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Final Reflection Paper Prompt

This paper is a reflection on your learning throughout the course, as you incorporate your

reflection on the service-learning project (and, specifically, the age group with which we

worked) with class material. How did the service-project, textbook, and class materials

contribute to your knowledge of adulthood and aging? Be sure to support your positions with

examples from the service projects, the textbook, and class notes.

Example Reflection Paper #1

PY 207 Adult Development

Dr. Wilsey

Service Learning Reflection

Service Learning and Class Reflection

In this Adult Development course, I feel that my knowledge of the stages of adulthood

greatly increased. We studied the cognitive, social, and socio-emotional changes that occur

during the aging process, and this learning was enhanced both through in-depth class discussions

and the two parties we organized for our service learning. The service learning aspect of the

Adult Development class was very beneficial to the overall course. Through interaction with

older adults in the two parties we organized, both for the Woman of West Oakland (WOWOs)

and the Sisters of Mercy, we got to see some of the things we were learning about. I particularly

connected with the physical and social development of adults through the parties organized as

the service learning part of the course.

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Perhaps the most important concept of this class is the concept of multidirectionality,

which states that “development involves both growth and decline; as people grow in one area,

they may lose in another and at different rates” (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 4). This shows that decline

in function is a natural part of the aging process; however, a less realized part of aging involves

growth in other areas. Perhaps the most extreme example of this appeared in our classroom

discussion of Alzheimer’s patients; as short-term memory declines, their long-term memory

almost appears to sharpen as memories from long ago become prevalent in their minds.

Unfortunately, in this example, the decline will eventually worsen to the point that it outweighs

the growth aspect.

Aging is a very difficult concept; it seems nearly impossible to explain why people must

grow old and die, and the search for answers has led to several theories regarding why we age.

One of these is called the Rate-of-Living Theory, also known as the Wear-and-Tear theory. This

theory states that “organisms have only so much energy to expend in a lifetime… Additionally…

there are some data showing that the number of calories animals and people eat is related to

longevity” (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 67). By this theory, it is better to lead a lazy life than an active

one because over-activity leads to premature death. However, “a detailed review of data from

many species does not support the view that metabolism is related to length of life,” so I am not

inclined to believe this theory (Cavanugh, 2010, p 67). Also, as we discussed in class, physical

activity helps strengthen the heart, improve circulation, increase respiration, and does a number

of other good things for the body, so it seems counterintuitive to believe that being more active

would lead to a shorter life.

I am more inclined to believe in either a Cellular Theory or the Programmed Cell Death

Theory. The Cellular Theories cover a variety of issues, from the Hayflick limit, which states
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that there is a limited number of times a cell can divide “which presumable limits the life span of

a complex organism”, to the stiffening of tissues from cross-linking, in which “certain proteins in

human cells interact randomly and produce molecules that are linked in such a way as to make

the body stiffer”. The Programmed Cell Death Theory states that aging is somehow

programmed into our genetic code, although this brings up a variety of questions that we

discussed in class. If aging is pre-programmed, why are there diseases that appear to speed up

the aging process, and why do some people show the effects of aging more slowly than others?

Because of these questions, I am more inclined to believe in the cellular theories, although they

still have many questions around them.

As we age, we go through many physical changes that were evident in the older ladies we

interacted with at the parties. Perhaps the most evident physical change was the difficulty many

of the women had with mobility. Several women at both parties used walkers to help them move

around. This coincides with what we learned about because we lose strength in our muscles as

we age; “by age 80 the loss in strength is up to 40%, and it appears to be more severe in the legs

than in the arms and hands” (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 72). Due to their mobility difficulties, we had

to help them get in and out of their chairs, and we would get food and drinks for those with a lot

of trouble to minimize how often they had to stand up and sit down. These strength issues also

lead to balance problems that can cause falls, making it somewhat dangerous to live alone.

For this reason, many older adults choose to change living arrangements so they are not

alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau article we read, 1.91 million older people (age 65

and older) lived in a household with a grandchild. Also, 14.3% of those age 85 and older lived in

a setting such as a nursing home.

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Many people also find themselves in a nursing home setting due to their inability to

perform everyday tasks. Everyday competence is a “person’s potential ability to perform a wide

range of activities considered essential for independent living,” and when it becomes too difficult

for one to perform these tasks, other living arrangements need to be considered (Cavanaugh,

2010, p. 168). Some people have only minor problems, like misplacing items or being unable to

climb stairs, and do not need the intense care of a nursing home. However, others have trouble

feeding, dressing, and/or bathing themselves and need more personalized care.

It was also interesting to learn about mental development as we age, and, considering this

is a psychology course, this was covered extensively. One of the things I found most interesting

was our discussion of attentional resources and how it becomes more difficult to divide our

attention as we age. Some researchers believe that this is due to a decrease in our processing

resources, “the amount of attention one has to apply to a particular situation” (Cavanuagh, 2010,

p. 189). It is much more difficult for older adults to multitask than it is for younger adults,

especially if the tasks are difficult or if they are unfamiliar with them.

This was evident during the parties and even in planning. During the planning of the

WOWO party, we were told to specifically allot time for the women to eat. If we were not

careful, they would get to talking and would talk instead of eat. As young adults, my classmates

and I were able to both eat and talk, but the women we interacted with were not. We also had to

make sure that they were finished eating before starting BINGO with them because they would

not be able to focus on both tasks; they took BINGO too seriously to focus any of their attention

elsewhere!

I particularly enjoyed the second party with the Sisters of Mercy, mostly because I felt

more comfortable interacting and really got to know some of the Sisters. My friend Marcia and I
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sat at a table with several Sisters, two of which were some of the oldest ones in the room and

were less mobile than the others. While Marcia got one of the Sisters some food, the Sister

asked me a lot of questions about my life. She asked me about my relationship status, and when

I told her I was single, her eyes grew wide, and she exclaimed, “Well, what is wrong with

them?” which made me laugh. She also told Marcia and me that many of the Sisters in the room

were over ninety years old, which was remarkable. Many of them were very mobile and so

active that I would not have placed them much older than 70. The Sisters were particularly

interested in our majors in school, jobs, families, and why we chose to attend Carlow. The

Sisters were fun to talk to and quick with jokes. When Marcia said that she was studying

chemistry and I was studying psychology, one of the Sisters quipped that I could help Marcia

when all that science drives her batty in a few years. I told them that I thought Marcia was

already too far gone, and they seemed to find that funny.

The Sisters told us a lot about their leisure activities, particularly their craft room. They

said that everyone has a particular craft they like to do, and it seems like they overall have a wide

variety. Some of them like to knit, others like to make no-sew fleece blankets, and they are

currently making decorations for the various Christmas trees set up in the convent. The

preferences the Sisters show for certain crafts ties in to what we learned about leisure activities.

Many people develop preferred leisure activities and, especially as they become more competent

at certain activities, tend to stick to the same thing once they are comfortable with it.

I also learned quite a bit from the preparation we did for each party. Our class was full of

personality, and this sometimes led to disagreements. I am still not sure why some people

insisted we had to sing songs at both parties when the rest of the class expressed a desire not to

do so not just because we did not want to but also because we did not think the party-goers
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would enjoy it; I think that sometimes, personality got in the way. However, people had a lot of

good ideas in the classroom, and our in-class and online discussions about party planning were

very helpful.

The class had a lot of great ideas, but I think it was very difficult to actually follow

through with many of our plans. Since class only met once a week, we either had to hurry

through our party discussion or hurry through the lesson to get everything to fit in one class.

Also, since this was the first time a class had ever done something like this, it was awkward for

us to know where to start with party planning. The first party was too late in the semester, so we

had to rush to plan the second one. However, we were able to pull everything together for the

second party because we already had much of the groundwork laid, such as where the party

would be held and who to contact. Had we had this information for the first party as well, I feel

that we could have focused our attention on how to work together more as a class. It felt like we

broke into smaller groups to get things done. While that worked very well, it would have been

nice if we could have collaborated on certain tasks like making decorations or party favors.

Overall, I think the parties were a success. The Women of West Oakland had never

interacted with Carlow students like this before despite meeting in the convent often to play

BINGO, so I am thrilled that they finally got to meet some of us. They were wonderful, open,

energetic women. The Sisters of Mercy were also a joy to be around, and everyone was so

grateful for everything we did to organize the parties. It was somewhat ironic, because I was so

thankful to have the opportunity to spend time with them. I am not around older adults often,

especially not in such large groups, so I really enjoyed the service learning. I think it was a great

way to see our text in practice and to reflect on our classroom experiences. The organization and
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follow-through of these two parties were extremely enjoyable and beneficial to me and will not

soon be forgotten.

Example Reflection Paper #2

Adult Development: Service Learning Reflection

Dr. Stephanie Wilsey
December 7, 2011

Late Adulthood: Service Learning and Life Review Project

During this Adult Development class, I learned a lot about the mental, cognitive,

physical, and socio-emotional aspects of aging from our class discussions and textbook material.

It was interesting to see the age and background diversity among our class participants, not

excluding our encounters with the Women of West Oakland and the Sisters of Mercy. It was a

very valuable learning experience for me to be able to apply the concepts learned in the

classroom and online to the physical people we encountered. From all of the chapters in the

textbook, I learned many terms for concepts that I knew, but did not understand the real

definition and impact that they had on aging. I want to reflect on the different chapters that we

encountered and talk about them and their meaning in regards to aging, as well as the

relationships that they had with the elderly women that we encountered during our tea parties.

In chapter one, Cavanaugh discusses the definition of the lifespan perspective, which

“divides human development into two phases: [the] early phase (childhood and adolescence) and

[the] later phase (young adulthood, middle age, and old age)” (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 4). The later

phase was the basis for this class; it demonstrated that we were learning about the second part of

life. Another definition that was seen repeatedly throughout the course was multidirectionality.
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Its definition is “development involves both growth and decline; as people grow in one area, they

may lose in another and at different rates” (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 4). The reason this definition

was important to the class content is because it showed that the declines that occur in life also

come with some gains as well. If the older person would be losing their ability to remember

what they ate for breakfast, their ability to remember the past might have increased greatly.

There were numerous areas where this idea of multidirectionality came into play within our

course, whether we were talking about young adulthood, middle age, or old age. Every age range

has their gains and losses in their aging processes.

Some forces of development that we discussed in class and were seen in our tea party

observations were biological, psychological, and life-cycle forces. Their definitions are:

biological forces, “all genetic and health-related factors that affect development” and

psychological forces, “all internal perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and personality factors that

affect development” (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 13).

Both of these forces were demonstrated in classroom discussion, in our textbook

readings, and in our interactions with the ladies involved with the tea parties. We discussed

biological forces quite a bit in the beginning of the semester and saw the concept throughout the

class. It was possibly the number one topic that was discussed because it is such a major factor of

the aging process. We talked about the genetic and health-related factors of life in detail, from

how people act or interact in certain social situations and why people age differently.

Psychological forces were also discussed extensively throughout the course. It was

interesting to see the comparisons and connections of the psychological forces and the physical

aspects of aging. I was intrigued to find out the ways that the brain ages and how it affects the

physical aspects of human development. Psychological forces are the reasons why certain people
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are put into different forms of care homes when they are much older. If they cannot remember to

dress themselves or if they cannot remember to feed themselves, they may need to be placed in

assisted living or a nursing home (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 162). Some of the options elderly people

could think about, as far as living conditions are concerned, are home modification, where the

house is rearranged for the needs of the individual, adult day care, where there is support,

companionship, and certain services during the day” (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 160), congregate

housing, like condominiums for older couples or individuals who do not want to be in a nursing

home, who want their independence, but would still like to interact with people of their own age,

assisted living facilities where those who need help with everyday personal tasks such as

brushing their teeth, bathing, dressing or taking medications (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 162). I always

have found it interesting that older individuals who are still physically and mentally able to live

by themselves still like to be out doing things in the community and those who are not able to

live by themselves are generally pleasant to be in the living arrangement that their families have

decided for them, as they sometimes forget where they are. I am not saying that there are not

exceptions to this observation, but it is still interesting to me that this phenomenon happens.

Maybe it is because I do not know how I would feel about living in a nursing home or assisted

living environment because I am so independent.

A big factor that I found to be interesting is that the course was split up into young,

middle, and older adult modules. I did not care for the young module because I am living/

already lived through that. The middle aged module did not excite me too much because I

experience that module through living at home with my parents, interacting with my teachers,

and coworkers. The module that interested me the most was the older adult module. I only have

one grandparent still alive, I do not get to see him as much as I would like and I do not have
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much experience with older adults past my parents’ age. I was interested to see the reasoning

behind why they have aged and how I will age. I wanted to see the scientific evidence behind the

hypotheses that are made regarding aging.

In Chapter 3 of the Cavanaugh textbook, there is a whole chapter dedicated to the

physical aspects of aging. This was my favorite chapter because it gave me the answers to the

questions that were discussed in class. In the PowerPoint handout for Chapter 3, it says on the

sixth slide some reasons that explain the wear-and–tear and rate-of-living theories. The reasons

were: “Moderate to vigorous exercise throughout life also predicts longevity...Taking it too easy,

associated with cognitive and physical decline…Body can repair itself under normal

circumstances” (Wilsey, n.d.). The reasoning about moderate to vigorous exercise makes a great

deal of sense. If one is active and works on their physical and cardiovascular health, they will

live longer than people who are couch potatoes. As said in the second point about taking it too

easy physically will lead to mental and physical decline in old age, this is extremely true because

there are some people who have never gone outside and done something physical and later end

up with mental diseases later in their lives. My favorite point is regarding that the body will

repair itself is fascinating since I am an Anatomy buff. The body will fix itself when the

individual takes care of their injuries and does not do things to re-injure the area. The human

body is absolutely fascinating to me so this chapter was the one that made the most sense to me

and fascinated me the most.

Also in Chapter 3, it talked about the changes in skin, hair and eyes that come along with

getting older. Why do we get wrinkles? This phenomenon is caused by sun exposure throughout

a lifetime without a proper SPF protection, along with other genetic and environmental aspects

(Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 70-71). It also discussed the reasons behind grey hairs, facial hair on
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women, and the gender differences that come along with aging. Women are likely to gain facial

hair due to increased levels of the hormone, testosterone (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 71). The most

interesting aspect of the physical changes that occur to older individuals is the loss of eye sight.

I am twenty years old and have to wear glasses for reading when I am up late and my eyes are

strained due to reading too much. I dread putting on my glasses to read, let alone having to wear

them everyday to get out of bed and read the newspaper. I understand the concepts of how the

eye works and how its functions decline with age, but this chapter presented these concepts in a

unique manner. It discussed the reasons why the eye cannot let in as much light as it used to in

order to see things clearly (Cavanaugh, 2010, p.78) and how the retina goes through physical

changes involving the cone and rod receptors in the eye which also cause vision problems

(Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 79). The concepts regarding presbyopia (causing difficulty seeing objects

up close), glaucoma (when there is fluid and pressure build up in the eye), and cataracts (deposits

in the eye that cause opaque spots in eye sight) (Cavanaugh, 2010, p. 79) are also interesting

because these are physical changes that happen to many people as they get older. These three

diseases of the eye are major causes of eyesight among older individuals.

The biggest connection that I saw with the text and the tea parties involving the Ladies of

West Oakland and the Sisters of Mercy was the four types of leisure activities. The cultural,

physical, social, and solitary aspects of the leisure activities were seen at our parties (Cavanaugh,

2010, p. 477). As for the cultural part, tea parties are a part of Carlow University’s culture

because Catherine McCauley was known for “A Comfortable Cup of Tea”. The physical aspect

was seen when all of the older Sisters and WoWo’s came with their walkers and those who were

walking real slowly to their tables. It was their physical activity for the day to come down to the

Activity Room in the Convent. They all socialized with each other at their tables and with the
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students in the class hosting the party. They seemed to have had a wonderful time playing bingo,

eating their food, and getting to know the students. The students seemed to have a good time

getting to know the Sisters, as well. The solitary aspect was seen when there were a few Sisters

or WoWo’s who came in and sat by themselves at secluded tables. There was always the

question of were they waiting for someone or did they just want to be by themselves. This was a

very interesting phenomenon to watch unfold at the tea parties, especially since it occurred at

both parties.

Alex and I got to know a few of the Sisters at the second party fairly well. They asked us

about our families, relationship statuses, majors in school, about our jobs, and anything else they

could think of. It was really nice to talk to them and to come to the realization that a good

majority of them were over the age of ninety years old. I was astonished to hear this because

some of them did not look or act ninety; they only seemed to be sixty or seventy. There was one

little Sister in particular that took a liking to both A-- and myself. I believe her name was Jane

and she said that she was ninety-one years old. She used to be the President of Carlow

University for over sixteen years. She was so interested about why my major was Chemistry and

what I wanted to do with my degree when I graduated. Another Sister, who was in front of me in

line to get food, was mad at me because I switched my major from nursing last year. Both of her

nieces are nurses and she is friends with the Dean of the Nursing School really well and told me

go speak to her. I thought this was really funny because that is all she talked about for the entire

party when I would pass her table or sit and talk with her. I definitely would not mind going back

to throw another party for the Sisters because they were the cutest little old ladies and were so

welcoming, sweet, and grateful that we were there to celebrate the holidays.
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In reflection of the party preparation, I think it was a little rough, but both parties came

together in the end leading the parties to success. There was a lot of class discussion, but when it

came to trying to put the details together, it proved to be difficult. It would have been nice to

have a budget for each party. Also, I think there could have been a little bit more class

preparation to get things together physically, not just talking about what might happen. Maybe

we could have helped decorate the cookies or made the centerpieces in the classroom, that way

everyone could have been involved instead of just one or two people. I understand that a lot of

the suggestions that were made were not probable because of the class meeting once or twice a

week and not on consecutive days. There were so many ideas that were given for the parties that

would have made the parties spectacular, but it was difficult to implement them due to the time

frames and class schedule. The major suggestion that I have would be to not make the first party

so late in the semester. There should have been one a little bit earlier in the semester and the

second one should have been at the beginning of the Christmas season.

Overall, I think the parties were a great success as we got to know the Sisters of Mercy

and the Ladies of West Oakland. It was nice to see the textbook’s context actually implemented

and experienced within the parties. Since I am not around older people often, it was a great

opportunity to see how they interact with younger people and people their own age. The class

material was very interesting to read and the projects were an opportunity to reflect on the text

and the experiences that we had in the classroom, and during our parties. I will not soon forget

the experiences that came along with the diversity of students in the classroom and the

interactions with the text at our tea parties.

References
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Cavanaugh, J.C. (2010). Adult Development and Aging: Sixth Edition. Retrieved from

http://myhome.cengagebrain.com/cb/dashboard.htm

Wilsey, S. (n.d.). Cavanaugh chapter three: Physical changes [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved

from http://blackboard.carlow.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_

2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%2

6id%3D_9281_1%26url%3D