College Seniors to Senior Citizens: Harnessing the e-Connection

This article is a report of the impact of an innovative assignment within an upper-division gerontology course in a public university. Although designed to enhance the understanding of important aging concepts for students in a Family Studies program, analysis of student writings revealed an increased understanding of the actual subject matter—older adults. As an addition to typical classroom instruction methods, students were paired with senior citizens from an adult education computer course to exchange a series of e-mail communications over the duration of the gerontology course. The e-mail discussion prompts stemmed from important concepts explored in class units. To determine the impact of this assignment, students were asked to submit a reflection paper on their experience. Student participants indicated that the experience enhanced their understanding of the course concepts and provided a positive interaction opportunity with older partners.