Formerly know as Ageism First Aid, this newly redesigned course takes a deeper, more practical look at ageism—how it develops, why it’s harmful, and how to build awareness that leads to change. With updated modules on aging foundations, communication strategies, and future career opportunities, students gain not only knowledge but real tools for thoughtful, age-inclusive engagement.
We updated the title to reflect the course’s true focus—understanding and addressing ageism through awareness, communication, and inclusive engagement.
The updated mission grounds the entire course. This mission helped us refocus the course content and remove niche content, which will now be used in separate industry-specific trainings.
To prepare college students to engage appropriately and meaningfully with people of all ages in one-on-one or small group settings, prior to entering service-learning or community engagement experiences.
The course modules were restructured to follow a more intentional learning progression:
introduces the concept of ageism, its impact, and how it develops.
provides foundational aging knowledge and common misconceptions.
focuses on communication strategies, person-centered approaches & avoiding ageist language like “elderspeak.”
encourages students to explore future work or study in aging-related fields.
We revised the overarching learning objectives and created specific outcomes for each module to ensure content relevance and alignment. These objectives now guide all course content and assessments, ensuring the learning experience stays focused, purposeful, and measurable.
We’ve moved beyond traditional multiple-choice quizzes. While pre- and post-tests still measure knowledge gain, they are now tied directly to the course’s learning objectives.
Knowledge checks now feature realistic scenarios based on personas with backstories, challenging students to apply their learning to real-life interactions.
This updated course was redesigned to meet students where they are—and help them grow into thoughtful, respectful, age-aware professionals.
Here's what students can expect: