Student Instructions: DUE: Friday, November 1, 2025

Pre-Assignment reflection questions

These reflection questions designed to help you think critically about your service-learning experience. These questions are meant to support your learning by helping you connect what you observe and do with your academic studies and future career goals.

Before you begin answering the questions below, take a moment to consider how this experience might connect to your academic studies and future career. Your responses will help you reflect on your starting point and prepare you to make the most of your time supporting aging services. Thoughtful reflection now will make it easier to recognize your growth and articulate what you’ve learned when you revisit these questions later.

Before you begin your volunteer assignment, please complete the following steps:

Step 1: Create a New Word Document

•  Open a new Word document.
•  At the top of the document, include the following information:
  • Your Full Name
  •  Assignment Title (e.g., Digital Storytellers)
  • Class Title (e.g., Gerontology 103)
  • Professor Name
  • Date You Are Completing These Questions

Step 2: Answer the Pre-Assignment Questions

Reflect thoughtfully and write your responses to the following questions in complete sentences:

1. What do you currently know about the impact of social isolation on older adults?
2. What do you hope to learn or gain from engaging in weekly phone calls with an older adult?
3. How do you think friendly conversation contributes to health and well-being in aging populations?
4. What personal or professional qualities do you hope to strengthen through this experience?

If you prefer, you can download the details of this assignment as a pdf here.

When you’re done, save your document with LastName_FirstName_PreAssigment to the desktop. Email your completed document to: volunteer@agencyonaging4.org. You will revisit these questions after your assignment is complete.

Student Instructions: Post-Assignment
DUE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025

In addition to your final Digital Story project, you are also required to answer the reflection questions. Please email  volunteer@agencyonaging4.org with the Reflection questions and peer review documents all together in one email, no later than Tuesday, December 9.

Now that you’ve completed your volunteer experience, you’ll reflect on what you learned and how it connects to your academic and career goals.

Please follow the same steps:

• Open a new Word document.
• Include your name, assignment title, class title, and date.
• Answer the post-assignment questions thoughtfully.
• Save as LastName_FirstName_PostAssigment.
• Email both documents to yourself for your records and future reference.

 Post-Assignment Questions

1. What did you learn about the effects of regular social interaction on older adults?
2. Describe a meaningful moment or conversation you had during your calls. What did it teach you?
3. How did this experience help you develop empathy, listening skills, or other interpersonal strengths?
4. What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them?
5. How has this experience influenced your perspective on aging and your interest in working with older adults?