Book reviews

When designing lessons to meet the needs of our increasingly diverse population of students, educators need to rethink planning and structuring lessons so that all students achieve better results. Therefore, teacher preparation programmes need to prepare pre‐service teachers accordingly. Within this paper, a new lesson planning template is unveiled that builds on many of the foundational concepts of inclusive education. This template is meant for teacher educators to use with pre‐service teachers across the curriculum to guide the design of inclusive lessons. This paper discusses the foundations, unique features, and applications of this student‐centred lesson design template to create creative and active learning for students in inclusive classrooms.     

The fictional con man as a teaching tool

The con man has long been a powerful figure in American history and fiction. This study examines that figure in three popular novels: Jim Thompson's The Grifters (1963), Stephen Robinett's Unfinished Business (1990), and Lawrence Sanders's Sullivan's Sting (1990). These novels trace the con man from the street hustler to the swindler, using worldwide modern technology. The authors' insights into the character, motivation, jargon, and methods of the con man will illuminate him for students, who will be exposed at the same time to the syntactical and narrative skills of fiction writers.     

Underlying Consumer-Valuing Structures of Baby Boomers as Older Adults in Community Colleges: A Grounded Theory

The purpose of this study was to present a grounded theory that fills in gaps in the higher education literature on the concept of educational consumer value and perceptions that support consumer value. Specifically, this study focuses on the learning experiences of Baby Boomers (40–60 year old adults) as older adult students attending community colleges. This study examines value as a factor in the consumer behavior of these students. An understanding of Baby Boomer consumer behavior, the processes which drive this behavior, and the aging Baby Boomers' potential as continuously returning learners, could help develop programs and marketing plans for community colleges interested in attracting and retaining the Baby Boomer market.     

How does leadership affect student achievement? Results from a national US survey

Using survey responses from a national sample of US teachers, this paper provides insight into 2 questions: (1) Do 3 specific attributes of leadership behavior – the sharing of leadership with teachers, the development of trust relationships among professionals, and the provision of support for instructional improvement – affect teachers' work with each other and their classroom practices? and (2) Do the behaviors of school leaders contribute to student achievement? We tie this investigation of school leader behaviors to 2 additional factors that have also received increasing attention in research because they have been shown to be related to student achievement: professional community and the quality of classroom instruction. Our analysis provides an empirical test of the notion that leadership variables are positively related to student learning. It also suggests that both shared and instructionally focused leadership are complementary approaches for improving schools.     

MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION IN GERIATRIC FELLOWSHIPS

Geriatric fellowship curricula in primary care specialties of medicine include a minimum of mental health education, resulting in inadequate psychiatric assessment of the elderly. An educational program was developed to teach the psychology of aging, communication skills, and psychotherapy principles with older adults to geropsychiatry fellows during a 2‐year fellowship. The program's impact on fellows' performance was measured using 10 rated skill areas from the Periodic Review of Psychotherapy Skills. Improvement or maintenance of skills at the highest level was achieved by all fellows. The program's success is indicated by improved conceptualization of older adults' problems, increased accuracy of diagnoses, development of more appropriate treatment plans and goals, and refined communication and psychotherapy skills. Applicability to other medical and nonmedical disciplines and impediments to fellowship integration are discussed.