Student Instructions: Pre-Assignment
DUE: Friday, November 1, 2025

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., Cultural Connections)
  • 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 how aging is viewed or experienced in different cultures?
2. What research or presentation skills do you hope to strengthen through this assignment?
3. Why do you think cultural understanding is important in aging services?
4. What personal experiences or interests do you bring to this topic?

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.

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

In groups of 4, you'll research one topic related to culture and aging and present at an upcoming staff meeting.

• You may present in-person or via Zoom. Staff meeting Zoom link will be sent out the Tuesday before.
• Deliver a 30-minute presentation with visual aids (Powerpoint, etc)
• Each student is responsible for presenting 25% of the content to our staff.

Presentation Team #1:

• 10:00am
  Wednesday, November 19

Presentation Team #2:

• 10:00am
  Wednesday, December 3

Presentation Team #3:

• 10:00am
  Wednesday, December 10

When we as an agency host presentations, we send out a survey afterward. As a part of your presentation, you will email 3 post-presentation questions for our staff. Please email these the morning of your presentation date to volunteer@agencyonaging4.org.

After each team's presentation, this page will be updated with the recording of each presentation. Watch each other's recorded presentations and write a 200-word review. Feel free to use these questions to get you started. Each of you will review 2 presentations.

Peer Review Prompts

1. What is one thing you learned from your peer’s presentation that you didn’t know before?
2. What part of the presentation was most engaging or well-explained?
3. What is one suggestion you have to improve clarity, depth, or presentation style?

Student Instructions: Post-Assignment
DUE: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2025

Now that you’ve completed your volunteer experience, you’ll submit your final products (presentations) and 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 aging across cultures that surprised or challenged your assumptions?
2. Describe one cultural insight you presented and how it could inform more inclusive aging services.
3. How did this experience help you grow your research, writing, or presentation skills?
4. What challenges did you face in researching or presenting your topic, and how did you overcome them?  How has this assignment influenced your perspective on aging and your interest in culturally responsive care?

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