Presidential Symposium: Embracing Our Diversity in Gerontology Education: Perspectives on Strategies and Learners

Friday, November 4, 2022

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET

Location: Sagamore 6-7 CC

CE: 1.5

Chair(s)

JM

Joann Montepare, PhD, FGSA, FAGHE

Professor of Psychology, Director Fuss Research Center
Psychology
Lasell University
Newton, Massachusetts, United States

Slides

Co-Chair(s)

DB

Dana Bradley, PhD, FAGHE, FGSA

Dean
Erickson School of Aging Studies
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Discussant(s)

Tamara Baker, PhD, FGSA

Professor
Psychiatry
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Cary, North Carolina, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

Rona Karasik, PhD, FAGHE, FGSA

Professor & Director, Gerontology
Gerontology
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States
Brian Carpenter, PhD, FGSA

Professor
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis
Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
Aaron Guest, PhD, MPH, MSW

Assistant Professor of Aging
Center for Innovation in Healthy and Resilient Aging
Arizona State University
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Karen Lincoln, MSW, MA, PhD, FGSA

Associate Professor
Social Work
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, United States
DB

Dana Bradley, PhD, FAGHE, FGSA

Dean
Erickson School of Aging Studies
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Our populations are not only becoming older, but also becoming more diverse on several fronts. Our new social structures call for new strategies for embracing our diversity in how we design and deliver education about aging in and beyond the classroom. In this AGHE Presidential Symposium, educators will discuss innovative and needed ways we can integrate diversity in gerontological pedagogical practices. To begin, Rona Karasik (St. Cloud State University) will discuss the call for integrating anti-racist strategies in classroom practices, and offer examples of several such strategies. Next, Brian Carpenter (Washington University in St. Louis) will discuss shrinking geropsychology pipelines, especially for students from racial and ethnic groups, and will share recommendations for expanding these pipelines. Aaron Guest (Arizona State University) will then discuss the need to extend diversity and education efforts to include LGBTQ individuals and issues. Karen Lincoln (University of Southern California) will discuss the need to move educational efforts beyond our classrooms to diverse learners in our communities. To this end, she will describe a dynamic academic−community partnership that provides aging-focused education to African-American older adults. Dana Burr-Bradley (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) will give the final presentation with a discussion about the need for an international lens that appreciates the global diversity of the aging experience. Tamara Baker (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) will serve as the discussant and offer her perspective on how the need to embrace our diversity in gerontology education cuts across all GSA units and connects them with AGHE’s educational mission.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this session, participants will be able to describe the various ways diversity needs to be integrated into our educational practices in gerontology.
After attending this session, participants will be able to describe specific strategies for bringing diversity into our educational practices.
After attending this session, participants will be able to describe how diversity needs to be consider not only from the perspective of content but also from the perspective of the diversity of learners.

Presentations:

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET

Strategies for Integrating Antiracist Pedagogy into Gerontological Education
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Rona J. Karasik, PhD, FAGHE, FGSA – St. Cloud State University
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET

Diversifying the Pathway: A Multifaceted Approach Within Geropsychology
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Brian D. Carpenter, PhD, FGSA – Washington University in St. Louis
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET

Ensuring Competence: Addressing the Need for LGBTQ+ Aging Education
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Aaron Guest, PhD, MPH, MSW – Arizona State University
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET

If They Build It, They Will Come: Engaging Older African Americans in Education and Research
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Karen D. Lincoln, MSW, MA, PhD, FGSA – University of Southern California
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM ET

Exploring DEI in a Global Perspective: AGHE Insights into Our Work Supporting Gerontology and Geriatric Educators
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Dana B. Bradley, PhD, FAGHE, FGSA – University of Maryland, Baltimore County