Learning and Teaching Geropsychology

This chapter presents a broad overview about the essential aspects of learning and teaching geropsychology in tertiary education. After an introduction to the scope of geropsychology and the need for geropsychology education, the objectives and basic principles of geropsychology curricula are discussed. Their overall goal is to qualify students and/or professionals to understand and solve psychological aspects of problems of older people in the contexts of practical application, research, and teaching. Specific teaching and learning objectives in geropsychology are described in terms of underlying content dimensions (e.g., areas of acting, functioning, and development of older people; basic components of practical geropsychological acting; target groups and settings) and levels of competency to be acquired (e.g., uni-, multi-structural, relational, and extended abstract level). This is followed by an overview of the core topics of geropsychology. These refer to theoretical (e.g., basic concepts of age, aging and the elderly; action competence of older people; challenges in later life; resources for adaptation; problems of people providing services to older adults), normative (ethical and legal) and methodological foundations (research, assessment, evaluation and intervention methods). This is followed by sections on linking main learning objectives and core topics of geropsychology to courses within study programs (psychological or non-psychological) and about the relations between teaching, learning, and assessment in geropsychology. The chapter concludes with information about resources for these issues including relevant URL links, tips for teaching and annotated references to further reading.