Summary
Led by Dr. Elizabeth Russell (Associate Professor, Psychology, Trent University), this project examines how ageism can be reduced through both lecture-based and intergenerational courses on the psychology of aging.
Publications and Projects
Intergenerational Classroom
Primary Investigator and Course Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Russell, Associate Professor, Psychology, Trent University
Coordinated by: Tabytha Wells, M.Sc. Candidate, Psychology, Trent University
Summary: With the generous support of the RTOERO Foundation and the Trent Teaching Fellowship Program, Dr. Elizabeth Russell piloted an intergenerational classroom in her Psychology of Aging course in Winter, 2024. The goal was to increase intergenerational connectivity at Trent University, further building the firm connection between Trent and the Peterborough community. Older community members (classroom volunteers) were invited into the classroom space as valued members of the class, connecting weekly with students through collaborative, intergenerational projects, and informally reflecting on their experiences with growing older. Students and classroom volunteers encountered an enriched and positive intergenerational learning environment.
[ Check out our videos! ]
Challenging ageism & supporting equity through an intergenerational classroom
Project Report
Authors: Tabytha Wells and Elizabeth Russell (2025)
[ Read the report ]
Developing & implementing an intergenerational classroom
Pedagogical Toolkit
Authors: Tabytha Wells and Elizabeth Russell (2025)
[ Access the toolkit ]
Seniors return to the classroom at Trent University - CBC Ontario Morning
Dr. Elizabeth Russell and Bonnie Kimmett, a member of the Peterborough community, joined host Nav Nanwa to discuss their involvement in the intergenerational psychology of aging course at Trent University.
For Bonnie, the experience had a lasting impact — prompting her to become a student working towards a degree at Trent, and creating lasting friendships with students and peers from the intergenerational class: "That class was like a pebble dropping in the water: the ripples just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger".
The psychology course, taught by Dr. Russell and coordinated by TCAS Graduate Associate Tabytha Wells, invited older community participants into the classroom space to connect weekly with students through collaborative, intergenerational projects, and to informally reflect on their experiences with growing older. Research found that the classroom helped to reduce ageism, break down perceived generational divides, and humanize people of all ages, ultimately facilitating the development of age-consciousness among student and community participants like Bonnie.
You can listen to Bonnie's segment here, and Dr. Russell's segment here.
Trent News: Students and older community members learn together in Psychology course aimed at fostering connection and understanding
“The whole point of the course was to humanize people of all ages, that people still have feelings, still have connection to others, even as they age,” said Prof. Russell. “Our research indicates an incredible shift for both students and community members who participated. These shared, personal experiences within the intergenerational classroom deepened the learning of course content and highlighted the similarities, as opposed to the differences, across generations.”
[ Read the article ]
Trent University President and Chancellor Dr. Cathy Bruce on CBC Ontario Morning
We were thrilled to hear Dr. Cathy Bruce discuss our Intergenerational Classroom project during her interview with Nav Nanwa!
[ Listen here: timestamp 6:06 ]
Facilitating Age-Conscious Student Development through Lecture-Based Courses on Aging
Primary Investigator: Dr. Elizabeth Russell, Associate Professor, Psychology, Trent University
Authors: Elizabeth Russell, Éric R. Thériault, Amber Zapletal
Funder: Trent University SSHRC Explore Grant
Abstract: Ageism is pervasive and socially normalized, and population aging has created a need to understand how views of aging and of older people, typically considered to be people over the age of 65, can be improved. This study sought to understand how undergraduate students’ attitudes towards older adults and the aging process may be influenced after completing a typical, lecture-based undergraduate course on aging that lacked service-learning components. Two undergraduate student cohorts (n = 40) at two Canadian universities participated in semi-structured focus groups/interviews, describing how the course may have impacted their perceptions of the aging process and of older adults. An iterative collaborative qualitative analysis demonstrated that course content stimulated a deeper understanding of the aging process, prompting a reduction in and increased awareness of ageism, and enhanced personal connection with aging, ultimately facilitating the development of an age-conscious student. Lecture-based courses focused on aging may be sufficient to facilitate positive attitude change among undergraduate students towards older adults and the aging process.
