An Intergenerational Program with Benefits

Abstract

Illustrates how the director and teachers of a child care program and the staff of a residential nursing home facility collaborated to develop, implement, and evaluate an onsite intergenerational program. Describes program goals; recruitment plan; elder, staff, and teacher orientation; options for intergenerational activities; and program benefits. Article provides resources and suggestions for groups planning intergenerational programs. Preschool children (n = 38) who participated in the study were interviewed and asked a key question, ''What do old people do?'' Prior to participation in the program, 50% of the children responded with negative descriptors; after participating in the program for 1 year, all of the children responded with positive descriptors. Children's responses provide evidence that intergenerational programs can promote positive attitudes toward elders.

ICT and collaborative co-learning in preschool children who face memory difficulties

“…The finding of the study claimed that the children in both experimental conditions improved more in counting skills and quantity in comparison to children in the no-intervention control group. Despite the fact that former studies with older children (Holmes, 2009) had shown generalization effects on problem solving or in math, this study is the first one that has found generalization effects of working memory training on early numeracy in young children. In conclusion, the researchers claim that the advantage of this type of intervention is that it can easily be implemented in the regular kindergarten class, because it can be given in groups and does not require additional materials while the cooperation among the children is enhanced satisfactorily (Hornung et al, 2014).…”

Working Memory and ADHD in Preschool Education. The Role of ICT’S as a Diagnostic and Intervention Tool: An Overview

“…In the light of the above research, Holmes et al [45] compared the effects of cognitive training to stimulant medication on working memory impairments in children with ADHD. With Baddeley's [46] model of working memory as the underpinning for the assessments used in this study, they found that cognitive training improved verbal, visuo-spatial, and executive aspects of working memory alike.…”

Older Care Home Residents' Views of Intergenerational Practice

“…Within the US, shared site intergenerational programmes have been running since at least the late 1970s, with for example, child care centres being co-located within nursing homes (Goyer & Zuses, 1998;Holmes 2009;Kaplan and Larkin 2004). Brownell (2008) described how high school students and care home residents living with dementia, participated in an organised arts programme.…”