|
U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
|||
|
|
|||
| Volume VII, Number 2 |
March, 2002 |
||
|
U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
|||
|
|
|||
| Volume VII, Number 2 |
March, 2002 |
||
|
Department of Health, Physical & Recreation Education Mary Duquin, associate professor in the Department of Health, Physical and Recreation Education, teaches Critical Pedagogy for Health Educators in the School of Education. Offered in Fall 2000, the course involved a significant service-learning component. Duquin’s students worked closely with the Grandparents as Parents (GAP) group at the Vintage Senior Center here in Pittsburgh. Throughout the semester, the students served as health educators and consultants to elder Pittsburghers and their families. Each of the eight graduate students in the class paired up with a senior citizen at the center. The students worked with their new partners at GAP to determine the senior citizens’ most pressing health concerns, and to help them address those concerns. In addition, the students helped build connections between senior citizens at the Vintage Senior Center and other health and service providers in the area. In classroom meetings, the students presented progress reports each week, sharing valuable information with their classmates on the everyday health concerns of seniors. In her evaluation of the course, a student wrote, “I gained insight from the other students that I may not have realized on my own.” While the going was not always easy, especially at the beginning, students found ways to forge bonds with their senior partners. A student, Jen Cribbens, said, “I found that being able to work together on issues opened up the project for better learning.” Service and learning will continue at the Vintage Senior Center. Out of the pilot experience came the development of the new GAP and GRAD (Grandparents as Graduates) Partnership for Health program. Duquin also plans to teach the course again in Fall 2002 when the new Health Educator Master’s Degree is finalized. | |||||||||||||
|
A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
||||||||||||||
|
Center for Instructional
Development & Distance Education |
||||||||||||||
