Emphasizing life-long learning as a key ingredient to wellness volunteer opportunities for seniors
Research in Publications
The nature of "doing STEAM" and its connection with wellness are supported by research
- The National Institute on Aging suggests that taking care of physical, mental, and cognitive health is essential for healthy aging. While there's no direct research on how STEAM experiences affect seniors, engaging in the arts has been shown to improve their well-being. This highlights the importance of nurturing creativity for seniors' well-being. Additionally, a study in Frontiers in Medicine emphasizes the practical application of addressing personal challenges like low self-esteem, unsatisfying relationships, a lack of support, or decision-making difficulties to enhance the well-being of elderly individuals, indicating various ways for seniors to thrive as they age. The article titled “Cognitive Load and Emotional Connections: How to Learn Best” discusses the relationship between cognitive load and emotional connections in learning. These insights can help us build programs that are optimized for learning. By breaking down complex information into smaller chunks and using visual aids, seniors can better understand and retain new information.
- “Cognitive stimulation was associated with improved scores on tests of depression in people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s dementia.” Source: 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures – report from Alzheimer’s Association (page 11). LEGOs is directly associate with this.
- A publication called “Generations Working Together”, from the Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practices provides a guide to intergenerational learning and provides some powerful insight. They emphasize that actively participating in the community empowers individuals to boost their self-assurance, nurtures creative thinking, improves knowledge acquisition through group collaboration, and enhances their communication abilities with others. This, in turn, enables them to embrace vibrant and wholesome lifestyles, embracing lifelong learning regardless of age. Intergenerational programs enrich the lives of senior citizens and benefit younger generations by exposing them to the wisdom and experiences of older adults. This fosters a sense of community and mutual respect, strengthening social bonds within the broader community.
- Intergenerational programs are powerful for improving the health and wellbeing of all involved. Intergenerational programs (IGPs) have gained momentum globally over the past four decades as a means to promote cooperation and interaction between different age groups. Research demonstrates that IGPs can bring about significant positive changes. For children, these programs enhance their attitudes, behaviors, confidence, and competence.
- In the article “What are the Benefits of Intergenerational Programs”, IGPs yield substantial benefits, including improvements in mental and physical health, quality of life, reduced social isolation, a sense of purpose, and potential relief from depression. These findings highlight the power of intergenerational initiatives to foster mutual growth and well-being across generations.
- Generations United reports benefits to both young and older participants, which include: decreased feelings of loneliness and depression in seniors, a renewed sense of purpose for both age groups, expanded worldview and understanding of diverse experiences, breaking down generational stereotypes and fostering connection, and updating seniors on current youth perspectives and lifestyles.
- Research underscores the importance of a variety of activities to slow down or manage memory loss, detailing strategies across mental engagement, social interaction, health management, and therapeutic practices.
- Mental Stimulation: Keeping the brain active through puzzles, reading, and learning is critical. Activities that challenge the mind are associated with reduced risk of memory decline. This preventive strategy is supported by evidence that suggests mentally engaging activities can help keep the brain in shape, potentially warding off memory loss. Mayo Clinic: [Memory loss: 7 tips to improve your memory] (https://www.mayoclinic.org)
- Social Engagement: Interacting with others plays a significant role in mental health, helping to alleviate depression and stress, both of which can contribute to memory decline. The benefits of socialization extend to improving cognitive functions and emotional well-being. Mayo Clinic: [Memory loss: 7 tips to improve your memory] (https://www.mayoclinic.org
- Health and Wellness: Prioritizing sleep, a healthy diet, and managing chronic health conditions are foundational aspects of supporting memory health. Adequate sleep, nutritional food intake, and proper management of health conditions are linked to better memory preservation. Mayo Clinic: [Memory loss: 7 tips to improve your memory] (https://www.mayoclinic.org)
- Music Therapy: The therapeutic use of music has shown to significantly impact the management of memory loss symptoms. Studies reveal that personalized music programs can reduce the need for medication, alleviate depressive symptoms, and improve overall quality of life for individuals with memory loss. Music therapy facilitates better caregiving experiences, enhances daily living activities, and has even shown to improve physical health issues like swallowing. Alzheimer's Disease Research Center: [The Powerful Benefits of Music on Memory Loss] (https://www.adrc.wisc.edu)
- Physical and Cognitive Activities: Activities such as computer use, science, math, crafts, and games may have the potential to slow or prevent age-related memory loss. Engaging in these activities regularly can contribute to a healthier, more resilient brain over time. ScienceDaily: [Can computer use, crafts and games slow or prevent age-related memory loss?](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190710171407.htm)
- Our aging population is rapidly increasing, with the number of adults aged 65+ expected to nearly double from 52.4 million in 2018 to 94.7 million by 2060, and half of today's children in western societies predicted to live to 100. This demographic shift brings greater diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, gender identity, and socioeconomic status, highlighting the need for intergenerational programs to foster social cohesion and address systemic inequities. Innovative intergenerational initiatives can help bridge gaps in education, health, and economic security, promoting a healthier, more inclusive society. https://www.gu.org/app/uploads/2021/03/2021-MakingTheCase-WEB.pdf
- The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults, aims to enhance social engagement for older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers by increasing the capacity of the Aging Network. The organization promotes intergenerational programs that connect different age groups to foster social cohesion, reduce isolation, and address community challenges through various activities such as arts, creative expressions, and technology. These efforts are supported by resources, training, and technical assistance to help organizations implement effective social engagement programs. https://www.engagingolderadults.org/
- Intergenerational care, which brings toddlers and seniors together in shared day care programs, offers numerous benefits. Research shows that it reduces social isolation among seniors, boosts their sense of purpose, and enhances children’s motor, cognitive, and social skills. These programs foster meaningful relationships across age groups, helping both seniors and children thrive emotionally and socially by learning from each other’s unique perspectives. https://ifstudies.org/blog/toddlers-and-seniors-together-the-benefits-of-intergenerational-care#:~:text=participation%20in%20intergenerational%20programs%20and%20meaningful%20cross-age%20relationships
Research in Online Media
Does the Growth Mindset Apply to You?
- Maintaining a healthy brain requires a growth mindset. This applies to not only our Seniors but all age levels. Where are you with these 25 ways to build a growth mindset? At STEAMwSeniors, we hope to nurture this growth!
- A growth mindset was first proposed by Stanford professor Carol Dweck in her book Mindset. In her book, she defines it as a way of thinking in which people believe that effort and persistence can improve skills, and intelligence, and lead to new learnings and new talents. This is the opposite of a fixed mindset in which the error in the belief is that people are born with a certain amount of skills and talents and that this fixed amount cannot be improved upon.
Do Brain Training Games Work? - Probably not...
...But, more education translates into a decreased risk of dementia, AND maintaining a healthy diet and exercise can keep the aging brain healthy.
Continue to Learn Something New - Our Goal With STEAMwSeniors!
- Maintaining a healthy brain is key to improving cognitive ability as we age! "Despite conventional wisdom, that’s not doing crossword puzzles – which is simply accessing the information we already know. Instead, neuroplasticity involves learning something new, which creates new synapses in the brain." - Link: 19 Best TED Talks on Retirement and Aging to Help You Have a Better Future
Making New Learning Pathways
- Research supports the idea of learnings and programs that connect the past to the new in building stronger connections in our brains.
- As lifelong learners, we seek to build upon the old school and expose our participants to topics around new topics, like disruptive innovations. For example, in the past disruptive technologies may have been around machines like the cotton gin, mechanized farming, the automobile, the airplane, the typewriter, the computer, and the internet.
- Today, we have new STEAM-related innovations impacting all of us like the metaverse, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. What are these? We are never too old to understand the topics our children our exploring.
- Bouncy Balls - A simple example of AI. See the link to the right (click on it) Perception includes speech recognition and here’s a quick and noisy activity to experience the difference between sensing and perception of sound. What can you discover from this?
Neurogymnastics
- Neurogymnastics refers to a form of exercise or training that combines physical movements with cognitive activities to enhance brain function and promote neuroplasticity. See how they are built here.
- It involves performing specific exercises, games, or activities that engage both the body and the mind simultaneously
- Neuroplasticity is the science term that explains how this works. What is neuroplasticity?
- The aim of neurogymnastics is to stimulate various cognitive functions such as attention, memory, coordination, problem-solving, and spatial awareness, while also improving physical fitness and coordination.
- This type of training is often utilized as a therapeutic approach to support cognitive development, rehabilitation, or overall brain health
- Check out some of these links.
Integrate Left and Right Hemisphere
The Nuts and Bolts of Better Brains
- Have you ever wondered what it would be like if your mind, even at the age of 77, remained as adaptable as it was when you were just 7 years old? Could you picture effortlessly learning a new language like a child or mastering complex skills with ease? The intriguing concept of neuroplasticity suggests that these possibilities may one day become a reality. Moreover, neuroplasticity could hold the key to addressing conditions such as Alzheimer's, depression, and autism. Join us in this video program as leading neuroscientists discuss their latest breakthroughs, exploring the promising horizons and potential challenges that await our cognitive futures!
A Senior and His Taj Mahal
- At STEAMwSeniors, there are so many ways to keep the mind active. STEAM can also be a coping mechanism for many of us. Kerm Gingerich, while taking care of his wife who was battling dementia, took solace in building a 2,000-piece toothpick Taj Mahal replica. It was "sort of a therapy for me". Here is a clip from the interview, featured on Positively Kansas.
Research on Brain Health
Cognitive Load Workout and Emotional Impacts - Brain Science
Awareness of how our brain processes information helps us design learning experiences.
Jess Brown from LearnToLearnBootcamp has designed a curriculum that exposes participants to Cognitive Load and Emotional Connections as a means to understand how best to learn. She says:
- "Cognitive load is the amount of information a person holds while learning something or completing a task. If a task requires holding more information(especially new information) then it usually requires a greater cognitive load."
- "Memory has three main parts— sensory, working, and long-term. The most relevant cognitive load is our working memory, where information either connects to our funds of knowledge or is discarded. The working memory can hold about 5-9 pieces of information at a time."
- "While accomplishing new tasks, a learner can carry the cognitive load around: (1) new information (2) extra tasks/focuses that don’t support learning, and(3) the design of the learning experience(or how they design it). Regarding point two, factors such as hunger, stress, threats to our identities, powerful emotions, wandering thoughts, etc. take up cognitive energy that then cannot be used for more academic or technical pursuits. Without addressing all forms of extraneous factors, we can not fully be in partnership with young people and senior citizens (of all ages) to build their cognitive abilities."
- "Effective learning requires a manageable amount of cognitive load so that our working memory does not throw away the information we need. Our hippocampus has the task of deciding what is critical and what is not. It can easily get bogged down and distracted when learning goals aren’t clear or when information is not connected to our previous knowledge and experiences."
- "Thinking Deeply with Emotional Connection. It is neurobiologically impossible to think deeply about or remember information to which one has no emotional connection. A healthy brain does not waste energy processing information that does not matter to the individual. We need a signal (dopamine hit) to deeply engage. As educators goal is not to manufacture emotional connection to materials, but rather to design with relevance and emotion in mind."
Jess Brown at https://dschool.stanford.edu/programs/k12-lab-network
Cognitive Load Workout and Emotional Impacts - Brain Science
Awareness of how our brain processes information helps us design learning experiences.
Jess Brown from LearnToLearnBootcamp has designed a curriculum that exposes participants to Cognitive Load and Emotional Connections as a means to understand how best to learn. She says:
- "Cognitive load is the amount of information a person holds while learning something or completing a task. If a task requires holding more information(especially new information) then it usually requires a greater cognitive load."
- "Memory has three main parts— sensory, working, and long-term. The most relevant cognitive load is our working memory, where information either connects to our funds of knowledge or is discarded. The working memory can hold about 5-9 pieces of information at a time."
- "While accomplishing new tasks, a learner can carry the cognitive load around: (1) new information (2) extra tasks/focuses that don’t support learning, and(3) the design of the learning experience(or how they design it). Regarding point two, factors such as hunger, stress, threats to our identities, powerful emotions, wandering thoughts, etc. take up cognitive energy that then cannot be used for more academic or technical pursuits. Without addressing all forms of extraneous factors, we can not fully be in partnership with young people and senior citizens (of all ages) to build their cognitive abilities."
- "Effective learning requires a manageable amount of cognitive load so that our working memory does not throw away the information we need. Our hippocampus has the task of deciding what is critical and what is not. It can easily get bogged down and distracted when learning goals aren’t clear or when information is not connected to our previous knowledge and experiences."
- "Thinking Deeply with Emotional Connection. It is neurobiologically impossible to think deeply about or remember information to which one has no emotional connection. A healthy brain does not waste energy processing information that does not matter to the individual. We need a signal (dopamine hit) to deeply engage. As educators goal is not to manufacture emotional connection to materials, but rather to design with relevance and emotion in mind."
Jess Brown at https://dschool.stanford.edu/programs/k12-lab-network
Science with Seniors: A Model Program for Senior Citizens
Science with Seniors (SwS) is a program dedicated to bridging the gap in STEM outreach by focusing on the voting-age population, particularly senior citizens. By bringing science research topics and news to this dedicated demographic, SwS aims to combat misinformation and promote informed voting on science-related issues. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/2086
Brain Health
1. Exercise helps keep the brain active and sharp by improving communication between neurons, increasing blood flow to the brain, and stimulating the growth of new cells.
2. Mental health is essential for overall well-being in older age. It includes emotional resilience, a positive attitude toward life events, and stress management skills.
3. Cognitive stimulation activities such as puzzles, reading, or playing games are important to help maintain memory function and prevent cognitive decline with aging.
4. Socializing regularly can help reduce feelings of loneliness while providing mental stimulation that helps keep the mind sharp as we age.
5 . Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise can also improve mental well-being while helping to reduce risks associated with dementia in later life
Here is an article about Brain Games and Alzheimers.
Gamification with Older Populations - Research
The gamification literature review shows the effects of gamification on those >55 years of age. Many positive benefits.
https://acris.aalto.fi/ws/portalfiles/portal/69041799/Gamification_for_Older_Adults.pdf
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-58530-7_35
Can exercising the mind improve our abilities, or is it just another self-improvement fantasy?
The article examines the effectiveness of brain training exercises, highlighting mixed scientific opinions. While some studies suggest cognitive training can improve specific brain functions and everyday tasks, others argue the benefits are limited and not broadly applicable. High-profile brain training programs, like Lumosity, faced legal scrutiny for making unsubstantiated claims. Personal anecdotes, such as those from Brain Training of Maryland, show promising results, but broader scientific consensus remains elusive. Overall, more rigorous research is needed to conclusively determine the real-world impact of brain training.