Wits Workout Facilitator Training-April 8
Are you responsible for leading programming in a community setting for adults or older adults? Is brain health a programming area that is of interest to you? If so, Wits Workout is the program for you!
Drawing on brain health and aging research, University of Illinois Extension Educators Molly Hofer and Chelsey Byers developed Wits Workout, a 24-session curriculum guidebook designed for professionals or lay leaders to facilitate their own brain exercise classes. This interactive model increases socialization, reduces isolation, and promotes intellectual engagement among older clients, all of which complement current research on aging brain health. Through its interactive dialogue and experiential activities, Wits Workout can assist recreation therapists, lay leaders, and volunteers in helping their participants maintain or adopt long-term health-promoting behaviors through ongoing brain exercise classes.
Following training, participants will be able to:
- Identify examples of how older adults can practice/implement research-identified brain health contributors
- Reteach learned intellectual challenges as a programmatic approach with older adults
- Provide purposeful opportunities for older adults to increase social connectedness and intellectual challenges
(Virtual outreach approaches will be addressed with this training)
Training will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, April 8, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am Central time.
Registration will close on Monday, April 6, 2026, at the end of the business day. We will not be accepting late registrations.
The next training will be held mid-summer 2026.
Program or billing questions: Chelsey Byers - clbyers@illinois.edu or Molly Hofer - hoferm@illinois.edu
Shipping questions: Vanessa Jones - vjjones@illinois.edu