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Innov Aging
Innov Aging
innovateage
Innovation in Aging
2399-5300 Oxford University Press US 

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1768
igaa057.1768
Abstracts
Session 5050 (Symposium)
AcademicSubjects/SOC02600
Important Considerations in Developing and Evaluating Intergenerational Service-Learning Programs
Donorfio Laura  
University of Connecticut, Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
2020 
16 12 2020 
16 12 2020 
4 Suppl 1 Program Abstracts from The GSA 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting “Turning 75: Why Age Matters”543 543
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.2020This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Abstract
Very often, intergenerational programs measure their success by collecting feedback primarily from the students participating in the program. Critical stakeholders such as the adults/older adults, administrators, and service-learning personnel can be overlooked, as well as the impact of the various classroom activities and tools used. Each fall semester over a five-year period, an undergraduate adulthood and aging intergenerational service-learning course was offered, measuring and building on the successes and challenges from the previous year. No matter how much thought goes into planning a class, unexpected variables naturally unfold over time. This presentation will highlight a best practices model developed over a five-year period with feedback collected from key constituents. Engaging different generations in a purposeful service-learning experience is complex and intended outcomes are not guaranteed. Understanding the key variables and the needs of all those involved through feedback and measurement, can help ensure a more meaningful educational experience. Part of a symposium sponsored by Intergenerational Learning, Research, and Community Engagement Interest Group.