Older volunteers are helping urban students in developing the confidence and skills to succeed. Older adults, with their life experience and strong commitment to social service, can make a special contribution in underfunded and understaffed urban schools.

This paper discusses the implementation of an intergenerational service-learning (IS-L) project with a mentorship component for graduate students at Western Michigan University's Gerontology Program. Two classes of students, one graduate and one undergraduate, taking introductory gerontology courses were brought together to complete IS-L projects…

Describes the Generations Together program, an intergenerational service-learning experience for undergraduate students and how the three generations - the young child, the college student, and the older adult - impact on each other. Presents the benefits to the participants, insights regarding children and their families, and students'…

The purpose of this article is to highlight ways in which programs within institutions of higher education and Foster Grandparent Programs can interact to their mutual benefit. Given federal and state initiatives to develop linkages between institutions of higher education and community service sites, mutual benefits exist at the program level for…

Two important components of skill learning are the learning process itself (motor acquisition) and the ability to transfer what has been learned to new task variants (motor transfer). Many studies have documented age-related declines in the ability to learn new manual motor skills. In this study, I tested whether the degree of savings at transfer…

This directory provides brief descriptions, addresses, and contact people for 6 learning partners, reading sites, 143 other literacy services, and 13 federal agencies that serve children and their families through READ*WRITE*NOW! (a year-round intergenerational program) and other literacy efforts. The directory provides the names of national…

Intergenerational programs designed to increase cooperation, interaction, and exchange of ideas between Owen-Withee Elementary School students and older residents of the Clark County Health Care Center (Wisconsin) are described in this collection of information and activity sheets. Activities such as a grandparents' day and a pen pal program are…

To provide assistance to teachers attempting to implement a thematic, discovery-oriented preschool curriculum under funding conditions preventing a desirable teacher-pupil ratio, a practicum was designed to recruit and train retired senior citizens and involve them as volunteer aides in the preschool program of a church school located in the…

Focusing on the role of information in the planning and managing of intergenerational programs, this paper argues that two types of information--formal/objective and personal/subjective--must be addressed in relation to the problems of aging members of our society. These two types of information are characterized via illustrative stories: the…

This booklet contains information on how to set up a Pen Friends project, a nationwide, intergenerational writing project that pairs a class of junior of senior high school students with a group of older adults in the same community. The booklet notes that participants establish a relationship through letter writing based on visits to a local…

Fourteen students in a therapeutic massage course practiced with elderly clients. Interviews and student journals showed a very positive shift in attitudes toward aging and working with older clients. The kinesthetic experience and the intensity of the interaction influenced the attitude change. (SK)

Three components of an intergenerational program were older volunteers reading to and working with children in school, children exchanging letters and pictures with frail and home-bound elderly, and children's visits to nursing homes and senior centers. A survey of 100 students showed that 89% were very positive about the opportunity to learn…

Accelerating changes in information technology both obstruct the forging of intergenerational communities and offer opportunities to professionals in aging interested in fostering them. Public policy should empower older adults in the same way that schools are being wired. Age and generation cannot be separated from socioeconomic status in…

Analysis of Linking Intergenerational Networks in Communities (LINC), a 5-year collaboration among a university, private agency, and state offices of aging and education, resulted in the following lessons for collaboration: (1) establish individual and collaborative roles and responsibilities; (2) develop effective communication strategy; (3) use…

In an intergenerational service-learning project, occupational therapy interns provided wellness interventions for older adults residing in a community house. Occupational performance measures improved for six of eight clients. Students increased knowledge of wellness planning and programming. The program was consistent with the house's mission of…