Agency Gerontology Enrichment (AGE) Training Initiative

The AGE Training Initiative provides grants of up to $5,000 to support innovative programs for training practicing social workers in gerontology.  This spring, AGE grants were awarded to eight community-based organizations serving older adults, which have developed model programs in geriatric social work training.  The Initiative supports the expansion and enrichment of existing training programs.  Enhancements may include increasing the size or scope of an existing training, utilizing new technologies or training methods, or developing improved evaluation tools to measure the impact of training.  

The AGE Training Initiative seeks to support training that effectively incorporates two or more of the following components of high-quality professional education.

•  Skills-based Training.  Training must provide practioners with practice-based skills training in addition to knowledge in a given topic area.    

•  Assessment of Training Needs.   Exemplary training requires a clear understanding of the social work competencies participants need to effectively perform on the job.   Training curriculum should address the specialized training needs of participants.

•  Application of Learning Through Mentoring or On-the-Job Training.   Adult students learn best through close mentoring with more experienced social workers who can model effective behavior and provide immediate feed-back and support.  

•  Interactive and Participatory Methods.   Research shows that adults learn best when they are engaged in the educational process.  Participatory approaches to learning, such as role plays, problem-solving activities and peer-to-peer mentoring are important components of quality training.

•  Evaluation of Training Effectiveness.   Successful training programs pay close attention to evaluating the effectiveness of training.  Training evaluation methods may incorporate pre- and post-testing, supervisory evaluations, and post-training self-evaluations.

The AGE Training Initiative will also promote greater awareness of best practices employed by grantees through a national dissemination effort.   A select group of grantee training programs will be highlighted through training case studies that will be published and distributed to continuing education providers and agencies providing gerontological social work training nationally.

Eight organizations have been awarded funding through the AGE Training Initiative.  These training programs and evaluations will be highlighted in a series of grantee training profiles published by IGSW.