: Northside Independent School District (Clark High School, Connally High School, O'Connor High School, Hobby Middle School, Jones Middle School, Jordan Middle School, Neff Middle School, and Stinson Middle School), North East Independent School District (Bush Middle School, Driscoll Middle School, Nimitz Middle School Academy), Judson Independent School District (Kitty Hawk Middle School, Hopkins Elementary), San Antonio Independent School District (Edison High School, Austin Elementary School, Lamar Elementary School, Washington Elementary School), Edgewood Independent School District (Brentwood Middle School, Burleson Elementary School), Somerset Independent School District (Somerset Intermediate School), and Southwest Independent School District (Southwest High School).

Copies of the multiple choice knowledge pre/posttests, the qualitative data collection forms, and teacher evaluation responses are available from the authors upon request.

Notes

^aData not collected during pilot year.

^bTeachers may hold more than one certification; thus, certification numbers will add up to more than the numbers of participants.

^a Loucks-Horsley et al. (1998). Professional Development Strategies.

^bHorizon Research (August, 1999). Maintaining a Culture of Professionalism.

^cSACNAS (2001). Professional Development Rubric.

^dNational Research Council (1996). National Science Education Standards.

^eTexas SBEC (1999). Certificate and Renewal Requirements.

^fTexas Education Agency (1999a). Professional Development Appraisal System.