Cognitive Decline
Conditions
Brief summary
This study evaluates the feasibility of enrolling and retaining older adults in a 15-week intervention that will implement six factors from early childhood experiences: individualized scaffolding (having a responsive teacher), forgiving environment (allowing the learner to make and learn from mistakes), growth mindset (believing that abilities can develop with effort), open-minded learning (exploring new experiences), serious commitment to learning (adopting a learning lifestyle), and learning multiple skills simultaneously. These six factors will be implemented via concurrent classes at the UCR Extension center (OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALAdult Broad Learning Experiment (ABLE)
This intervention implements six factors from early childhood experiences: individualized scaffolding (having a responsive teacher), forgiving environment (allowing the learner to make and learn from mistakes), growth mindset (believing that abilities can develop with effort), open-minded learning (exploring new experiences), serious commitment to learning (adopting a learning lifestyle), and learning multiple skills simultaneously.
Sponsors
American Psychological Foundation
University of California, Riverside
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Half of the participants will participate in the intervention, and the other half will be assigned to a no contact control group.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
55 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 55 years of age or older * Fluent in English * Have not been diagnosed with a cognitive condition (e.g., Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's, and Dementia) * Currently not experiencing a mental health disorder (e.g., anxiety, depression, Schizophrenia) * Have normal eye vision or corrected-to-normal eye vision * Not proficient in any of the three skills that will be taught during the intervention. Proficiency of skills will be determined by participants' self-report of their experience with each skill. Only potential participants who self-report having less than one or more years of experience with any of the three skills in the past 10 years or as having less than 5 years of experience more than 50 years ago will be considered as being unfamiliar with that skill (or skills) and will be qualified to participate in the study.
Exclusion criteria
n/a
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Screening-to-enrollment ratio | Beginning of the intervention (Week 1) | Number of participants we screen relative to the number of participants who enroll |
| Intervention adherence | Throughout the intervention (15 weeks) | Amount of homework hours logged and class attendance |
| Enjoyment of intervention activities | Week 15 | Assessed via a brief questionnaire of 4 questions created by our research team. Range: 4-24, summed across 4 questions. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Function | Pre-test to post-test (15 weeks: Week 1; Week 15) | Measured by NIH EXAMINER battery |
| Broad Learning Adult Questionnaire | Pre-test to post-test (15 weeks: Week 1; Week 15) | New questionnaire developed by PI |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed