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1. Overview You will need to understand more about this period in the lifespan (broad age category would be 65 and up). Areas such as biological changes (vision, skin, hair, strength, weight gain, health, lifestyle factors); cognitive changes (memory, expertise, job/career, practical problem solving, learning new languages, learning technology, wisdom); and socioemotional changes (relationship, married or single, divorced, if parent--where at in family stage, importance of friendships) are broad areas to focus on. These topics are the focus and core of this course.

Think about life for older adults and issues likely to surround this person. Example: if person in middle age: how to deal with becoming “middle age” and idea of “getting older”, does this mean a mid life crisis; late adulthood and retirement; mortality issues--someone own age dying and the impact on own sense of mortality.

Now consider what you want to learn about from this interview and begin to plan the questions .

Included is a list of sample questions for you to use. Feel free to make up questions of interest to you---be sure to gain information about key areas that relate to the aging process.

How to write report of the interview and what to include in report (Also see the Rubric):

The report of the interview should be

1. Typed and double-spaced.
2. Include the questions in your report in one of two ways: narrative form or question/answer format. My preference is to use narrative form, as it is usually easier to read.
3. Discuss your personal reaction to what you learned from the interview at the end of your report. Below are questions to ask yourself:

A. Report should begin with: Who did you interview, why did you choose this person, where did you meet for interview. Include a summary of the person. Name, age, relation to you, occupation (if basic info is left out you will lose 5 points).

B. Next, discuss issues that relate to the following areas. Begin with these specific questions that do require your answer:

How did you begin the interview?

What did you learn in general about interviewing an older person?

What did you learn about aging?

What were your expectations? Were they realized?

Did the interviewee conform to stereotypes about aging?

Do you think you'll be like the person you interviewed when you get older?

C. What was the highlight of the interview? You do not have to address each of the following areas, but make sure you are describing the process in detail.

How did you feel during the interview? Was this a comfortable setting for you? What did you do to insure the interviewee was comfortable in answering questions? What could you have done differently?

Were there any tense moments from topics you discussed? Describe the incident and how you resolved it.

What did you learn?

What was the most surprising piece of information you learned about your interviewee?

What did you learn in general about interviewing another adult?