20 Mar Growing Older

STEP 1: Research.

Browse online for stories and interviews with the elderly. For example, visit websites like the following: 

• The Listening Ear Project (https://www.thelisteningearproject.com/past-interviews)
• Memory Well (https://www.memorywell.com/family.html), and the
• Legacy Project (https://www.legacyproject.org/index.html)

Look for suggestions of questions to ask and tips for interviewing, such as this document: 

https://legacyproject.org/guides/lifeintquestions.pdf 

(Links to an external site.) (Link will open in new tab.).

Step 2: Conduct Your Interview. 

Conduct an interview. You may be as creative as you would like for this interview, but you must have permission from your interviewee. Remember to follow ethical guidelines and to be respectful during the interview. You may conduct a video interview, a recorded audio interview, or take detailed notes with questions and answers.

Be sure to let the individual know of your project and intentions from the beginning, and set aside a minimum of 30 minutes to conduct the interview. Be a good listener, and also a good facilitator. Be prepared with the questions you ask and be genuinely interested in their responses.

Step 3. Write and Reflect. 

You must submit the following 1-2-page reflection essay  paper with your interview information addressed above: 

• The full name of the person you interviewed, with their age, and the date of the interview
• A description of your relationship to that person
• At least 15 of the questions you asked them, with summarized answers. At least three of the questions must clearly tie back to concepts you learned about in this module (ask about ageism, attitudes towards aging, etc.)

OR

• You can create a recorded video (with permission) or podcast with highlights from the video (no more than 6 minutes long). If you choose the video or podcast option, you dont need to submit the list of questions and answers, as the gist of those will be apparent in the video or podcast.

Both of the options above should include the following:

• A description of the stage of life the interviewee is in (young-old, middle-old, or old-old)
• An understanding of how the interviewee perceives the aging process, including attitudes and perceptions about growing old
• What did you find most interesting or informative about the interview?
• What are your personal thoughts on growing old, in the light of this interview and the content you learned about in this module?