Several factors, including the role of practice, have confounded the results of various strategies to counteract adverse aging effects on human motor control. Additionally, the biological degeneration that accompanies aging may result in elderly neuromuscular control mechanisms that are different from those in younger persons; mechanisms that need to be accounted for to effectively implement other rehabilitation methods. Neuromuscular control mechanisms, and the nature and extent of practice-related effects, were examined in sixteen older males (mean age = 61.4 years) and sixteen younger males (mean age = 20.0 years). Neuromuscular coordination was assessed by the triphasic electromyographic (EMG) pattern and corresponding kinematics from a maximally fast and accurate elbow flexion movement. Practice effects were examined over days 1 to 4 under loaded and unloaded inertial load conditions, and extended practice effects under a single load condition over days 5 to 8. Retention effects were assessed one month after day 8 (days 9 and 10). The results and conclusions were as follows: (1) Learning in younger and older individuals progressed with different strategies; after the initial day the young subjects concentrated on refining movement accuracy while the elders improved in speed; (2) Kinematic and EMG improvements with practice were limited to the unloaded conditions. The addition of external load saturated the neuromuscular control mechanisms, resulting in a neuromuscular control system that had little room for adaptations in the practice time provided; (3) Overall, the elders performed poorer than the young group with respect to kinematics, and differentially poorer when the movement was performed in the unloaded condition. Data from the present investigation suggested that the elders were at a disadvantage when rapid phasic muscle activation was necessary in the inherently faster unloaded movements; (4) Neither age group showed much evidence of performance decrement over the retention interval, and hence, there was no evidence of age-related forgetting; (5) Neither EMG or kinematic performance in either load condition was affected to a different extent by extended, load-specific practice. Thus, load-specific practice, at least after a baseline period of practice, can be considered equivalent with respect to transfer effects.

The “Computers for KlutzesSM” computer literacy course developed by this author and successfully used for teaching more than 500 older and many impaired adults during the past five years is the basis for this dissertation. Educational literature about how best to teach the returning adult and several prominent theories such as constructivism and Vygotskyism are examined for helpful ideas. Because this literature and these theories were formulated for students much younger than those to be taught during the research newer theories were clearly needed. The literature research revealed that the educational community's returning adult's average age seemed to be in the 30 to 40 year range. People in this age range are well below the chronological age for the subjects of this dissertation. A wealth of research has been performed at the behest of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) on individual traits e.g. dynamic and static memory, motor skills, and type face preference. Only since the early 1990s has in-depth research on our aging population been performed. This research was used as a guide on how best to teach the aging adult. This writer prepared special texts and materials that closely follow the NIA findings, more recent educational papers, and news articles. The results of this research prove the value of applying both the psychological research as performed for NIA and the educational research done by the educational community. Student and instructor evaluations of these special learning materials, special teaching methods, and learning environment reveal the usefulness of this wealth of information. In all cases, the students, when motivated to accept the instructions became capable of working with a computer. Tables of characteristics help one to classify the placement of individuals into one of the three levels of literacy needs.

The increasing demand for educational opportunities by retirement-age adults presents the need for a better understanding of the significance of these programs on the lives of older adults. The literature provides a broad demographic profile of the older learner, but lacks a deeper understanding of the motivations for participating in educational programs and the resulting experiences. The purpose of this study is to determine what is meaningful to older adults about the Learning in Retirement Institute (LRI) experience, a particular model of older adult education. Through the use of in-depth, phenomenological interviewing, four members of Learning in Retirement Institutes share their life experiences and how they came to join the institutes. They reflect about what the LRI experience means to them at this point in their lives. The results concur with prior research in that the four participants fit the demographic profile and exhibit the two primary motivators of desire for intellectual stimulation and social contact. The significance of this study is the identification of additional benefits to participation in a Learning in Retirement Institute that include personal growth, increased self-esteem, opportunity for contribution, and empowerment. This combination of benefits makes the LRI experience unique from other activities in which older people can participate, including other educational programs such as tuition-free college courses and Elderhostel. This study provides a rare opportunity to gain first-hand perceptions of older adults regarding their lives and experiences in an LRI. It also demonstrates that, while not representing every old person, these four older people, through their desire to grow and contribute, defy the stereotype of all old people as in decline, dependent, and unproductive and that participation in Learning in Retirement Institutes plays a role in the successful aging of these four older people.