Interview with Julie Neiworth about her ACE course Neuropsychology of Aging

In Julie Neiworth’s Neuropsychology of Aging Lab Practicum, Carleton students learn about the cognitive and social impacts of aging, including Alzheimer’s disease, while visiting with residents at Three Links Care Center.

Carleton Professor of Psychology, Julie Neiworth’s neuropsychology of aging course includes an optional lab practicum, which facilitates weekly student interactions with elders at the Northfield local care center, Three Links. The experiential elements of the class and the lab help students debunk myths about memory loss, understand respectful caregiving techniques, and form meaningful emotional connections with residents. Emily Seru, Associate Director for Academic Civic Engagement and Scholarship, recently sat down with Julie to talk with her about how this class came to be, and where she sees the benefits and challenges of a lab practicum shared with students from two different courses and disciplines (Psychology and Sociology). 

Emily Seru: You teach an ACE course called “Neuropsychology of Aging” that includes a unique lab practicum, involving weekly visits to elders at the Three Links care center. Can you describe this practicum and how it integrates with your course?

Julie Neiworth: I started teaching this course about eight years ago when the monkeys I was studying began to age, and I wanted to study Alzheimer’s disease with them. I studied memory tasks for a long time, and this has allowed me to join up the biological side that I knew about aging and what happens to the brain to a more applied human-centered approach, which I’ve tried to do in a number of my seminar classes.  Originally, it was a 300-level seminar without a lab, but I realized quickly that students needed real-world experience. They were reading about aging people like “clinical cases” and suggesting dramatic medical “fixes” for things that are actually natural parts of the aging process. The lab practicum allows them to see elders as real people with much to offer, rather than just focusing on their losses. It is now a two-credit optional lab where students spend four or five weeks visiting the convalescent center, participating in activities like bingo, and observing the cognitive and motor challenges residents face in real-time.

Emily Seru: This course also involves a collaboration with the Sociology department. How did that partnership develop?

Julie Neiworth: It grew out of summer faculty workshops I did with Annette Nierobisz, Carleton Professor of Sociology, that were held at St. Olaf College. The experience exposed us to the St. Olaf Nursing faculty and local doctors and nurses in Northfield working with elderly patients. We both saw the need for Carleton students to learn more about aging and aging care. Annette is amazing with the demographic and social context—how factors like ethnicity, location, or sexual orientation affect how elderly people are treated—while I focus on the cognitive and physiological side. We eventually merged our classes for occasional Friday sessions, and her students can also opt to register for the lab practicum at Three Links. 

The diversity of backgrounds is helpful for the students; the sociology students understand the facilities and social backgrounds, while my students understand the medical and neurological side, such as the specific challenges of dementia in “memory units”. We even dropped the course to a 200-level to better match student backgrounds and ensure they felt prepared for the cross-disciplinary discussions.

Emily Seru: What does the “science” portion of the lab look like, and how does it connect to these community visits?

Julie Neiworth: I added a physiological component where students learn to collect brain activity using EEG. They wire each other up and conduct experiments so they can better understand the data they read about in scholarly journals.

For their final assessment, they create a large infographic or poster that focuses on a myth about aging. They have to ground this in published research, but they also bring in their personal experiences from Three Links. For example, they might challenge the idea that “all old people are forgetful” by citing a 99-year-old resident with a sharp memory, while also looking at the field’s research on memory retention.

Emily Seru: What has been the impact on the students? Does it change how they view their own lives or futures?

Julie Neiworth: It’s been powerful. Many students find it life-changing. They start applying what they learn to their own families, visiting their grandparents more often or suggesting realistic interventions like game-playing or walking to help preserve cognitive function.

The experiences in the class help them distinguish between normal forgetting and Alzheimer’s disease. They realize that they lose their keys all the time, yet no one accuses them of having dementia. They learn that as you age, the brain can be easily overwhelmed by distractors, and they practice “conscious rehearsal” techniques to help maintain memory. I also hope this training encourages Carleton students to enter the aging industry, which is going to be a massive field in the future.

Emily Seru: How do the residents and staff at Three Links react to the student visits?

Julie Neiworth: The feedback has been very positive. The staff tell me the residents look forward to it and that the “good mood” from the students’ presence continues long after we leave. We’ve had residents who are in hospice talk extensively to their families about the conversations they had with our students.

We do make sure the students are prepared; they go through orientation on everything from hygiene to the respectful way to move a wheelchair. I tell them not to jump in and help immediately—to let the resident try first so as not to be accidentally insulting. We also have to navigate difficult moments, such as when a resident passes away. I do a small memorial in class to help students process that loss, as many have never experienced a death before.

Emily Seru: What advice would you give to other faculty looking to design a course with a community-based lab practicum?

Julie Neiworth: My biggest advice is to start slow and keep the lab optional at first. You want students who truly want the experience, especially when you are bringing them into the community. Also, be prepared for logistical headaches. In Northfield, transportation is a major hurdle; it once took us an hour and a half to travel less than a mile because of the bus lines. Using vans requires students who are trained and motivated to drive, which is a hurdle in itself.

Despite the “hidden costs” and the time spent figuring out logistics, I am incredibly motivated. It is vital for students to see the practical side of their education and to understand how to work in a team within the community.

Students in Neuropsychology of Aging visit Three Links Care Center, where they have the opportunity to participate in activities with the residents, from painting pumpkins to playing Bingo or Jeopardy, and get to know them through conversation.

Students were partnered with residents one-on-one to paint pumpkins. Some students painted with the direction from the residents, while others took turns painting.

Student Quote:

It’s been really interesting to learn about how you age, and then to go learn about it in books, and then to go apply that learning and see how you were right or wrong about what it was going to be like to really be with an old person.  – Ayla Faitelson ‘28