This website is one facet of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Division 20's overall website. This particular section focuses on adult development and aging, including resources such as practice guidelines, instructional resources, and student-related materials.
Type of Material:
Reference Material/Website
Recommended Uses:
Primary benefits of this site include the following.
Instructors who are new to the field of Adulthood and Aging will find useful resources for planning a course (e.g., course syllabi).
Students will learn about a professional organization within the field of psychology, specifically one that focuses on adult development and aging.
Technical Requirements:
Only a web browser and an Internet connection are required for viewing most content on this site. Adobe Reader may be required to view downloadable educational materials (such as syllabi).
Two reviewers successfully accessed the website using Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
Purpose of the Website
The site provides current and relevant information about Adult Development and Aging for a professional audience.
The site includes links to recent news articles in the field of adult development and aging, and also includes example syllabi for courses taught in the fields of adult development and aging.
The site could be useful for students learning about the different fields of psychology as well as professional organizations within the field of psychology.
Target Student Population:
The target audience for nonmembers is faculty new to teaching courses in Adulthood and Aging or those seeking new ideas. Anyone with an interest in Adulthood and Aging will find useful materials on the site.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
No prerequisite skills or knowledge are needed to comprehend material presented on this site. Students in both high school and college would be readily able to follow the content presented here.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The site incorporates interesting articles as well as lists of texts, syllabi, and videos for instructors.
Related news items in the field of adult development and aging also will be of interest to those seeking current information in the field.
Concerns:
The lists are limited by what is published and sold by APA.
It would be helpful for the site to include descriptions of texts and video/film clips.
NOTE: The site does not appear to have been originally designed as an educational website and instead serves an information-sharing aim. For that purpose, it achieves its goal.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The Education section is beneficial for new instructors.
Some publications are available for nonmembers.
The section on Teaching Tips would be useful for faculty and new graduate teaching assistants.
Concerns:
While the Education section includes textbooks and videos, it is only a listing of textbooks and of videos with the cost of the video. A link to a short description of each text would be beneficial. The videos include descriptions and their costs. Short clips at no cost or additional clips would be very helpful to the new instructor.
The example syllabi appear to be at least three (3) to four (4) years old, suggesting that the site may not have been updated recently. Even though the example syllabi are from diverse organizations and cover both undergraduate and graduate approaches to teaching adult development and aging, these syllabi are somewhat outdated and do not reflect newer methodologies adopted for teaching.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Sections are clearly labeled, making the site easy to maneuver.
A particularly nice element is the embedded "share this" function at the bottom of the page. This function allows for easy sharing of the page's content on multiple social media platforms.
Concerns:
None.
Creative Commons:
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